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What are the English language requirements for Australian visas?
English language requirements generally apply to applicants wanting to study or work in Australia. In order to apply for general skilled, employer-sponsored, business, or student visas, applicants need to demonstrate that they have the required English language ability.
Depending on the visa you are applying for, you can prove that your English language ability through one of the following means:
- Providing evidence that you have studied full-time in at least a secondary level institution where most classes were in English for at least 5 years.
- You are a passport holder from: Canada, New Zealand, the Republic of Ireland, the United Kingdom, or the United States of America.
- Providing evidence of being enrolled by your education provider in an English language course.
- Providing evidence of having passed an approved English language test.
Which English Tests are accepted by the Department of Home Affairs?
The DHA accepts scores from the following English tests (for tests taken on or after 7 August 2025):
- Cambridge C1 Advanced Test (C1 Advanced)
- Canadian English Language Proficiency Index Program General (CELPIP General)
- International English Language Testing System Academic (IELTS Academic), including One Skill Retake (OSR)
- International English Language Testing System General Training (IELTS General Training), including One Skill Retake (OSR)
- LANGUAGECERT Academic Test (LANGUAGECERT Academic)
- Michigan English Test (MET), including Single Section Retake (SSR)
- Test of English as a Foreign Language internet-based Test (TOEFL iBT). You must select ‘Taking TOEFL for Australia’ when registering for your test for it to be accepted for Australian migration purposes
- Pearson Test of English Academic (PTE Academic)
- Occupational English Test (OET)
How are the tests administered?
Cambridge C1 Advanced Test | Computer or paper based. |
CELPIP General | Computer based. Note CELPIP Online is not accepted for Australian visa purposes. |
IELTS Academic, including OSR | Computer or paper based. Note IELTS Online is not accepted for Australian visa purposes. |
IELTS General Training, including OSR | Computer or paper based. Note IELTS Online is not accepted for Australian visa purposes. |
LANGUAGECERT Academic | Computer based. Note LANGUAGECERT Academic Online is not accepted for Australian visa purposes. |
MET, including SSR | Computer based or paper in limited circumstances. Note MET Digital (taken at-home) is not accepted for Australian visa purposes. |
OET | Computer or paper based. Note OET@Home is not accepted for Australian visa purposes. |
PTE Academic | Computer based. |
TOEFL iBT | Computer based or paper in limited circumstances. Note TOEFL iBT – Home Edition is not accepted for Australian visa purposes. |
When and where can you appear for the English tests?
Cambridge C1 Advanced Test | Offered multiple times a year at authorised Cambridge English centres worldwide, including in Australia. |
CELPIP General | Available at test centres in Australia (Sydney and Melbourne) and worldwide. Sessions are held on selected dates and must be booked online through the CELPIP website. |
IELTS Academic, including OSR | Widely available across Australia and worldwide. Multiple test dates each month in over 4500 test centres in 160 countries worldwide. |
IELTS General Training, including OSR | Same availability as Academic: across Australia and globally, paper or computer formats, with multiple test dates each month. |
LANGUAGECERT Academic | Delivered at approved test centres worldwide. |
MET, including SSR | Offered at authorised Michigan Language Assessment centres worldwide, including in Australia. Available as computer-based or paper-based (centre dependent). |
OET | Specialised for healthcare professionals. Offered at authorised OET test centres worldwide, including many in Australia. Sessions usually held once or twice monthly and require an online booking. |
PTE Academic | Available year-round at over 500+ PTE test centres in all major Australian cities and worldwide. Appointments can be booked online with frequent daily availability. |
TOEFL iBT | Offered more than 50 test dates per year at approved centres worldwide, including across Australia. For Australian visa purposes, you must select ‘Taking TOEFL for Australia’ when registering for your test. |
How long are the English test results valid for?
Tests conducted up to 3 years prior to lodgement of an application will be accepted by the Department of Home Affairs. The only exception to this is for functional English – this requires testing to have been done at most 12 months before lodgement.
Test results from a test taken on or before 6 August 2025 may be used as evidence of English proficiency for visa purposes until 6 August 2028, inclusive. This will depend on the visa.
Level of English
You will need to show at least a competent level of English for most general skilled and employer-sponsored visas. You will need to show vocational/competent English for most business visas. You do not have to demonstrate your English language ability if you are applying for any type of family visa.
How are the scores given?
Cambridge C1 Advanced Test | The range for the overall pass score is 180-210 points. |
CELPIP General | The range of scores for each of the four skills is from 1-12. |
IELTS Academic, including OSR | Uses a 9-band scoring system. Each section (Listening, Reading, Writing, Speaking) is scored from 0 (non-attempt) to 9. The Overall Band Score is the average. |
IELTS General Training, including OSR | Same as Academic: 9-band scoring system, with individual scores for each skill and an Overall Band Score. |
LANGUAGECERT Academic | Scored on the LanguageCert scale from 0-100. |
MET, including SSR | The range for the overall score is 0-80 points. |
OET | The range for the overall score is 0-500 points. |
PTE Academic | The range for the overall score is 10-90 points. |
TOEFL iBT | An overall score out of 120 (each paper is marked out of 30). |
Points awarded for English language skills for General Skilled Visas:
| Points | Level of English |
| No points awarded | Competent |
| 10 Points | Proficient |
| 20 Points | Superior |
How long does it take for the results to be published?
Cambridge C1 Advanced Test | Your Statement of Results is released online, approximately 4-6 weeks after the exam for paper-based exams, and 5-10 days after the exam for computer-based exams. |
CELPIP General | Scores are reported online within 2-4 business days after the test. |
IELTS Academic, including OSR | Paper-based IELTS: results available 13 days after test. Computer-delivered IELTS: results usually given in 1 day. Your Test Report Form (TRF) is collected or posted depending on the test centre. One Skill Retake produces its own TRF and can be downloaded from the portal. |
IELTS General Training, including OSR | Same as above: paper 13 days, computer 1 day, TRF collection or post varies by centre. OSR has a separate downloadable TRF. |
LANGUAGECERT Academic | Official results issued within 3-5 business days after your last exam. E-certificate follows shortly after and results appear in your online account. |
MET, including SSR | Computer-based MET results are usually available within 5 business days via the Michigan portal. |
OET | Results released within 5 days from completion of the final sub-test in most cases. Results and Statement of Results are online. |
PTE Academic | Results usually available within 2 days, occasionally up to 5 working days. View online in your Pearson account. |
TOEFL iBT | Your scores will be posted electronically only, unless you request a paper copy. Online scores are typically available 3 days after a test centre exam, and 11-15 days for paper edition. |
Cost of English tests in Australia
Cambridge C1 Advanced Test | $330 per exam (price may vary based on test centre) |
CELPIP General | $355 + tax |
IELTS Academic, including OSR | $490 |
IELTS General Training, including OSR | $490 |
LANGUAGECERT Academic | From $399 |
MET, including SSR | $320 |
OET | $587 |
PTE Academic | $490 (price may vary depending on centre) |
TOEFL iBT | Around $400 |
A summary of test score equivalencies for all English language tests accepted by the Department of Home Affairs is provided below: (tests taken on or after 7 August 2025)
C1 Advanced | CELPIP General | IELTS Academic | IELTS General Training | LANGUAGECERT Academic | MET | OET | PTE Academic | TOEFL iBT | |
Functional | Excluded. | Overall band score of 5 | Average band score of 4.5 | Average band score of 4.5 | Overall band score of 38 | Overall band score of 38 | Overall band score of 1020 | Overall band score of 24 | Total score of 26 |
Vocational | Excluded. | 5 (listening) | 5 (listening) | 5 (listening) | 41 (listening) | 49 (listening) | 220 (listening) | 33 (listening) | 8 (listening) |
5 (reading) | 5 (reading) | 5 (reading) | 44 (reading) | 47 (reading) | 240 (reading) | 36 (reading) | 8 (reading) | ||
5 (writing) | 5 (writing) | 5 (writing) | 45 (writing) | 45 (writing) | 200 (writing) | 29 (writing) | 9 (writing) | ||
5 (speaking) | 5 (speaking) | 5 (speaking) | 54 (speaking) | 38 (speaking) | 270 (speaking) | 24 (speaking) | 14 (speaking) | ||
Competent | 163 (listening) | 7 (listening) | 6 (listening) | 6 (listening) | 57 (listening) | 56 (listening) | 290 (listening) | 47 (listening) | 16 (listening) |
163 (reading) | 7 (reading) | 6 (reading) | 6 (reading) | 60 (reading) | 55 (reading) | 310 (reading) | 48 (reading) | 16 (reading) | |
170 (writing) | 7 (writing) | 6 (writing) | 6 (writing) | 64 (writing) | 57 (writing) | 290 (writing) | 51 (writing) | 19 (writing) | |
179 (speaking) | 7 (speaking) | 6 (speaking) | 6 (speaking) | 70 (speaking) | 48 (speaking) | 330 (speaking) | 54 (speaking) | 19 (speaking) | |
Proficient | 175 (listening) | 9 (listening) | 7 (listening) | 7 (listening) | 67 (listening) | 61 (listening) | 350 (listening) | 58 (listening) | 22 (listening) |
179 (reading) | 8 (reading) | 7 (reading) | 7 (reading) | 71 (reading) | 63 (reading) | 360 (reading) | 59 (reading) | 22 (reading) | |
193 (writing) | 10 (writing) | 7 (writing) | 7 (writing) | 78 (writing) | 74 (writing) | 380 (writing) | 69 (writing) | 26 (writing) | |
194 (speaking) | 8 (speaking) | 7 (speaking) | 7 (speaking) | 82 (speaking) | 59 (speaking) | 360 (speaking) | 76 (speaking) | 24 (speaking) | |
Superior | 186 (listening) | 10 (listening) | 8 (listening) | 8 (listening) | 80 (listening) | Excluded. | 390 (listening) | 69 (listening) | 26 (listening) |
190 (reading) | 10 (reading) | 8 (reading) | 8 (reading) | 83 (reading) | 400 (reading) | 70 (reading) | 27 (reading) | ||
210 (writing) | 12 (writing) | 8 (writing) | 8 (writing) | 89 (writing) | 420 (writing) | 85 (writing) | 30 (writing) | ||
208 (speaking) | 10 (speaking) | 8 (speaking) | 8 (speaking) | 89 (speaking) | 400 (speaking) | 88 (speaking) | 28 (speaking) |
How many components are there?
Cambridge C1 Advanced Test | 4 components: Reading & Use of English (1 hour 30 minutes), Writing (1 hour 30 minutes), Listening (~40 minutes), Speaking (~15 minutes per pair of candidates; 23 minutes per group of three). |
CELPIP General | 4 components: Listening (46–55 minutes), Reading (43–56 minutes), Writing (53 minutes), Speaking (15 minutes). Total test time of under 3 hours done in one sitting. |
IELTS Academic, including OSR | 4 components: Listening (30 minutes), Reading (60 minutes), Writing (60 minutes), Speaking (11–14 minutes). Total test time of 2 hours 45 minutes. |
IELTS General Training, including OSR | Same as IELTS Academic: Listening (30 minutes), Reading (60 minutes), Writing (60 minutes), Speaking (11–14 minutes). |
LANGUAGECERT Academic | 4 components: Listening (~40 minutes), Reading (50 minutes), Writing (50 minutes), Speaking (~14 minutes). Total test time around 2 hours and 34 minutes (section times vary slightly depending on mode; Speaking is separate). |
MET, including SSR | 4 components: Writing (45 minutes), Listening (35 minutes), Reading (65 minutes), Speaking (10 minutes). Total test time is 155 minutes. |
OET | 4 components: Listening (~40 minutes), Reading (60 minutes), Writing (45 minutes), Speaking (~20 minutes). Total test time of 2 hours 45 mins. |
PTE Academic | 3 components: Speaking & Writing (76-84 minutes), Reading (21–30 minutes), Listening (31–39 minutes). Single sitting, total test time of around 2 hours 30 mins. |
TOEFL iBT | 4 components: Reading (~35 minutes), Listening (~36 minutes), Speaking (~16 minutes), Writing (~29 minutes). Total just under 2 hours. |
Student Visas
Test name | Standard minimum test score | Minimum score with ≥10 weeks ELICOS / foundation / eligible pathway program | Minimum score with ≥20 weeks ELICOS |
C1 Advanced | 161 overall | – | – |
CELPIP General | 7 overall | 6 overall | 5 overall |
IELTS Academic/General | 6.0 average band | 5.5 average band | 5.0 average band |
LANGUAGECERT Academic | 61 overall | 54 overall | 46 overall |
MET | 53 overall | 49 overall | 44 overall |
OET | 1210 overall | 1090 overall | 1020 overall |
PTE Academic | 47 overall | 39 overall | 31 overall |
TOEFL iBT | 67 total | 51 total | 37 total |
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