How to Take Notes in the NAATI CCL Test (Complete Guide)

The information in this article is accurate as of June 2026. NAATI may update test format, fees, and policies — please check naati.com.au for the latest details.

"I can't remember what the dialogue said."

It's one of the most common struggles in the NAATI CCL test, and not only for people whose English is weak — it happens to fluent speakers too. Being fluent doesn't help you hold a string of numbers, names and details in your head, and those details are exactly what you're marked on. A number, a name, a date, even a small word that changes the meaning — any of them is easy to lose.

Note-taking is how you hold on to them. This guide covers the principles of good note-taking for the CCL test, the strategy for building the skill, a shorthand system you can start with, and how to make it your own — and the complete shorthand list comes in our free five-page PDF.

If you'd rather watch than read, here's the short version in six minutes:

Get the free Note-Taking Guide (PDF) →

Why note-taking decides so many marks

In each dialogue you hear a segment, then you interpret it. The information you need to carry across is dense: amounts, names, dates, conditions and negatives. Miss one and you lose marks, however good your English is. Fluency helps you speak naturally, but it doesn't help you recall a list of four documents, or the exact dose a doctor gave. That recall is what notes are for.

Good notes don't try to capture everything. They capture the things your memory drops under pressure, so you can rebuild the rest. The test allows a pen and loose blank paper — no pre-prepared notes, no electronic notes, no dictionaries — and the 35-word segments don't pause while you write, so your notes can only ever be a supplement to trained memory.

The three principles of CCL note-taking

Three things are worth getting right before anything else: write in English for both speakers, write only keywords, and build your own shorthand.

Write in English for both speakers

Keeping a shorthand system in two languages is double the work to learn, and switching language in the middle of a dialogue costs time. As the conversation moves between English and your other language, it's easy to hesitate over which one you're meant to be writing in. One language the whole way through is simpler. That said, if a word comes to you faster in your own language, write it — there's no time in the test to stop and work out what your English shorthand was. English is the sensible default, not a rule.

Write only keywords

You can't write down every word, and you shouldn't try. Capture the things memory drops: numbers and amounts, names, places, dates, and the small connecting words that change the meaning, like "because", "but" and "if". The general gist and the ordinary back-and-forth you can leave to memory. Your notes hold the details; your memory holds the story.

Build your own shorthand

Use shortcuts that feel natural to you, not the ones someone else swears by. A shortcut you can't read back quickly is worse than no shortcut at all. Some people write "2d" for "today", but when you glance back you might read it as "two days", or "second". Start from a system you trust, then adjust it until it fits the way your own mind works.

The strategy: practise before you memorise

Most people approach this backwards. They try to memorise a shorthand system first. The better order is the other way round.

Start by sitting a few dialogues like the real test, taking notes as you go. Your notes can be messy at this stage — the point is to find out what you actually struggle to hold in your head, and where your writing falls behind what you're hearing. If you begin by trying to memorise a shortcut for every possible word, you'll give up, because it's impossible and, honestly, a boring way to study. Practise first, see where note-taking actually hurts, then memorise only the shortcuts you need.

If you want somewhere to practise, we have free practice dialogues and a free mock test with AI scoring and feedback, so you can see exactly where you're losing marks.

One thing that catches people out is Australian-specific vocabulary — terms like Centrelink, Medicare and bulk billing. That deserves its own guide, but the same logic applies: if you're going to learn those terms anyway, work out a quick way to write each one too. The free CCL vocabulary list is a good place to gather them.

And once you've learned a few shortcuts, practise using them. Knowing a shorthand and being able to write it the moment you hear the word are two different things. Only practice closes that gap.

A shorthand system you can start with

A handful of symbols covers most of what you need. Here are the ones you'll reach for in almost every dialogue.

Two rules make these shortcuts actually work. The first is to keep them recognisable. Don't use one or two letters that could stand for ten different things — thirty seconds later you won't remember what you meant. Write something you can read straight back, and don't worry about spelling.

The second is to be careful with arrows. An up arrow means more or higher; a down arrow means less or lower. They're about amount, not opinion, so they never mean better or worse. If pain gets worse, write the word "worse" rather than an arrow, or you'll misread your own note later. To compare two numbers, use the greater-than and less-than signs.

The table above is just the essentials. The free five-page guide has the complete shorthand list — dozens of symbols and abbreviations grouped by how often they come up, including the Australian terms.

Get the free Note-Taking Guide (PDF) →

Three worked examples

Seeing the shorthand in action makes it clearer. Here are three lines you might hear, and one way to note each.

In the first one, the things that matter are the number and the negative: twice a day, and no alcohol. Negatives are easy to lose when you're writing quickly, and a dropped negative flips the meaning of the whole sentence — it's one of the mistakes that quietly cost marks, so make a habit of marking them clearly. The polite wording you can leave to memory.

In the list, give each item its own short line, because it's easy to drop one when you're rushing, and a missing item is missing information. Very short forms can be hard to read back at first, and if you have a spare second, writing a little more is safer. But this is where practice earns its keep: after enough dialogues, your shorthand for something that comes up a lot — like a tax return — becomes automatic. You glance at the short form you wrote, and the full word comes straight back. That's why building your own system through practice matters more than memorising a long list.

The third line is full of Australian terms, and they come up again and again in the CCL test. It's worth working out your own quick way to write each one before the test, rather than spelling them out in full every time. Because they keep recurring, that bit of preparation pays off.

Putting it together

Note-taking for the CCL test comes down to a few habits: practise before you memorise, write only the details your memory drops, keep your notes in English, and use shortcuts you can read straight back. None of it is complicated, but it only becomes fast and reliable through practice.

If you'd like a head start, the free note-taking guide is a five-page PDF with the complete shorthand list, ready for you to make your own: get the free NAATI CCL note-taking guide (PDF).

Note-taking is one of the biggest pieces of CCL preparation, but it's only one piece. When you're ready to test yourself, try our free practice dialogues and mock test to see where you stand — then turn the techniques into reflexes with a steady preparation routine.