A new graduate skills test organised by the Australian Council of Educational Research (ACER) will be sat over the next few weeks in 23 universities across Australia.

The three-hour general knowledge test assesses critical thinking, problem solving, written communication and interpersonal understanding. It is a voluntary test undertaken by students who feel it will be useful on their CVs when it comes to future employment.

Representatives from the National Union of Students object to the test on the grounds that results will be used to compare the performance of certain universities.