If you are planning to take the TOEFL iBT test to meet the English language requirements for your Australian visa, stop and read this carefully. On 21 January 2026, Educational Testing Service (ETS) implemented a major global change to how the TOEFL iBT is scored. If you are not aware of this change when you book your exam online, you risk taking a test that the Department of Home Affairs will completely reject.
Historically, the TOEFL iBT test used a standard 0 to 30 scoring scale for each of the four language components (Reading, Listening, Speaking, and Writing), adding up to a maximum total score of 120.
However, as of 21 January 2026, ETS changed the Global TOEFL iBT test to a new “1 to 6 band score” system.
But The Department of Home Affairs DOES NOT accept this new 1–6 band score system. To accommodate Australian immigration requirements, ETS has maintained a separate version of the exam specifically for Australia. The “TOEFL iBT Australia” test will continue to use the traditional 0 to 120 scoring scale.
From 21 January 2026 onward, the TOEFL iBT Australia test is the only version of the TOEFL test that is legally valid for Australian visa, migration, and skills assessment purposes.
If you mistakenly book the global version of the test, your results will be instantly invalid for Australian immigration purposes. You will have wasted hundreds of dollars on the test fee, and if you submit those invalid results to the Department of Home Affairs, your visa application could be refused.
Because the booking portal handles thousands of global students, the ETS system may automatically default to the standard global TOEFL iBT test. You must manually change this.
When you are registering for your exam online, you must specifically look for and select the option labeled: “TOEFL iBT for Australia”
After making this selection, continue to the confirmation screen. Before you pay, double-check your booking summary. It should explicitly state that you are registering for the TOEFL iBT Australia test.
While you are booking your test, remember that the Australian Government has strictly banned all “At-Home” or “Remote Proctored” English tests. Even if the website offers the TOEFL iBT Home Edition, do not book it. You must physically sit your TOEFL iBT Australia test inside a secure, approved testing centre.
The rules surrounding English language tests, score validities, and accepted formats are constantly changing. Booking the wrong test format is one of the most frustrating and expensive mistakes a visa applicant can make.
