English Language Requirements: Functional to Superior, Explained

Australian migration law recognises five levels of English — and they are not interchangeable, not scored the same way, and not all reachable by the same routes. The whole framework was rewritten on 7 August 2025: three new tests were added, OET moved from letter grades to numbers, and every score table was replaced. Verified against the Migration Act, the Migration Regulations and the current instruments, 20 August 2026.

Note that last one. There is no regulation 1.15E — superior English sits at 1.15EA. Sources that cite 1.15E are quoting something that does not exist.

The critical structural difference: functional English is measured on an overall or average score. Vocational, competent, proficient and superior are measured in each of the four components — listening, reading, writing and speaking. A 7.0 overall with a 6.5 in writing is not proficient English.

The score tables (tests taken on or after 7 August 2025)

Functional English — overall/average score:

Vocational, competent, proficient, superior — minimum in each component:

Cambridge C1 Advanced, LANGUAGECERT Academic and MET are also accepted, with two exclusions worth knowing: C1 Advanced does not count for vocational or functional English, and MET does not count for superior English.

The passport route — and its hard limit

Citizens and valid passport holders of Canada, New Zealand, the Republic of Ireland, the United Kingdom and the United States satisfy functional, vocational and competent English without a test.

There is no passport route to proficient or superior English. Regulations 1.15D and 1.15EA contain no equivalent provision. An American or British applicant chasing the 10 or 20 points for proficient or superior English must sit a test like everyone else. This is one of the most expensive misunderstandings in skilled migration.

How long a test lasts

Proficient and superior are drafted only around invitation — which is why they belong to the points-tested visas, and why an EOI sitting in the pool for years can quietly lose its English points.

Transitional rule: a test taken on or before 6 August 2025 can still be used until 6 August 2028, subject to the per-visa validity window above. The old score tables — IELTS 6 for competent, 7 for proficient, 8 for superior, OET grade B, and grade A for superior — continue to apply to those results.

By visa

Student (subclass 500) — overall scores, not per component:

Exemptions include the five-country passport list; enrolment only in ELICOS, a school course, a course delivered in another language, or a registered postgraduate research course; Foreign Affairs, Defence and secondary exchange students; completing an Australian Senior Secondary Certificate or a substantial part of an AQF Certificate IV or higher in English on a student visa in the last two years; or five years of study in English in Australia, Canada, New Zealand, South Africa, Ireland, the UK or the USA.

South Africa appears in that five-year study exemption but not in the passport list — a distinction worth getting right.

Temporary Graduate (subclass 485) — IELTS 6.5 overall with 5.5 in each band, taken within 12 months. Hong Kong and BNO passport holders have a lower table (6.0 with 5.0 each).

Skills in Demand (subclass 482) — vocational English: IELTS 5.0 in each component or equivalent, tested within three years. Exemptions: the five-country passport list; five years of full-time study at secondary level or above taught mainly in English; occupations at a diplomatic or consular mission; occupations whose licence or registration already required equal or higher English; or guaranteed annual earnings of at least $96,400. Labour Agreement stream requirements are set by the agreement.

Employer Nomination Scheme (subclass 186) — competent English for both the Direct Entry and Temporary Residence Transition streams, tested within three years, results received before lodgement.

An important correction: the "five years of study in English" exemption belongs to the 482, not the 186. Since 16 November 2019 there is no English exemption for the 186 TRT stream beyond the passport route built into regulation 1.15C itself. Family members aged 18 or over must show functional English or the sponsor pays a second instalment of $4,890 for each.

Changes that bite in 2026

1. TOEFL iBT, from 21 January 2026 — you must select "Taking TOEFL for Australia" when registering. Results not registered under that pathway are not accepted. A perfectly good score, sat under the wrong registration, is worthless for a visa
2. From 7 August 2025 — CELPIP General, LANGUAGECERT Academic and MET added; OET moved to numerical scoring and stopped printing overall scores; IELTS One Skill Retake and MET Single Section Retake became acceptable for eligible visas
3. From 13 September 2025 — the 482 adopted the new nine-test table
4. Online and at-home tests are never accepted — IELTS Online, CELPIP Online, OET@Home, TOEFL iBT Home Edition, MET at-home, LANGUAGECERT Online. The test must be sat at a secure test centre

Where English planning goes wrong

1. Reading an overall score as if it were a component score — the four levels above functional are all per-component

2. Assuming a UK or US passport gives proficient or superior English. It does not, at any price

3. Letting a test expire between EOI and invitation — proficient and superior run to the invitation date

4. Booking an online or at-home sitting because it was convenient

5. Registering TOEFL without the Australia pathway since January 2026

6. Applying the 482's study exemption to a 186 — it does not exist there

English strategy — Australia-wide and offshore

Migration Vision advises on English strategy for clients across Australia and offshore — which level your visa actually needs, which test suits your profile, whether a retake for a single band is worth it, and what superior English is worth against the other levers on the points table. Related reading: the points test explained · Temporary Graduate 485 · Skills in Demand 482.

Reviewed by Dr Asad Muhammad Khan, Registered Migration Agent, MARN 2619525. Updated 20 August 2026 — the English levels verified against s 5(2) of the Migration Act 1958 and regulations 1.15B, 1.15C, 1.15D and 1.15EA of the Migration Regulations 1994; score tables against Migration (LIN 25/016) Instrument 2025 and, for the subclass 500, F2025L00906, on legislation.gov.au; per-visa requirements and the 2026 TOEFL registration change verified against the Department of Home Affairs on that date. This article is general information, not migration advice for your circumstances.