Reference

English language requirements.

Australian visas use five English categories. The tests change; the categories do not. Use this as the conversion table when an occupation page says “IELTS 7+” or a visa rule mentions “Competent English.”

Tier	IELTS	PTE (legacy)	PTE (from Aug 2025)	Points
Functional	4.5 average	30 overall	—	Not eligible
Vocational	5.0 in each	36 overall	—	Not eligible
Competent	6.0 overall, no band below 5.0	50 overall	L 47 · R 48 · W 51 · S 54	0 points
Proficient	7.0 in each	65 in each	65 in each	+10 points
Superior	8.0 in each	79 in each	79 in each	+20 points

What unlocks what

Competent is the floor. Below it, you cannot apply for 189, 190 or 491 regardless of points.
Proficient adds 10 points and is the practical minimum for regulated health, teaching and engineering occupations.
Superior adds 20 points. In saturated occupations (some ICT roles, accounting), the gap between 10 and 20 points is often the difference between an invitation and a multi-year wait.

Test-taking notes

PTE results before 7 August 2025 use the legacy overall-score model and are valid until 6 August 2028.
Remote-proctored PTE tests are no longer accepted for visa purposes.
IELTS scoring rules are unchanged.
Test results are valid for three years from the date of test.

Occupations that need above-standard English

These roles in our catalogue typically require Proficient (IELTS 7+ or equivalent) for the assessing authority or visa requirements, even before any points are awarded.

Always check the Department of Home Affairs and your assessing authority for current minimum scores. Some authorities (notably AHPRA, EA, AITSL) publish higher requirements than the visa floor.