Start with the date you took the test
The Home Affairs Proficient English page separates results by test date. Use the row that matches your sitting, even if you are reading this in 2026.
| Test taken | Listening | Reading | Writing | Speaking |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| On or before 6 August 2025 | 65 | 65 | 65 | 65 |
| On or after 7 August 2025 | 58 | 59 | 69 | 76 |
Meet every skill minimum. A high overall score cannot replace a missing component score. Speaking 75, for example, misses the current Proficient threshold even if the other skills are above their minimums.
Pearson confirms that earlier score requirements still apply to pre-change tests when the application is submitted after the change. The date your result arrived or your EOI was submitted does not turn an earlier sitting into a new-format test.
What does Proficient English mean for PR points?
The skilled migration points test awards 0 English points for Competent, 10 for Proficient and 20 for Superior. These are alternative levels, so Proficient plus Superior does not give 30 points. See the Home Affairs skilled visa points table.
English is only one part of a migration application. Reaching a threshold does not establish full visa eligibility or guarantee an invitation. Check the requirements for your visa subclass separately. The subclass 491 named in that points-table source is a provisional visa, not itself permanent residence.
Planning to study first? Our Australia Student visa and PR score guide explains how the subclass 500 overall scores differ from university admission and skilled migration requirements.
| English level | Listening | Reading | Writing | Speaking |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Competent | 47 | 48 | 51 | 54 |
| Proficient | 58 | 59 | 69 | 76 |
| Superior | 69 | 70 | 85 | 88 |
Score sources: Home Affairs Competent English, Proficient English and Superior English. These are government thresholds, not a conversion calculated from your overall PTE score.
Three score checks: which target is missing?
These fictional examples assume tests taken after the change. They illustrate score comparisons, not individual visa assessments.
Example 1: 65 in all four skills
Listening and reading clear the Proficient minimums. Writing needs another 4 score points and speaking needs another 11. The result clears the current Competent thresholds but falls short of Proficient.
Example 2: L62, R64, W71, S76
All four meet Proficient. You do not need to raise listening and reading to 65 just to satisfy that English level. Keep practising them, but do not let an old target distract you from maintaining writing and speaking.
Example 3: 79 in all four skills
This clears Proficient but misses current Superior English: writing needs 85 and speaking needs 88. The earlier Superior table required 79 in every component for tests taken on or before 6 August 2025. Check the date before interpreting a score screenshot.
Does an older 65-each result still count?
Possibly. Home Affairs allows eligible pre-change results to be used up to 6 August 2028 inclusive, depending on the visa. That is an outer transitional limit, not an automatic extension of every result to that date.
The Proficient English evidence rules also describe a three-year period before application, depending on subclass. The points-test guidance makes the time of invitation relevant to most criteria. Check your visa's evidence and timing rules before relying on an old result; an EOI is not a visa application.
Write down your test date, four scores, visa subclass and relevant invitation/application dates before checking the official requirements. Avoid assuming either that every old score has expired or that every old score remains usable until August 2028.
Book PTE Academic for this Australian requirement
The Home Affairs accepted-tests list names PTE Academic. Do not choose PTE Core simply because your goal is permanent residency: Pearson describes PTE Core as a test for Canadian immigration and citizenship.
Home Affairs requires an accepted test taken at a secure test centre and does not accept a fully online, at-home English test. Online mock tests are preparation only.
Build a practice plan around the missing skills
Copy your latest official component scores into a four-row checklist beside your target. Mark each as met or below target. Use the gaps to choose what to review, not to predict how many hours or attempts an improvement will take.
Practice checklist if you currently score 65 in each skill
- Listening: target 58, met. Maintain accuracy with a listening sectional test; review missed words.
- Reading: target 59, met. Keep a timed reading practice session in your routine.
- Writing: target 69, gap of 4. Review a timed essay and a written summary for relevance, clarity and sentence errors.
- Speaking: target 76, gap of 11. Record Respond to a Situation and Summarize Group Discussion; listen for incomplete ideas and disruptive pauses.
For each answer, keep one specific correction: a missing point, an unclear sentence, or a word you repeatedly mishear. Repeat the task with that correction in mind, then try a fresh prompt. A higher required speaking number does not mean every learner should spend the same proportion of study time on speaking.
Know what feedback can tell you. MocksPTE uses transcript and text checks. It does not measure pronunciation or fluency, or grade grammar and spelling in open-ended writing. Read how our practice scores are estimated. They help you review practice but cannot confirm an official score or migration English level.
After reviewing individual tasks, take a free PTE Academic mock test to practise the sequence and timing. Use the four-week PTE study plan as a schedule you can adapt to your gaps.