English evidence is not the same for every applicant
Home Affairs' Student document checklist uses the country on your passport and your education provider. For packaged courses, enter the provider for the principal, final course. Read its disclaimer and recheck the result just before lodging; the tool can change, including at its routine 30 September update. Your ImmiAccount application provides a further attachment list.
If English capacity is listed, Home Affairs says to attach the evidence before submitting or the application may be refused. If it is not listed, Home Affairs can still request English evidence later during processing. An education provider may also have its own admission standard; meeting that standard alone does not replace a visa evidence request.
Open the passport-and-provider checklist · Read its attachment warning · How the evidence framework works
Run the checklist for your own passport and provider
Home Affairs says its Student document tool is routinely updated on 31 March and 30 September. On 30 September, the tool's visible page was dated 16 September; that date alone does not show whether its underlying results changed. Run it again just before submitting. A general document list without your selected inputs is not your personal result.
- Choose the country of the passport you will use. Select your education provider or its CRICOS code and only the special category that actually applies. Complete the official reCAPTCHA and select Display evidence; a list shown before your inputs are accepted is not your result. For a package of courses, use the provider of the principal, final course.
- Read the result and note the date, chosen inputs and every evidence category shown. The list is an indication: Home Affairs may request more evidence.
- Compare the result with the attachment list in your own ImmiAccount application. If English or financial-capacity evidence appears in the tool, the disclaimer says to attach it before submission.
- Check again if your passport, provider, principal course or application details change, and immediately before you lodge.
Provider missing or not chosen?
The official disclaimer says a newly CRICOS-registered provider can take up to a month to appear. If it is registered but missing, select “My provider is not listed”. If you have not decided on a provider, you may leave the field blank or choose that option; rerun the tool after choosing your actual provider.
Download a private result record ↓ · Read the official disclaimer · Open the live document tool · Check CRICOS registration
Use the score table for the date you took the test
Home Affairs has separate Student 500 tables for tests taken on or before 6 August 2025 and on or after 7 August 2025. The examples below are minimum overall scores from the later table, reviewed 27 September 2026. They apply only when that test and the course package meet the official conditions. Read the live full table for other approved tests, older test results and detailed exceptions.
| Test taken from 7 August 2025 | Standard | With eligible 10-week package | With 20 weeks of ELICOS |
|---|---|---|---|
| IELTS Academic or General Training | 6.0 | 5.5 | 5.0 |
| PTE Academic | 47 | 39 | 31 |
| TOEFL iBT | 67 | 51 | 37 |
The 10-week column means at least 10 weeks of ELICOS packaged with the principal course, or an eligible Foundation or Pathway program under the official rule. The 20-week column requires at least 20 weeks of packaged ELICOS. Standalone ELICOS can instead be a separate test-score evidence exemption; do not apply a packaged-course discount to an unrelated course. The former table uses different PTE and TOEFL scores, so do not use these later figures for an earlier test.
Current Student 500 tables under Step by step → Gather documents · Student English test and exemption instrument
If you live in Iran, check test services before making plans
Home Affairs' 3 September notice says TOEFL iBT services are unavailable in Iran and points applicants needing a visa test to approved testing options in other countries. Check the provider's current service rules as well as Australia's accepted test, format, score and date requirements.
ETS's current notice adds a residence restriction: it cannot process registrations or payments for people ordinarily resident in Iran, including appointments outside Iran. Travelling abroad alone therefore does not resolve its current TOEFL registration restrictions. Iranian nationality alone does not prevent an appointment outside Iran for someone residing outside Iran, subject to registration, payment and availability requirements.
ETS also says new TOEFL score-report requests for test takers residing in Iran have been unavailable since 9 September 2026. Its notice has no confirmed testing-resumption date. Check current reporting and refund instructions with ETS for an existing appointment or result.
Confirm which approved test and provider can actually supply the required service before paying or travelling. A provider's service restriction is separate from a visa English exemption; our country selector does not assess provider eligibility or an individual's residence status. An at-home test is not a substitute for the accepted visa test format.
Home Affairs dated Iran testing notice · Current ETS residence, reports and refund FAQ · Home Affairs accepted English tests and formats
A familiar test name may still produce unusable evidence
Home Affairs says an approved English test must have been taken within two years before lodgement for an applicant at Regular Evidence level. For Streamlined Evidence level, if Home Affairs later requests a test, it describes a two-year period before the decision. Check the live rule for your circumstances and do not assume that a score accepted by a college will still be valid for the visa.
Fully remote or at-home versions are not accepted for Australian visa purposes. The official examples include IELTS Online and TOEFL iBT Home Edition. For TOEFL iBT tests from 21 January 2026, Home Affairs says to select “Taking TOEFL for Australia” during registration. It does not accept TOEFL iBT tests taken from 26 July 2023 to 4 May 2024. LANGUAGECERT Academic users need both the certificate and report. These details matter even if an overall score looks sufficient.
An exemption is about test-score evidence
Home Affairs lists several cases where a Student applicant need not give an English test score with the application. One is being both a citizen and passport holder of the UK, USA, Canada, New Zealand or Republic of Ireland. A British National (Overseas) passport may still require test evidence. Living in one of those countries, or having studied in English briefly, is not by itself this passport exemption.
Other listed categories include a registered school course, standalone ELICOS, a registered postgraduate research course, some sponsored or secondary-exchange students, a principal course delivered in another language, and specified past study in English or Australia. Each has its own conditions. If you rely on one and English evidence is otherwise requested, attach records showing why that exact category applies. Home Affairs may still ask for evidence later.
Official Student 500 evidence exemptions · Check your own document prompts
Five checks for your own file
- Enter the travel-passport country and principal course provider in the official document tool and save the result for reference.
- Identify whether you will use a test or one specific official exemption, with proof of that category.
- For a test, check its name, in-person format, date, applicable score table and any packaged-course condition.
- Match the score report or exemption records to the ImmiAccount attachment list before submitting if English evidence is required.
- Watch ImmiAccount for a later evidence request even if the initial checklist did not ask for a test.
Do not send your score report or passport to MyAusVisa. The private worksheet below is for recording the checks on your own device.
Keep the test, exemption and attachment checks together
Save an editable worksheet with the official links. No account or email is required.
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