English language F2025L00905

Vocational, competent, proficient and superior English test scores: LIN 25/016

LIN 25/016 specifies the English tests, the minimum score in each test component and the passports that establish vocational, competent, proficient and superior English under regulations 1.15B to 1.15EA of the Migration Regulations 1994.

No Worries Migration · checked against the Federal Register on 2 October 2026

Vocational, competent, proficient and superior English test scores: LIN 25/016

The Migration (Specification of Language Tests, Test Scores and Passports) Instrument 2025 was signed on 5 August 2025 by the Assistant Minister for Immigration, Matt Thistlethwaite, under regulations 1.15B, 1.15C, 1.15D and 1.15EA of the Migration Regulations 1994 (section 3). It commenced on 7 August 2025 (section 2) and repealed IMMI 15/005, the 2015 specification of language tests, scores and passports (Schedule 1). The current text is Compilation No. 0, the instrument as made.

The explanatory statement says the instrument operates to specify English language proficiency and related test scores which are used to establish this proficiency and the passports that may be used as proof. It updates the tests and scores following the Department’s Request for Expression of Interest process that commenced in July 2022, with new Deeds of Agreement with the test providers.

Which visas it governs

The instrument names no visa subclass. Section 11(b) applies it for purposes under the Regulations relating to vocational, competent, proficient and superior English, so it supplies the tests and scores wherever a criterion in the Regulations uses one of those four terms. The explanatory statement summarises the underlying regulations: under regulations 1.15B and 1.15C the test must have been conducted in the 3 years before the invitation to apply or, where there was no invitation, before the application; under regulations 1.15D and 1.15EA, in the 3 years before the invitation.

Separate instruments signed the same day set the English requirements for the subclass 485 visa (LIN 25/089), the subclass 500 visa (LIN 25/090) and functional English (LIN 25/014).

The four levels

Sections 6 to 9 – what each level draws on
Level	Regulation	Tests (Schedule 2 columns)	Scores (Schedule 2 item)	Passport route (Schedule 3)
Vocational	1.15B	Columns 2 to 9 (C1 Advanced excluded)	Item 1	Yes, section 6(4)
Competent	1.15C	Columns 1 to 9	Item 2	Yes, section 7(4)
Proficient	1.15D	Columns 1 to 9	Item 3	No provision
Superior	1.15EA	Columns 1 to 5 and 7 to 9 (MET excluded)	Item 4	No provision

For each level, the Schedule 2 scores are the minimum required in each of the four test components (sections 6(3), 7(3), 8(3) and 9(3)). The instrument sets no overall score.

Schedule 2 – minimum score in each component, shown as listening / reading / writing / speaking
Test	Vocational (item 1)	Competent (item 2)	Proficient (item 3)	Superior (item 4)
C1 Advanced	Excluded	163 / 163 / 170 / 179	175 / 179 / 193 / 194	186 / 190 / 210 / 208
CELPIP General	5 / 5 / 5 / 5	7 / 7 / 7 / 7	9 / 8 / 10 / 8	10 / 10 / 12 / 10
IELTS Academic	5 / 5 / 5 / 5	6 / 6 / 6 / 6	7 / 7 / 7 / 7	8 / 8 / 8 / 8
IELTS General Training	5 / 5 / 5 / 5	6 / 6 / 6 / 6	7 / 7 / 7 / 7	8 / 8 / 8 / 8
LANGUAGECERT Academic	41 / 44 / 45 / 54	57 / 60 / 64 / 70	67 / 71 / 78 / 82	80 / 83 / 89 / 89
MET	49 / 47 / 45 / 38	56 / 55 / 57 / 48	61 / 63 / 74 / 59	Excluded
OET	220 / 240 / 200 / 270	290 / 310 / 290 / 330	350 / 360 / 380 / 360	390 / 400 / 420 / 400
PTE Academic	33 / 36 / 29 / 24	47 / 48 / 51 / 54	58 / 59 / 69 / 76	69 / 70 / 85 / 88
TOEFL iBT	8 / 8 / 9 / 14	16 / 16 / 19 / 19	22 / 22 / 26 / 24	26 / 27 / 30 / 28

Specified passports

Schedule 3 specifies passports of Canada, New Zealand, the Republic of Ireland, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the United States of America. Under sections 6(4) and 7(4), a citizen holding a valid passport issued by one of those countries meets the vocational and competent English requirements.

Tests taken before 7 August 2025

Section 10 accepts five older tests for a visa application made on or after 7 August 2025, where the test was undertaken before that day and in the 36 months immediately before the application.

Section 10 – tests undertaken before 7 August 2025 (minimum in each component)
Test	Vocational	Competent	Proficient	Superior
IELTS	5	6	7	8
OET	B	B	B	A
TOEFL iBT (L / R / W / S)	4 / 4 / 14 / 14	12 / 13 / 21 / 18	24 / 24 / 27 / 23	28 / 29 / 30 / 26
PTE Academic	36	50	65	79
Cambridge English: Advanced (CAE)	154	169	185	200

Which applications it applies to

Section 11(a) applies the instrument to a visa application made on or after its commencement on 7 August 2025.

Questions and answers

What IELTS score is competent English?

At least 6 in each of listening, reading, writing and speaking, in IELTS Academic or IELTS General Training (Schedule 2, item 2). Proficient English is at least 7 in each (item 3) and superior English at least 8 in each (item 4).

What PTE score is proficient English?

Under item 3 of Schedule 2, PTE Academic scores of at least 58 in listening, 59 in reading, 69 in writing and 76 in speaking. Competent English is 47, 48, 51 and 54 (item 2), and superior English is 69, 70, 85 and 88 (item 4).

Can the Michigan English Test be used for superior English?

No. The note to section 9(3) excludes MET from the superior English requirements. MET is specified for vocational, competent and proficient English.

Which passports count as competent English?

Under section 7(4) and Schedule 3, a valid passport issued to a citizen of Canada, New Zealand, the Republic of Ireland, the United Kingdom or the United States of America. The same passports establish vocational English under section 6(4).

Sources

Instruments are amended and replaced. The version that applies to an application is usually the one in force on a particular date, which may not be the current one.

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