Score bands
The PTE Academic scores Home Affairs asks for
Since 7 August 2025 every English level has its own minimum in each section, not one flat number. Here is every level, before and after the change, and the rules for results from older tests.
Last checked 23 September 2026 · Department of Home Affairs
The points-test levels
Competent, Proficient and Superior English, with the points each earns on the skilled-visa points test and the flat score that applied before the change.
| English level | Points | L | R | W | S | Before |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Competent | 0 | 47 | 48 | 51 | 54 | 50 |
| Proficient | 10 | 58 | 59 | 69 | 76 | 65 |
| Superior | 20 | 69 | 70 | 85 | 88 | 79 |
Source: Department of Home Affairs. Results from tests taken on or before 6 August 2025 are assessed against the previous flat bands and can be used until 6 August 2028 at the latest, depending on the visa.
Home Affairs itself warns that PTE Academic kept its name, but the test and the scores are different. A 79 from 2024 and a 79 from 2026 are not the same result.
Check your scores against the bands
Enter your four section scores from a test taken on or after 7 August 2025. Nothing is sent anywhere.
PTE scores run from 10 to 90.
Below Competent
Vocational and Functional English do not earn points, but some visas ask for them.
| English level | L | R | W | S | Before |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vocational | 33 | 36 | 29 | 24 | 36 |
| Functional | 24 overall | 30 overall | |||
Functional results from tests taken before the change were accepted only until 6 August 2026. That window has closed.
Results from a test taken on or before 6 August 2025
- 01
They are assessed against the old flat bands: 50 in every section for Competent, 65 for Proficient, 79 for Superior.
- 02
They can be used until 6 August 2028 at the latest. Home Affairs says this depends on the visa.
- 03
The test must also fall within the 36 months before your visa application, so a test from early 2024 stops counting well before 6 August 2028.
- 04
It must have been taken on or before 6 August 2025. Anything later is judged only against the new per-section minimums.
- 05
Functional English was the exception: old results stopped being accepted on 6 August 2026.
What the new bands mean for you
The minimums are now highest in Speaking and Writing. For Proficient, that is Speaking 76 and Writing 69, against Listening 58 and Reading 59.
A strong overall score no longer hides a weak section. Every section has to clear its own line.
The sections with the highest minimums are also where a person now marks the content of several question types. So memorised templates carry less weight exactly where you need the most points.
Last checked 23 September 2026
Know your target. Now find your gap.
The free diagnostic puts a score on each section against the band you need, so you know exactly how many points stand in the way.