If you're preparing for the Migration Agents Capstone Assessment, one number gets quoted more than any other: 65%. You'll see it described as the "pass rate," and it's enough to make anyone nervous. But that number is almost always misunderstood — and clearing up the confusion tells you a lot about how to actually pass.
"Pass rate" vs "pass mark" — the distinction that matters
The 65% figure is the pass mark: the score you need to achieve on each graded assessment to pass it. It is not the percentage of candidates who pass overall. Legal Training Australia (LTA), the sole provider of the assessment, publishes the actual pass-rate statistics separately — those figures, and OMARA's, are the ones that tell you how many candidates get through.
Two things follow from this that catch people out:
- The Capstone is pass/fail, not graded. You either clear the 65% threshold on a component or you don't — there's no distinction or credit to chase.
- Every graded component must be passed at 65%: both parts of the written assessment and the oral. A strong written result won't rescue a weak oral. You have to clear the bar on each.
So when someone tells you "the pass rate is 65%," what they're really telling you is the mark you need to hit — not your odds of hitting it.
So how many people actually pass?
This is where you should be careful about the numbers floating around online. The Capstone has a long-standing reputation as a tough assessment, and reported pass rates on some earlier intakes were low. But precise, current figures aren't always what gets repeated on forums and prep-provider sites — often those numbers are dated or second-hand.
For the real number, go to the source: LTA and OMARA publish pass-rate statistics on their websites. Anchor on those rather than on a scary figure someone quoted in a study group.
The honest takeaway: the pass rate isn't fixed by fate. It's driven by a handful of very specific, very fixable mistakes.
What the assessment actually looks like
Knowing the exact shape of the assessment is half the battle, because most failures are about format, not knowledge.
Written Assessment — open-book, with access to LEGENDcom, invigilated over Zoom. It has two components you must each pass at 65%:
- Component 1: 10 multiple-choice questions (20 marks) and 2 short-answer questions (30 marks).
- Component 2: one long case study (50 marks).
New candidates get 3 hours in total, split roughly 1.5 hours for Component 1 and 1.5 hours for the case study.
Oral Assessment — a Zoom interview of roughly 40 minutes to an hour. You're given a case study in advance, then an experienced migration practitioner asks you to work through a client-interview scenario: how you'd communicate with the client and manage the situation as an RMA. It can also test the Code of Conduct, the Occupational Competency Standards, and your knowledge of immigration law and policy.
Note the mark weighting: the case study alone is worth 50 of the written marks. Mismanage your time there and no amount of knowledge saves you.
Why candidates actually fail
After working deeply through the Migration Act, the Regulations and the Code of Conduct, the failure patterns are remarkably consistent. Almost nobody fails because the law is beyond them. They fail on execution:
They mismanage time against the mark allocation. With the case study carrying half the written marks in its own 1.5-hour window, over-investing early and rushing it at the end is a classic, avoidable way to drop marks. The marks tell you where to spend your minutes.
They treat the Code of Conduct as background reading. The Code isn't context; it's directly testable — including in the oral — and the 2021 Regulations that govern it have a specific structure you're expected to know.
They rely on it being open-book. Access to LEGENDcom lulls people into under-preparing, then they burn time searching for things they should already know. Open-book rewards familiarity and speed, not the ability to learn the law on the spot.
They walk into the oral cold. You get the case study in advance, but the assessment is live: reading the facts quickly, structuring sound advice, and staying composed when the assessor probes. Reading about it is not the same as doing it out loud under time pressure.
There's one more thing worth knowing: LTA states that it does not provide training or education specific to the Capstone Assessment. The body that runs the exam explicitly doesn't prepare you for it. Closing that gap is entirely on you.
How to shift the odds in your favour
None of the above requires more raw legal knowledge than the Graduate Diploma already gave you. It requires practice under exam conditions:
- Drill questions against the clock until mark-allocation instincts are automatic — especially the case study.
- Know the Code of Conduct as a testable topic in its own right.
- Rehearse the oral out loud, timed, using an advance case study the way the real assessment gives you one.
- Diagnose which topics cost you marks — not just your total — and target those.
That's the entire game. The candidates who pass aren't the ones who know the most; they're the ones who've practised the format until it holds no surprises.
Try it before you commit
MARA Prep is built exactly around the gap LTA leaves open: a large question bank mapped to the Occupational Competency Standards, timed drill and exam-simulation modes, and a Learning Academy covering the Code of Conduct, landmark cases and oral scenarios. You can try the free demo to see where you stand before deciding on anything — no payment required to start.