CCL guides

NAATI CCL Note-Taking: The Rules and a Practical Method

Updated 26 September 2026 · facts checked against NAATI and Home Affairs pages on 7 September 2026

Note-taking in the CCL is not about writing down what you hear. It is about not losing the few details that carry marks while you listen for meaning. This guide sets out what NAATI's rules allow, what is worth writing in a 35-word segment, a simple symbol set, and a way to practise. You can try your notes on a full dialogue at /practice, where your first full dialogue is marked free.

What the rules allow

NAATI's candidate instructions are short on this point, and every part of them matters:

The test is audio and video recorded, the test location is checked at the start, and your face must be clearly visible at all times. There is nothing to gain by writing out of sight of the camera and a great deal to lose if a test is flagged. NAATI's instructions also list a glass of water, loose sheets of paper and a pen, and your identity document among the things to have ready. The wider rule set is in the rules on repeats, notes and pauses.

Why notes matter in a 35-word segment

Each dialogue is approximately 300 words, about half in English and half in your other language, divided into segments of 35 words or less. You hear each segment, a chime sounds, and you must begin interpreting within five seconds.

Thirty-five words is short, but it can hold several separate facts: a day, a time, an amount, an agency and a condition. NAATI marks by deduction from 90 marks, and accuracy covers how correct the information is and not removing or adding any information. A detail that falls out of memory is an omission. A number you half-remember and get wrong is a distortion. Notes exist to stop exactly those two errors.

What notes cannot do is replace listening. If you are writing while the speaker is still talking, you stop following the meaning, and meaning is what you are marked on. The aim is a handful of marks on the page that let you rebuild the whole segment from memory.

What to write down

Write the details that memory drops first and that the listener would act on:

• Numbers and amounts. Prices, fees, percentages, quantities, doses, phone numbers.
• Dates and times. Days, times, deadlines, how long something lasts.
• Names. People, agencies, places and documents, especially Australian ones with no equivalent in your language, such as Centrelink or Medicare.
• Lists. When a speaker gives three items, write three marks. The last item in a list is the one that disappears.
• Conditions and negations. "Only if", "unless", "not", "must", "may". A small mark here protects the meaning of the whole segment.
• Direction. Who pays whom, who applies to whom, who is responsible.

Leave out what you will remember anyway: greetings, the general topic, and whole phrases. A note that says "appt ✗ Tue → Thu, bring MC card" is enough to rebuild "Your Tuesday appointment has been cancelled and moved to Thursday; please bring your Medicare card."

Numbers deserve a warning. However you write a number down, say it the way your language's policy expects. For Hindi, Gujarati, Marathi, Malayalam and Punjabi, NAATI's language policy penalises English numerals. For Hindi, Gujarati, Malayalam and Punjabi it also says a figure given in millions in English must be converted to lakhs or crores (for Odia, to Lakhya or Koti), and vice versa. See the English words in the LOTE guide.

A simple symbol set

Symbols help because they are faster to write and faster to read back than words. The set below is a starting point, not a standard. What matters is that you read your own marks back instantly.

Add short forms for the institutions you meet most, such as "CL" for Centrelink or "MC" for Medicare, and for the people in the dialogue, such as "Dr" or "pt" for a patient. Build the list while you practise, not the night before, and keep it small. The Australian terms themselves are collected at /terms/.

Laying out the page

Loose sheets reward a plain layout. Write down the page rather than across it, one segment per block, and draw a line under each block when the segment ends so you never read the previous segment's number by mistake. Put the key noun on the left and the detail beside it, so your eye finds the structure quickly.

Write in whichever language or script is fastest for you. Notes are for you, not the examiner. Many people mix both languages and symbols in the same line, and that is fine as long as you can read it back without stopping. Keep a small stack of fresh sheets within reach and move to a new one before the page gets crowded.

Reading your notes back within five seconds

The five-second rule changes how notes should look. You are not reading your notes aloud; you are glancing at them while you start speaking from memory.

Start with the idea you remember best, usually the main point of the segment, and use the notes to drop in the numbers, names and list items at the right moment. Speak in the first person, as the speaker, because NAATI expects direct speech and indirect or third-person style is not acceptable. If you realise you have misread a note, correct it and preface the correction, for example "Sorry, I'll just say that part again." Repeatedly correcting yourself distracts from the flow and may cost marks, which is another reason to keep notes legible.

Keep your head up where you can. Your face must be clearly visible at all times, and a long look down at a crowded page is also a long pause.

Notes, repeats and the 20-minute limit

You can repeat one segment per dialogue without penalty by pressing Finish attempt and then Start again. If you repeat more than one segment in a dialogue, marks are deducted. Notes change how you use that single repeat: if you caught the meaning but missed one figure, a replay with a pen ready can recover it.

Time is the other constraint. Your test performance must be less than 20 minutes, counting the segment recordings and your interpreting. Long pauses may cost marks, particularly if they push the recording past 20 minutes, and NAATI may stop assessing your performance at that point. Heavy note-taking that leads to long silences before each segment is a false economy. The common mistakes guide covers how pauses, repeats and corrections compound.

How to practise note-taking

Start without notes. NAATI suggests having someone read you short passages of about 20 to 40 words and reproducing them as accurately as you can in the other language, without taking notes. Its suggestion for recorded radio and television passages works the same way: repeat two sentences first, then four, then six, and test your limits. That shows you your real memory span.

Then add notes, but only for the categories above. Record yourself, play it back, and check your version against the source: what did you drop, what did you change, and did the notes help or slow you down? Practise with the same materials you will have on the day, a pen and loose sheets of paper, and with your speakers rather than headphones, because no headsets, headphones or earphones are allowed.

Our practice dialogues follow the CCL specification, two speakers and segments of 35 words or fewer, and the AI marking shows segment by segment what you retained, omitted or distorted, which is exactly what your notes are meant to protect. The score is our model's estimate, not a NAATI result. Your first full dialogue at /practice is marked free; check your language at /languages. For the bigger picture, read how to pass the NAATI CCL and the preparation and study plan.

Frequently asked questions

Can I take notes in the NAATI CCL test?

Yes. You may take notes with a pen and loose sheets of paper. Typing notes is not permitted, you cannot bring any existing notes, and no electronic resources such as dictionaries, web browsing, live captions or transcription are allowed.

Can I bring notes or a glossary I prepared?

No. NAATI states that you cannot bring any existing notes into the test. The desk should be clear of any unauthorised items, and the test location is checked at the start of the test.

Will NAATI see me taking notes?

Yes. Your phone or tablet acts as a second camera and must be positioned beside you so that NAATI can see you taking notes. The test is audio and video recorded.

What should I write down in a CCL segment?

Write what short-term memory drops first: numbers, dates, amounts, names of people and agencies, and the items in a list. Segments are 35 words or less, so trying to write everything down usually costs more than it saves.

Can I type notes on my computer?

No. Typing of notes is not permitted during the CCL test, and only one screen is allowed at any given time.

Do notes slow me down in the CCL test?

They can. You must begin interpreting within five seconds of the chime, and long pauses may cost marks, particularly if they push the recording past 20 minutes. Keep notes short enough to read back at a glance.

Should I practise with or without notes?

Both. NAATI suggests having someone read you short passages of about 20 to 40 words and reproducing them as accurately as you can in the other language without taking notes. Build your memory span that way, then add notes for numbers, names and lists.

Sources

• NAATI, CCL Test Candidate Instructions
• NAATI, Credentialed Community Language (CCL) Test
• NAATI, Language Policy for CCL Tests

Facts checked against NAATI and Home Affairs pages on 7 September 2026.

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