How do you check the current English test rules?
Rules change: on 7 August 2025 the list of approved English tests changed, and so did the scores1. Before you book a test or lodge anything, read the department's English language page yourself: immi.homeaffairs.gov.au/help-support/meeting-our-requirements/english-language. This tool shows the date of every page it uses, so you can see how fresh each number is.
What changed on 7 August 2025?
- New tests joined the list, including CELPIP General, LANGUAGECERT Academic and the Michigan English Test1.
- OET moved from letter grades to numbers2.
- PTE Academic kept its name, but the test and the scores changed2.
- A new legal instrument, LIN 25/016, set the tests and scores from that day13.
Where do our numbers come from?
From two places. The department's Competent, Proficient and Superior English pages give the tables, and the legal instrument behind them gives the same numbers in law13. On the legislation register, the version we copied was the latest one in force when we checked4.
Where do the two disagree?
In one row we found. For TOEFL iBT taken on or before 6 August 2025, the department's Competent English table asks for 21 in speaking2, while the legal instrument says 183. The calculator uses the department's number and warns you if your speaking score falls between the two. If that's you, ask the department before you rely on either.
How is this tool kept honest?
- It was built with AI from the pages listed below, not from memory.
- Every score is read straight out of our stored copy of the department's page, with its date and SHA-256 fingerprint.
- Our tests compare every row with the legal instrument and fail if a new difference appears.
- When we refresh our copies, the dates on every page change with them.
What should I do before relying on a result?
- Read the English section on your visa's own page, because the rules depend on the visa subclass256.
- Check the level page for your test date: the older and newer tables differ1.
- If anything doesn't match what you see here, trust the department's current page.
- For advice on your own case, speak to the department or a registered migration agent.
Is this calculator run by the government?
No. It's an independent tool. It isn't connected to the department or any test provider, and it can't promise any visa outcome.
Sources
Each small number links to the page it comes from. We keep a dated copy of every page with its SHA-256 fingerprint and check our wording against it word for word.
- Source 1: English language visa requirements. Department of Home Affairs, page last updated 2 February 2026; our copy 31 October 2026.
immi.homeaffairs.gov.au/help-support/meeting-our-requirements/english-language - Source 2: Competent English. Department of Home Affairs, page last updated 21 September 2026; our copy 31 October 2026.
immi.homeaffairs.gov.au/help-support/meeting-our-requirements/english-language/competent-english - Source 3: Migration (Specification of Language Tests, Test Scores and Passports) Instrument 2025 (LIN 25/016), text as made. Federal Register of Legislation; our copy 31 October 2026.
www.legislation.gov.au/F2025L00905/asmade/2025-08-06/text/original/epub/OEBPS/document_1/document_1.html - Source 4: Migration (Specification of Language Tests, Test Scores and Passports) Instrument 2025, register page (latest version). Federal Register of Legislation; our copy 31 October 2026.
www.legislation.gov.au/F2025L00905/latest/text - Source 5: Proficient English. Department of Home Affairs, page last updated 21 September 2026; our copy 31 October 2026.
immi.homeaffairs.gov.au/help-support/meeting-our-requirements/english-language/proficient-english - Source 6: Superior English. Department of Home Affairs, page last updated 21 September 2026; our copy 31 October 2026.
immi.homeaffairs.gov.au/help-support/meeting-our-requirements/english-language/superior-english
Independent tool by Aptia Skills. Not affiliated with, endorsed by or approved by the Department of Home Affairs, any test provider or any government. Written with AI from the official sources listed on this page, and checked word for word against them. It is general information, not migration advice, and it cannot promise any visa outcome.