Achieve your dream to go to Australia with IELTS

To gain an Australian visa, you will need to demonstrate your English abilities to the Department of Home Affairs. IELTS is one of the world’s most popular high-stakes English language tests, with over 3 million tests taken in the past year.  And it’s the English test of choice for educational organisations, professional associations and employers across Australia. In fact, all universities and colleges in Australia accept IELTS, as well as all professional associations that have set minimum language requirements for professional registration.

What score do you need?

The IELTS score you need depends on the requirements of your visa, and the organisation where you plan to study or work.

Find out who accepts IELTS and check the score required.

IELTS assesses your English proficiency on a scale from 1–9 in four skills: Listening, Reading, Writing and Speaking. You have a choice of two test versions – IELTS Academic or IELTS General Training – depending on the requirements set by the organisation where you plan to work or study.

Find a test date

You can take an IELTS test in nearly 50 locations across Australia. There is a test centre in each state capital city and in many regional cities.

Prepare for your test 

Preparing for your test is an important part of the process. Take advantage of our free resources to help you improve your language and communication skills. Download the Information for Candidates booklet (PDF, 1,021KB) and check out the sample test questions online.

You can also order Official IELTS Practice Materials which include samples of past Listening, Reading, Writing and Speaking tests, complete with sample answers and examiner comments. You can also purchase practice materials from local test centres.

Are you a native English speaker?

Native English speakers are also strongly advised to prepare for the IELTS test. It is easy to feel overconfident about the test when you have been using English all your life. But, if you want to achieve the best possible score for your test, you need to familiarise yourself with the test format. You can also access preparation materials to ensure you are ready for test day.

Computer-delivered IELTS in Australia

IELTS – the world’s most popular test of English for higher education and global migration, is continually seeking to make enhancements to improve our customers’ and stakeholders’ test experience.
In 2016 IELTS introduced a computer-delivered version of IELTS in 20 countries for customers requiring a visa to support their application to come to the UK to visit, study or work. Having built on our experience we are now making computer-delivered IELTS more broadly available commencing in Australia in December 2017.

This new format offers our customers more choice – now they can choose the format and time to take IELTS that best works for them. Test takers who choose the computer-delivered option will take their Listening, Reading and Writing sections using a computer. The Speaking test will remain face-to-face, as we believe it is the most effective way of assessing speaking skills and prompts a more realistic performance from test takers.