1.1 LANTITE Numeracy Test Structure, Timing, and Administration

Purpose and National Governance of LANTITE

The Literacy and Numeracy Test for Initial Teacher Education Students (LANTITE) is a mandatory national assessment administered by the Australian Council for Educational Research (ACER) on behalf of the Australian Government Department of Education. Established across all Australian states and territories as a requirement for graduation and provisional teacher registration, LANTITE verifies that prospective teachers possess the personal literacy and numeracy proficiency needed to perform the everyday professional responsibilities of teaching.

Every classroom teacher—whether preparing to teach early childhood, primary school, secondary humanities, physical education, creative arts, or mathematics—routinely interprets quantitative information. Teachers calculate weighted student grades, analyse school and national assessment data (such as NAPLAN reports), manage classroom and excursion budgets, verify staff-to-student supervision ratios, and communicate statistical outcomes accurately to parents and colleagues. The LANTITE Numeracy component evaluates this practical, professional readiness rather than specialist university-level mathematics.

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Exact Test Structure, Section Split, and Time Allocation

The LANTITE Numeracy test is a computer-based assessment consisting of 65 questions completed within a single 120-minute session. That 120-minute total includes a brief introductory tutorial at the start of the test that familiarizes candidates with screen navigation, flagging tools, and question formats.

The 65 questions are divided into two sequential, separately rules-governed sections based on calculator availability:

Section 1: Calculator Available (52 Questions)

Section 1 accounts for four-fifths ($80\%$) of the assessment. During this section, candidates can open and use an integrated on-screen basic calculator at any time. Questions in Section 1 typically involve realistic multi-step calculations, financial tables, unrounded decimal values, compound percentages, unit conversions, and detailed statistical displays. ACER recommends allocating 90 to 95 minutes to complete and review these 52 questions.

Section 2: Calculator Not Available (13 Questions)

Section 2 accounts for the final one-fifth ($20\%$) of the assessment. The on-screen calculator is removed, and candidates must rely on mental calculation strategies, number sense, estimation, benchmark fractions and percentages, and working on the scratch paper provided. ACER recommends reserving 25 to 30 minutes of the 120-minute session for these 13 questions.

Scored Items and Unscored Trial Items

ACER's LANTITE Assessment Framework (2024) explains that each numeracy test contains 60 scored items—48 calculator-available and 12 calculator-not-available—plus 5 additional trial items that ACER is testing for future forms. Responses to the trial items do not count toward your result, but they look exactly like scored items, so treat all 65 questions as if they count. Marks are not deducted for incorrect responses, so never leave a question blank.

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2026 Registration, Fees, and Refund Rules

ACER conducts four designated LANTITE testing windows each calendar year. Candidates register online through their candidate account on the official ACER LANTITE portal during the published registration period for their chosen window.

• Single Component Fee (2026): AUD $98.00 (GST inclusive) to sit either the Numeracy component alone or the Literacy component alone.
• Combined Two-Component Fee (2026): AUD $196.00 (GST inclusive) when registering for both Literacy and Numeracy in the same testing window.
• Accepted Payment Methods: Payment must be made online at the time of registration using a valid Visa or MasterCard credit or debit card.
• Cancellation and Partial Refund Policy: Candidates who cancel their registration through their online ACER account before the registration closing date and time receive a refund of their test fee minus an AUD $12.00 administration fee per component (resulting in an AUD $86.00 refund for one component or an AUD $172.00 refund for both components). After registrations close, fees are non-refundable except where the Australian Consumer Law requires a refund. Illness or a change of plans does not create a refund right, and neither does failing to book a remote-proctoring session in time.

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Delivery Modes: Physical Test Centres vs. Remote Proctoring

Candidates can sit the LANTITE Numeracy component through one of two supervised delivery modes:

1. ACER Test Centres: In 2026, test centres operate in all eight capital cities in every window, and regional centres (such as Newcastle, Wollongong, Ballarat, Cairns, Townsville and the Gold Coast) run in selected windows. Bring your Admission Ticket and an accepted photo ID, and allow at least 2½ hours from your reporting time. Supervisors provide a pen and one sheet of scratch paper at a time, and collect it at the end. You may wear an analogue wristwatch with alarms switched off, and you may not leave the room in the last 10 minutes of the session.
2. Remote Proctoring: Candidates sit the test on their own computer under live supervision from ACER's provider, ProctorU. You register and pay with ACER, upload a portrait photo and a copy of your ID so ACER can verify your identity, and then book your session with ProctorU early in the scheduling period, because late sessions can fill. Allow 2½ to 3 hours. Before the test, the proctor asks you to scan your desk and test environment with the webcam. The desk must be clear, watches are not permitted, and no other people or pets may be in the room.

Strict Calculator and Working Material Rules

Across both delivery modes, personal calculators of any kind, mobile phones, smartwatches, tablets, rulers, highlighters, note paper and pre-written notes are prohibited; the only calculator is the on-screen one in Section 1. At a test centre you work on the scratch paper that supervisors supply. In a remote session you may have two sheets of blank scratch paper and a pen on the desk, and the proctor asks you to rip the paper up at the end. Your phone may stay in the room only so the proctor can call you about technical problems.

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Attempt Policy, First-Year Requirement, and Validity

Recent national reforms under the National Teacher Workforce Action Plan modernized LANTITE progression rules to support early diagnostic feedback and candidate retention:

• No Test Limits (From 2025): After the National Teacher Workforce Action Plan LANTITE trial, Education Ministers agreed that from 2025 there are no test limits. You pay the AUD $98.00 component fee each time you register, and ACER advises talking to your higher education provider about support before a second or third attempt.
• Mandatory First-Year Attempt (From 2024 Onward): Students who commenced an accredited Initial Teacher Education (ITE) program in 2024 or later are required to make at least one attempt at LANTITE during their first year of enrolment. Sitting the test early provides an immediate benchmark so candidates who need additional numeracy development can access university support workshops well ahead of final-year graduation requirements.
• Independent Components, Permanent Validity, and Transferability: Literacy and Numeracy are assessed and recorded independently; once you meet the standard in Numeracy, you never need to resit Numeracy, even if you still need to pass Literacy. Furthermore, a successful LANTITE result never expires and is fully transferable across all accredited Australian higher education providers if you change universities or move from an undergraduate degree into a Master of Teaching.