If you're applying for Australian skilled migration, your PTE Academic score does two jobs: it gets you past the minimum English requirement, and it can add 10 or 20 points to your points test. Here are the exact scores — and the change on 7 August 2025 that many websites still haven't updated.
Minimum PTE Academic scores for each Australian skilled-migration English level, and the points each level adds to your points test.
| English level | Listening | Reading | Writing | Speaking | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Superiorhighest band | 69 | 70 | 85 | 88 | +20 |
| Proficient | 58 | 59 | 69 | 76 | +10 |
| Competentminimum to apply | 47 | 48 | 51 | 54 | 0 |
| Vocational | 33 | 36 | 29 | 24 | — |
Notice where the difficulty sits: for Superior you need only 69 in Listening but 85 in Writing and 88 in Speaking. Most people don't lose Superior on Reading or Listening — they lose it on Speaking and Writing. That's where your practice time should go.
This is the part a lot of PTE websites and coaching pages still get wrong.
Before 7 August 2025, Australia used one flat number per level — famously 79 in each section for Superior English, 65 for Proficient and 50 for Competent.
From 7 August 2025, the Department of Home Affairs replaced those flat numbers with per-section minimums (the table above). So "I need PTE 79" is no longer the right target: Superior now needs Speaking 88 and Writing 85 — harder than before — while Listening (69) and Reading (70) are easier than the old 79.
English is one of the biggest single levers you control.
Your age, qualifications and work experience are mostly fixed by the time you apply. Your English score isn't — it's the one component you can still improve with a few weeks of focused practice.
65 points is the minimum to submit an EOI and enter the pool — but the pool is competitive, and in practice invitations for many occupations sit well above that floor. Going from Competent to Superior is a 20-point swing, which is why so much of PR preparation comes down to English.
Both are accepted. The equivalent levels look like this.
| English level | PTE Academic | IELTS (each band) | Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| Superior | 69 / 70 / 85 / 88 | 8 | +20 |
| Proficient | 58 / 59 / 69 / 76 | 7 | +10 |
| Competent | 47 / 48 / 51 / 54 | 6 | 0 |
PTE order shown as Listening / Reading / Writing / Speaking. Many candidates prefer PTE because it's fully computer-marked (no human examiner), and results usually arrive within about two days. New to PTE? Start with our beginner's guide →
The two numbers that decide it are Speaking 88 and Writing 85.
Speaking is scored on content, oral fluency and pronunciation. Most people lose marks not on vocabulary but on hesitation and pace — the "umm"s, the restarts, the long pauses. You can't fix that by reading tips; you fix it by recording yourself and hearing exactly which words you fumbled.
Start with Read Aloud — it feeds your Speaking and Reading score →
Summarize Written Text must be exactly one sentence, 5–75 words. Write more than one sentence and you score zero on Form no matter how good the content is. Essays must be 200–300 words. These are mechanical rules that cost people Superior every day.
Practise the exact tasks, in the exact format, and get told precisely what went wrong. That's what The PTE Master does: every PTE task type, full timed mocks in the real layout, per-word pronunciation feedback on your own recordings, and AI scoring that explains the mistake — in English or in your own language.
Try three real PTE questions right now — free, no sign-up, no card.
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Official sources:
· Department of Home Affairs — English language requirements
· Home Affairs — Superior English
· Home Affairs — Competent English
Last updated: 16 July 2026. Scores reflect the requirements effective 7 August 2025.