PTE guide
PTE for Australia PR 2026
The per-skill PTE Academic scores Australian visas ask for since 7 August 2025, the points each level earns, and a plan built around the Speaking and Writing thresholds.
By EdKnot Editorial Team · Published 24 September 2026 · Updated 23 September 2026
What changed on 7 August 2025
Australia no longer asks for one PTE score across the board. For tests taken from 7 August 2025 the Department of Home Affairs sets per-skill minimums for each English level, with no overall requirement, and the thresholds are uneven: Speaking and Writing are high, Listening and Reading are low. A test taken up to 6 August 2025 is read on the older single-score table and stays usable until 6 August 2028. Full detail on the Australian English levels term.
The scores, level by level
These are the PTE Academic minimums per skill for tests taken from 7 August 2025. Every skill must clear its number; an overall score is not used. Only PTE Academic counts for Australian visas; PTE Core does not, and tests taken at home are not accepted. Citizens holding a valid passport of Canada, New Zealand, Ireland, the UK or the USA meet Competent English without a test.
| Superior | Listening 69 · Reading 70 · Speaking 88 · Writing 85 — 20 points |
|---|---|
| Proficient | Listening 58 · Reading 59 · Speaking 76 · Writing 69 — 10 points |
| Competent | Listening 47 · Reading 48 · Speaking 54 · Writing 51 — the baseline for skilled visas, 0 points |
| Vocational | Listening 33 · Reading 36 · Speaking 24 · Writing 29 — some employer-sponsored streams |
| Functional | Overall 24 — secondary applicants and some streams |
| Tests up to 6 Aug 2025 | 30 / 36 / 50 / 65 / 79 in each skill, usable until 6 August 2028 |
Which visas ask for which level
The points-tested skilled visas (subclasses 189, 190 and 491) require at least Competent English to apply, need a points score of at least 65 to be invited, and award 10 points for Proficient and 20 for Superior English. Employer-sponsored routes set their own level; the Skills in Demand visa (subclass 482) publishes its own PTE minimums, so check the subclass page before booking. Because the new Speaking and Writing thresholds are the high ones, the tasks that feed those two skills are where the points are.
Planning for Superior
Under the old rule a balanced 79 in every skill was Superior. Under the new table the same profile is Proficient, because Speaking needs 88 and Writing 85. A Superior plan is therefore a Speaking and Writing plan: Oral fluency with no restarts, Pronunciation with clear stress, and essays and summaries that keep every Form and Spelling mark.
Listening 80 · Reading 79 · Speaking 81 · Writing 79 = [ PROFICIENT, NOT SUPERIOR ]
Speaking is 7 short of 88 and Writing 6 short of 85; the other two are far above.
Do
- Plan Speaking and Writing first; they carry the highest thresholds
- Add a 3–5 point margin per skill for test-day variation
- Keep the test date inside the 3-year window before lodgement
Don’t
- Plan around a 79 overall; the overall is not read
- Book PTE Core for an Australian visa
- Trust a guide dated before August 2025 on thresholds
The working plan
The 79 plan covers the task-level method for a high target; this plan changes the order of work to match the new thresholds. The score calculator converts a mock into the four skill scores the visa reads.
- Baseline mock
One complete scored mock under real timing; read the four skills against the level you need, not the overall.
- Six weeks on Speaking and Writing
Speaking: Read Aloud, Repeat Sentence and Describe Image daily, no self-correction. Writing: essay structure, the one-sentence summary rule, a spelling list.
- Checkpoint
A second mock; if Speaking is still under the line, the next fortnight is fluency only.
- Book with margin
Book when a mock clears every skill with a margin. Results arrive within days; up to 12 sittings a year are allowed.