IELTS for Australia PR and Visas: Competent, Proficient and Superior English

For tests taken on or after 7 August 2025, Home Affairs publishes these IELTS Academic and General Training scores. Each figure is the minimum in every one of the four skills.

Your level is set by your lowest skill. Listening 8, Reading 8, Writing 7 and Speaking 8 is Proficient, not Superior. See Home Affairs' pages on Competent, Proficient and Superior English.

• The list of approved tests changed, and some tests have new score tables. IELTS stayed on the list in both Academic and General Training versions.
• Home Affairs accepts IELTS results that include One Skill Retake for eligible visas. Check your visa page.
• Tests delivered completely online, including IELTS Online, are not accepted. You must sit the test at a secure centre.
• Results from tests taken on or before 6 August 2025 can still be used, depending on the visa, until 6 August 2028.

Source: Home Affairs English language visa requirements.

Skilled visas generally need at least Competent English, and points-tested visas reward Proficient and Superior. Student and graduate visas set their own scores, which Home Affairs lists on each visa page, and universities often ask for more for admission. Always check the English section of the visa you are applying for.

Moving from 7 to 8 in every skill is worth 10 more points. The hardest band for most people is Writing 8, followed by Reading 8 on the Academic test.

• Train Writing against the four official criteria in the IELTS Writing band descriptors.
• Use the Writing Task 1 structure and Task 2 structure to stop losing marks on organisation.
• Build Reading speed with a fixed time plan.
• Rehearse under real conditions with a full IELTS mock test.

• Book a test at a secure test centre. IELTS Online is not accepted.
• Academic or General Training both work for most visas; universities usually want Academic.
• Check your test date against the 7 August 2025 change, because the score tables depend on when you sat the test.
• Note when your result expires for your visa subclass before you lodge.
• If one skill misses by half a band, check whether One Skill Retake is accepted for your visa.

• Reading the overall band. Australia sets your level by your lowest skill.
• Planning for Proficient when Superior is within reach. If you are already at 7.5 in most skills, the extra 10 points may be one focused month away.
• Practising only on paper for a computer-delivered test. Pace on screen is different; rehearse with IELTS Listening practice and timed Reading.

Nurses and midwives registering with the NMBA need higher scores than the visa itself; see IELTS for nurses. For Canada, the UK and New Zealand, see the IELTS score requirements by country.