To meet the Functional English standard for your visa, you must provide evidence in one of the following ways:
Within the last 1 years, you must achieve at least:
| Tests | Minimum Score |
|---|---|
| PTE Academic | Overall score of 24 |
| IELTS (Academic or General, including OSR) | Average band score of 4.5 |
| MET (including SSR) | Overall score of 38 |
| OET | Overall score of 1020 |
| LanguageCert Academic | Overall score of 38 |
| CELPIP General | Overall band score of 5 |
| TOEFL iBT | Total score of 26 |
You are exempted from the English requirement if you are a citizen and hold a valid passport from one of these countries:
You may also meet the requirements of if you completed study or training in English, such as:
Note: 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 2026, inclusive. This will depend on the visa.
| Test | Minimum Score |
|---|---|
| Cambridge C1 Advanced (CAE) | Total score of 147 |
| IELTS (Academic or General, including OSR) | Average band score of 4.5 |
| PTE Academic | Total score of 30 |
| TOEFL iBT | Total score of 32 |
The Department does not accept results from online or at-home tests (remote-proctored). Examples not accepted:
You now need an Overall PTE score of 24. This applies to all PTE Academic tests taken on or after 7 August 2025. This is a reduction from the previous PTE score of 30.
You need an Average Band Score of 4.5. You can take either the IELTS General or Academic test to provide this evidence of Functional English.
Your English test results (PTE, IELTS or other tests) are valid for 12 months (1 year) to meet the Functional English requirement for Australian visas.
Yes. If you sat your test before 7 August 2025, you can still use those results (with the old score rules) until 6 August 2026 to prove English requirement.
No, usually Home Affairs does not accept online (at-home) tests for migration. You must take the test at a secure centre.
