482 Visa English Requirements: IELTS and PTE Scores, and Who Is Exempt

A 482 visa needs an English test result of at least IELTS 5.0 in each of listening, reading, writing and speaking, or PTE Academic 33, 36, 29 and 24, for tests taken from 13 September 2025, unless the worker holds a Canadian, New Zealand, Irish, UK or US passport or meets another exemption. The rule applies to the main applicant in the Core Skills and Specialist Skills streams under the Migration (English Language Test Requirements for Subclass 482 Visas) Instrument 2025, and a labour agreement can set its own level. The test must be no more than 3 years old when the result is given to Home Affairs, and the first step is to book a sitting at a test centre, because tests delivered entirely online are not accepted.

Minimum score in each component, tests taken on or after 13 September 2025 (LIN 25/082 s 6(4)); no overall score is required.

What English score does a 482 visa need?

The 482 English score is a minimum in each of the four components of one of the eight tests in the table, set by section 6(4) of the Migration (English Language Test Requirements for Subclass 482 Visas) Instrument 2025 (LIN 25/082). Three conditions apply:

1. Each component counts. Every component must reach its minimum; the instrument sets no overall score.
2. Single-skill retakes count. Where the test offers a retake of one component, the retake result is accepted for that component (section 6(2)(b)(ii)).
3. The stream decides who is tested. The rule binds the main applicant in Core Skills and Specialist Skills. In the Labour Agreement stream, the English level is the one in the employer’s agreement, which is generally the 482 level unless the agreement gives a concession (Home Affairs Labour Agreement stream page).

What IELTS score does a 482 visa need?

A 482 visa needs IELTS Academic or IELTS General Training with at least 5.0 in each of listening, reading, writing and speaking, for tests taken from 13 September 2025. IELTS One Skill Retake results are accepted. IELTS Online is not.

An IELTS test taken before 13 September 2025 is still accepted if it had an overall band of 5.0 with at least 5.0 in each component in one sitting, and the test day falls within the 3 years before the visa application (LIN 25/082 s 7).

What PTE score does a 482 visa need?

A 482 visa needs PTE Academic scores of at least 33 in listening, 36 in reading, 29 in writing and 24 in speaking, with no overall score, for tests taken from 13 September 2025. The older rule, an overall score of 36 with 36 in each component in one sitting, applies only to tests taken before that date.

Some pages still quote an overall PTE score of 36 with 30 in each component; that is not the rule in either period.

Who is exempt from the 482 English test?

Section 4 of LIN 25/082 and the Home Affairs English proficiency page list five exemptions, each with its own evidence:

1. Passport: a citizen holding a valid passport of Canada, New Zealand, the Republic of Ireland, the United Kingdom or the United States. The evidence is the passport.
2. Study: at least 5 years of full-time study at secondary level or higher, where most classes were in English. The evidence is the name and location of each institution, the level of each qualification, an official transcript, the contact hours per week in English and the number of years of study.
3. Diplomatic or Taiwan office: the nominated occupation is performed at a foreign diplomatic or consular mission or at an Office of the Authorities of Taiwan.
4. Licence or registration: the occupation requires a licence, registration or membership, and it was granted after the applicant showed English at least equal to the 482 level.
5. Overseas business employee: an employee of an established overseas business, nominated by that business or its associated entity, with guaranteed annual earnings of at least $96,400.

A 457 or 482 holder being nominated again is a separate case: under regulation 2.72(14) of the Migration Regulations 1994, Home Affairs can ask the sponsor for evidence of the worker’s English at the nomination stage.

When must the 482 English test be taken?

The test day must be no more than 3 years before the day the evidence is given to Home Affairs, under section 6(2)(c) of LIN 25/082. The Home Affairs page counts the same period back from the application date, so a test taken within 3 years before lodging meets both.

• At a test centre only: a test delivered entirely online (“remote-proctored” or “at-home”) is not accepted. Home Affairs names IELTS Online, OET@Home, TOEFL iBT Home Edition, CELPIP Online, LANGUAGECERT Academic Online and MET Digital taken at home.
• TOEFL registration: for TOEFL iBT taken from 21 January 2026, the candidate must choose “Taking TOEFL for Australia” at registration.
• Cambridge: Cambridge C1 Advanced is not accepted for tests taken from 13 September 2025.

A test taken before 13 September 2025 is accepted on the older scores, achieved in one sitting, with no single-skill retakes:

What English does the 186 TRT need?

Permanent residence through the 186 Temporary Residence Transition stream needs Competent English, a higher level than the 482. The stream has had no English exemption since 16 November 2019 (Home Affairs TRT stream page), although citizens holding a Canadian, New Zealand, Irish, UK or US passport are treated as having Competent English (Home Affairs Competent English page).

A score that meets the 482 level does not meet the Competent English level in any of these tests. The other 186 TRT criteria, including age and sponsored work, are on that page.

Which other 482 criteria sit beside English?

English is one of the worker’s criteria, alongside a mandatory skills assessment for the occupations and passports IMMI 18/039 lists.

An Australian migration lawyer is more likely to get the English criterion accepted first time, because a result from an online test, a test older than the limit, or an exemption claimed without the transcripts and contact-hour evidence Home Affairs lists leaves the criterion unmet after the visa charge is paid.