Australia's Department of Home Affairs defines five named English proficiency levels for visa purposes, and PTE Academic is one of the tests it accepts as evidence for each one. The table above lists the per-skill and overall score bands the Department publishes for both test-date periods. This page explains how the five levels relate to each other and what else the Department requires alongside the score itself. Information here is current as of 2026-09-26 (26 September 2026); the Department's own pages, linked in our sources, are the definitive record.
English levels
Level
Tests on/after 7 Aug 2025
Tests on/before 6 Aug 2025 *
Competent
L 47 · R 48 · W 51 · S 54
L 50 · R 50 · W 50 · S 50
Proficient
L 58 · R 59 · W 69 · S 76
L 65 · R 65 · W 65 · S 65
Superior
L 69 · R 70 · W 85 · S 88
L 79 · R 79 · W 79 · S 79
Vocational
L 33 · R 36 · W 29 · S 24
L 36 · R 36 · W 36 · S 36
Functional
Overall 24
Overall 30
* Usable until 2028-08-06 inclusive, depending on visa.
Competent/Proficient/Superior/Vocational: score achieved in the 3 years before the visa application, depending on subclass. Fully online / remote-proctored / at-home tests not accepted. PTE Academic only (test must be the version matching the date table).
Five levels, from Functional to Superior
The Department of Home Affairs defines Functional, Vocational, Competent, Proficient and Superior English as five separate levels, each with its own PTE Academic score requirement, running from the lowest bar at Functional to the highest at Superior. Different visa subclasses and streams reference different levels, so the level you need depends entirely on the specific visa you are applying for, not on a single Department-wide PTE score.
Four of the five levels — Vocational, Competent, Proficient and Superior — are defined by a minimum score in each of Listening, Reading, Writing and Speaking; Functional English is judged by an overall score instead, with no separate per-skill minimum.
Two score tables, split by test date
The Department publishes two different score tables for each level: one for PTE Academic tests taken on or after 7 August 2025, and a separate table for tests taken on or before 6 August 2025, which sets one equal score for all four skills at each level. The newer table sets a different score per skill, so it is not simply higher or lower: for Competent English, the newer Speaking and Writing minimums are above the older single score, while Listening and Reading are below it.
If your test falls on the earlier side of that date, results scored under the older table remain usable until 6 August 2028 inclusive, depending on the visa. Check your test date against 7 August 2025 first, since it determines which of the two score bands in the table above applies to your result.
Test format and timing conditions
Home Affairs accepts PTE Academic results from a test centre for these levels; fully online, remote-proctored or at-home versions of the test are not accepted as evidence, regardless of your score. Sit your test at a physical test centre if you intend to use the result for an Australian visa application.
The Department also applies a recency rule: for Competent, Proficient, Superior and Vocational English, your test must have been taken within the three years before you lodge the relevant visa application, depending on the visa subclass, on top of the test-date split above that decides which score table applies. Check both conditions together, since an otherwise qualifying score can still fall outside the recency window.
Finding the level your visa needs
This page lists the score bands for each named level, but it does not list which visa subclasses require which level — that mapping sits on the visa's own Home Affairs page and can change independently of the English-level pages themselves.
Look up your specific visa subclass on the Department of Home Affairs website to confirm which of Functional, Vocational, Competent, Proficient or Superior English it requires, then compare your PTE Academic result against that level's table above.
Home Affairs accepts standard PTE Academic results from a physical test centre for these English levels. Fully online, remote-proctored or at-home PTE Academic results are not accepted.
Pearson updated PTE Academic on 7 August 2025, adding Summarize Group Discussion and Respond to a Situation. Home Affairs now publishes two separate score tables: one for tests taken on or after 7 August 2025, and another for tests taken on or before 6 August 2025, which stay usable until 6 August 2028 depending on the visa.
Home Affairs requires your test to have been taken within the three years before you lodge your visa application, depending on the visa subclass, in addition to checking which of the two score tables applies based on your test date.
They are three of five Home Affairs-defined levels, each requiring a higher minimum score in every one of Listening, Reading, Writing and Speaking, with Superior set as the highest of the three.
No. Functional English is judged by an overall PTE Academic score rather than a minimum in each individual skill, unlike Vocational, Competent, Proficient and Superior English.
