IELTS requirements
What IELTS score do you need for Australia?
Australia is the most mechanically clear of the six. The Department of Home Affairs defines named English levels, each pinned to an exact IELTS score in every component, and the skilled-migration points test pays out directly against them. Your band is not just a hurdle here — it is points.
The named levels, and what each is worth
Each level requires the stated score in every one of the four components, from IELTS Academic or General Training. The points column is from the Home Affairs points calculator.
- Superior English
- 8.0 in each component20 points
- Proficient English
- 7.0 in each component10 points
- Competent English
- 6.0 in each component0 points — the baseline
- Vocational English
- 5.0 in each component
Student visa (subclass 500)
The student visa works on an overall band score rather than per-component minimums, and packaging English study with your main course lowers the bar.
- Standalone principal course
- 6.0 overall
- With 10+ weeks ELICOS, or a Foundation/Pathway programme
- 5.5 overall
- With 20+ weeks ELICOS
- 5.0 overall
Why the jump from 7.0 to 8.0 is worth planning for
The gap between Proficient and Superior is 10 points — often the difference between an invitation and a long wait. And because every level requires the score in each component, a single weak skill caps your entire level. That makes per-skill diagnosis, not overall averages, the thing worth practising against.
What we don't claim
Fully online tests, including IELTS Online, are not accepted for Australian visas. Results must generally be from the three years before you apply. Subclass 482 (Skills in Demand) has its own per-stream requirements which we have not verified, and Australian university admission minimums are institution-set and not published by Home Affairs.
Sources
Every figure above comes from the body that sets it. Requirements change — check the source before you rely on a number.
- 1immi.homeaffairs.gov.auCompetent English = IELTS 6.0 in each component
- 2immi.homeaffairs.gov.auProficient English = IELTS 7.0 in each component
- 3immi.homeaffairs.gov.auSuperior English = IELTS 8.0 in each component
- 4immi.homeaffairs.gov.auPoints values: Competent 0, Proficient 10, Superior 20
- 5immi.homeaffairs.gov.auStudent visa overall band minimums and the online-test exclusion
Retrieved 22 July 2026
Now find out where you actually stand.
Knowing the number is the easy half. Sit a full mock under real exam conditions — timers that don't pause, audio that plays once — and find out which skill is holding your band down, before it costs you an application.