KPMG Australia Graduate Assessment: Criteria Cognify Games, Timings & How to Prepare

TL;DR: After you apply to KPMG Australia's Graduate or Vacationer Program and are confirmed as eligible, you get an email invitation to two online assessments from Criteria (CriteriaCorp), which you must finish within 48 hours of the invitation. The first is a timed, game-based cognitive test that, in KPMG's words, "measures your problem-solving, numerical reasoning, and verbal knowledge". The second is an untimed questionnaire about your workplace behaviours. KPMG says each takes about 15 minutes. If you progress, you go to an in-person assessment centre with interviews and group activities. The cognitive games are the part you can genuinely practise: fast mental arithmetic, spatial puzzles and careful proofreading. Answer the behavioural questionnaire honestly.

Sources: KPMG Australia's graduate and student FAQ and Vacation Program page, checked 23 October 2026. KPMG UK runs a different process (SHL-style tests and a video interview). See our KPMG UK guide.

What is the process and timeline for 2026/27?

1. Application. Pick a career pathway (Audit, Corporate Finance & Assurance; Engineering, Technology & Digital; Business, Consulting, Risk & ESG; or Tax & Legal), your preferred teams and offices, and upload a CV of up to two pages. You don't need a cover letter. One application covers several areas and locations.

2. Online assessments (Criteria). The 48-hour clock starts when the invitation arrives, not when you apply. KPMG says you "automatically receive your assessment results when you finish". Results stay valid for 12 months, so recent applicants may sit only one test.

3. Shortlisting. For vacationers, KPMG matches your preferences to teams and may ask shortlisted candidates for a transcript.

4. Assessment centre. It takes place in person at one of KPMG's offices, with "interviews and group activities". KPMG says interview questions are "motivational and behavioural based", covering your time at university, extracurricular activities and any work experience, and it suggests the STAR method (Situation, Task, Action, Result). The vacationer page also mentions "other testing activities" alongside the interview.

5. Outcome. You get an offer, or feedback if you attended a face-to-face meeting.

Intake windows. The main intake is KPMG's primary window and requires the in-person interview process. For the 2027 Graduate Program it has closed. GradConnection's listing showed a closing date of 10 March 2026, with interviews and offers in April. As of October 2026, KPMG is still taking applications through its rolling intake, which is reviewed as new or unfilled roles come up, after the main-intake assessment centres. Graduates start between February and March 2027, with limited June starts. The 2026/27 Vacationer Program (3–8 weeks over the November–December summer) has closed, and KPMG says dates for 2027/28 are still to come. You need full-time working rights in Australia for the whole program.

Is there a video interview? KPMG Australia's current pages list no recorded video interview. The interviews happen at the assessment centre. If your invitation says otherwise, follow it.

What are the Cognify games like?

KPMG doesn't name the product, but Criteria's game-based cognitive test is Cognify. Criteria describes it as three interactive games that "measure a candidate's ability to solve problems, work with numbers, and correctly interpret and edit written text". It takes about 10 minutes plus tutorials and runs on any device. A longer six-game version is available to employers on request. Criteria's own score-report guide gives that version as about 20 minutes. KPMG's estimate of about 15 minutes doesn't tell you which version it uses.

Criteria names the standard games Grid Lock (problem solving), Numbubbles (numerical reasoning) and Proof It (verbal knowledge). The descriptions below come from candidates and prep sites, not from Criteria:

• Grid Lock: fit Tetris-like blocks into a grid, rotating and moving pieces, and complete as many grids as you can in a few minutes.
• Numbubbles: pop the bubble whose equation matches a target number, over short rounds that get harder.
• Proof It: mark typos, punctuation, grammar and missing-word errors in short texts against a countdown.

What is scored?

Criteria reports Cognify as a percentile against its global norm group. Employers see an overall percentile plus sub-scores for problem solving, numerical reasoning and verbal knowledge. Criteria says the overall score is the one that matters most. KPMG publishes no cut-off.

The workplace behaviours questionnaire is untimed. On the vacationer page, KPMG says it "looks at your alignment with our values and leadership approach". It has no right answers to drill. Read KPMG's values, then answer the way you actually work and stay consistent. Criteria's practice tests page includes a short "Workplace Behavior, Attitudes, or Personality" simulation if you want to see the format. It doesn't offer a Cognify practice test.

How can I practise?

• Numbubbles-style speed: mental math makes quick sums automatic, so your attention goes on choosing the bubble, not on the arithmetic.
• Grid Lock-style spatial work: ShapeDance mental rotation trains you to see how a shape looks once it's turned. The pathfinder puzzle rewards planning a few moves ahead instead of trial and error.
• Judging quantities quickly: numerosity builds the fast "which is more" judgement that helps in timed number rounds.
• Proof It: we don't have a proofreading game. Slow, sentence-by-sentence checking of your own writing is the closest substitute.

For a deeper look at all three games, see our Criteria Cognify guide.

Before you open the invitation: find a quiet hour, use a laptop with a mouse rather than a phone if you can (dragging blocks is fiddlier on a small screen), and read every tutorial in full. On a 10–15 minute test, learning the rules during the timed part costs you points.

FAQ

Which company runs KPMG Australia's online assessments? Criteria (CriteriaCorp). KPMG's graduate FAQ names it directly.

How long do I have to complete them? 48 hours from receiving the invitation email.

How long do the tests take? About 15 minutes each, by KPMG's estimate, but it allows "about an hour" for both together.

I applied last year. Do I resit the tests? Probably not. Results are valid for 12 months.

Is KPMG Australia's test the same as KPMG UK's? No. KPMG UK uses SHL-style skills and reasoning tests. KPMG Australia uses Criteria's game-based test. See the KPMG UK guide.

Can I ask for adjustments? Yes. KPMG asks you to tell it when you apply, and says requests are treated confidentially.

GamePrep is an independent practice platform and is not affiliated with KPMG or Criteria Corp. We provide practice only — no leaked questions or answers. Hiring processes change — verify against your invitation.