Australia IELTS requirements
Find the IELTS score required for your Australia pathway
Australian requirements depend on the visa subclass, education provider, programme and professional regulator. Test rules changed on 7 August 2025, so old conversion charts can be wrong.
Calculate your Australia IELTS score gap
Replace the defaults with the exact component scores published by your course, visa subclass or professional regulator.
| Skill | Current practice band | Required target | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listening | +0.5 | ||
| Reading | +0.5 | ||
| Writing | +0.5 | ||
| Speaking | +0.5 |
Practice overall
6.0
Target overall
6.5
First priority
Listening
0 of 4 skills currently meet the selected target. The remaining plan contains 4 half-band steps; start with Listening.
Practice scores are estimates. Confirm the exact test type, component minimums, exemptions and validity period with the institution or authority making the decision.
Check my Listening nowStudent visa and university admission are different thresholds
Australia's Subclass 500 student visa has its own evidence and exemption rules. For tests on or after 7 August 2025, Home Affairs lists IELTS Academic and General Training overall 6.0 as the standard student-visa minimum, with lower thresholds for eligible packaged pathways.
That visa threshold does not guarantee course admission. Universities set programme-specific entry rules and can require a minimum in every component.
Skilled migration uses named English levels
Home Affairs groups evidence into Functional, Vocational, Competent, Proficient and Superior English. A visa page names the required level; the level page gives current tests and score thresholds.
The approved-test framework changed on 7 August 2025. At-home tests are not accepted, and One Skill Retake eligibility must be checked for the exact visa.
Professional boards can require a different score profile
Professional registration sits outside university admission and visa eligibility. Nursing, teaching, medicine and other professions publish their own English policies.
Confirm whether results from several sittings can be combined, which IELTS version is accepted and the permitted time window before setting targets.
Universities in Australia to investigate
These records help you shortlist institutions; they do not replace the current programme page. Open the university record and follow its verification source before applying.
- University of Melbourne, Melbourne: undergraduate 6.5; postgraduate 7.0
- University of Sydney, Sydney: undergraduate 6.5; postgraduate 7.0
- Australian National University, Canberra: undergraduate 6.5; postgraduate 6.5
- University of Queensland, Brisbane: undergraduate 6.5; postgraduate 6.5
- UNSW Sydney, Sydney: undergraduate 6.5; postgraduate 6.5
- Monash University, Melbourne: undergraduate 6.5; postgraduate 6.5
Which IELTS test should you take for Australia?
IELTS Academic for most study and professional registration; Academic or General Training may be accepted for specified visa pathways.
Choose only after confirming every decision that applies to you. Academic and General Training use different material, and One Skill Retake acceptance is not consistent.
Official sources
Requirements change. These links—not our summary—are the final authority.
- Home Affairs: English language visa requirements
Approved tests, transition dates, online-test restrictions and proficiency levels.
- Home Affairs: Subclass 500 Student visa
Current student-visa score table, exemptions and evidence rules.
- Nursing and Midwifery Board: English skills FAQ
Professional registration example; other professions have their own regulators.