English Language Requirements

Home Affairs accepts a test taken in the 3 years before your visa application for Vocational, Competent, Proficient and Superior English, and in the 12 months before for Functional English. The period can vary by visa subclass, so check the page for your visa.

Home Affairs accepts IELTS, PTE Academic, TOEFL iBT, CELPIP General, Michigan English Test, OET, LANGUAGECERT Academic and Cambridge C1 Advanced, and not every test is listed at every level. The best test is the one where you can reach the scores you need, so compare the score tables above, test dates and centre availability near you.

Citizens who hold a valid passport from the UK, USA, Canada, New Zealand or Ireland are treated as meeting the Competent English requirement. If you want to claim points for Proficient (10 points) or Superior (20 points) English, you must take an approved test and reach the scores shown above.

Competent English (for example IELTS 6.0 in each component) is the minimum for skilled visas but gives 0 points. Proficient English (for example IELTS 7.0 in each component) gives 10 points in the points test. Superior English gives 20 points. For PTE Academic, TOEFL iBT and other tests, use the score tables above, which separate tests taken from 7 August 2025.

Generally no. All component scores must come from a single test sitting. Home Affairs accepts IELTS results that include One Skill Retake and Michigan English Test results that include a Single Section Retake for eligible visas, so check the page for your visa before relying on a retake.

The minimum is Competent English (IELTS 6.0 in each component, or the equivalent score in another approved test). English scores also earn points: Proficient English gives 10 points and Superior English gives 20 points, which matters because the 189 is ranked by points.

Home Affairs lists OET (Occupational English Test) among the approved tests at each English level. It is designed for health professionals, and since 7 August 2025 it is scored numerically instead of by letter grade. OET does not show an overall result on its score report, so request it from OET where a visa asks for an overall score.

For tests taken on or after 7 August 2025, Home Affairs publishes new TOEFL iBT scores at every level (for example Competent English is L: 16, R: 16, W: 19, S: 19). TOEFL iBT results count for Australian visas only if the candidate selected "Taking TOEFL for Australia" at registration, and Home Affairs applies this to Skills in Demand (482) tests taken on or after 21 January 2026. TOEFL iBT Home Edition is not accepted.