482 Skills in Demand English Requirements: What Score Do You Need and Who Is Exempt?

The current standard English-language instrument applies the same test
requirements to primary applicants in the:

• Core Skills stream
• Specialist Skills stream

The difference between those streams is mainly in the occupation and
income framework, not the standard English score.

• Listening --- 5.0
• Reading --- 5.0
• Writing --- 5.0
• Speaking --- 5.0

This applies to both IELTS Academic and IELTS General Training.

There is no separate overall-band requirement in the current post-13
September 2025 table beyond achieving the required component scores.

• Listening --- 33
• Reading --- 36
• Writing --- 29
• Speaking --- 24

Applicants should not use the older PTE requirement when assessing a
newer test.

For tests taken before 13 September 2025, the previous framework used an
overall score of at least 36 and at least 36 in each component.

• Listening --- 8
• Reading --- 8
• Writing --- 9
• Speaking --- 14

There is an additional current requirement for newer TOEFL
registrations.

For tests taken on or after 21 January 2026, Home Affairs states
that you must select "Taking TOEFL for Australia" during
registration for the result to be valid for Australian visa purposes.

The TOEFL iBT Home Edition is not accepted.

• Listening --- 220
• Reading --- 240
• Writing --- 200
• Speaking --- 270

These are numerical component scores.

Applicants with older OET results should check the earlier test
framework rather than converting the old result informally.

CELPIP General

• Listening --- 5
• Reading --- 5
• Writing --- 5
• Speaking --- 5

LANGUAGECERT Academic

• Listening --- 41
• Reading --- 44
• Writing --- 45
• Speaking --- 54

Michigan English Test (MET)

• Listening --- 49
• Reading --- 47
• Writing --- 45
• Speaking --- 38

Applicants should use the current Home Affairs table because approved
tests and score settings can change.

For qualifying tests taken before 13 September 2025, Home Affairs
currently lists:

• IELTS: overall 5.0 with at least 5.0 in each component
• OET: at least B in each component
• TOEFL iBT: total at least 35, with at least 4 in Listening and
  Reading and at least 14 in Speaking and Writing
• PTE Academic: overall at least 36 with at least 36 in each
  component
• Cambridge C1 Advanced: overall at least 154 with at least 154 in
  each component

The older test still needs to fall within the permitted validity period.

Cambridge remains relevant to qualifying older results under the pre-13
September 2025 framework.

Home Affairs also states that from 12 February 2024 only paper-based
Cambridge C1 Advanced results were accepted, subject to transitional
treatment for earlier valid results.

Applicants should therefore check both the test type and test date.

The result must also satisfy the score requirements applicable to the
date the test was taken.

An old result should not be assumed usable simply because the testing
organisation still displays it.

The legislative instrument provides for a test day and, where
applicable, a re-sit test day for the component that needed to be
re-taken.

For tests under the older pre-13 September 2025 framework, Home Affairs
states that the required scores had to be achieved in one sitting and
single-skill retake results are not accepted.

Home Affairs does not accept an English test where the entire test is
delivered online or remotely proctored for Australian visa purposes.

Examples Home Affairs currently identifies as unacceptable include:

• CELPIP Online
• IELTS Online
• LANGUAGECERT Academic Online
• OET@Home
• MET Digital taken at home
• TOEFL iBT Home Edition

Applicants should make sure they book an approved delivery format.

• Canada
• New Zealand
• Republic of Ireland
• United Kingdom
• United States of America

The exemption is based on the passport held.

Citizenship, residence or study in another English-speaking country
should not automatically be treated as equivalent to holding one of the
specified passports.

Home Affairs asks for information including:

• institution name and location
• qualification level
• official transcripts
• contact hours per week in English
• number of years of study

This is not simply an exemption for having completed one degree in
English.

The five-year full-time study requirement needs to be established.

An exemption can apply where:

• the nominated occupation requires a licence, registration or
  membership
• you have been granted that licence, registration or membership
• obtaining it required English proficiency equal to or higher than
  the subclass 482 standard

Holding professional registration by itself is therefore not enough.

The English requirement used to obtain the registration or licence also
matters.

Home Affairs currently provides an exemption where the nominated
occupation in Australia will be performed at:

• a diplomatic or consular mission of another country, or
• an Office of the Authorities of Taiwan

This is a specific occupational-setting exemption.

Home Affairs states that the exemption applies where you are:

• an employee of an overseas business
• nominated by that business or its associated entity to work in
  Australia
• guaranteed annual earnings of at least $96,400

All parts of the exemption need to be satisfied.

An Australian employer offering a salary above $96,400 does not by
itself establish this exemption.

The Specialist Skills stream uses the Specialist Skills Income Threshold
for stream eligibility.

That is separate from the English exemption.

A Specialist Skills applicant should not assume that a high nominated
salary automatically removes the English requirement.

The applicant still needs to meet the standard English requirement
unless one of the actual exemptions applies.

Home Affairs states that the applicant must have English suitable for
the nominated occupation.

English requirements equivalent to the standard subclass 482 framework
generally apply unless the relevant labour agreement provides an
English-language concession.

Some Industry Labour Agreements contain their own English settings.

For example, certain aged-care and regional labour-agreement
arrangements can use different IELTS-equivalent requirements.

The actual labour agreement needs to be checked.

Family members included in the application have separate visa criteria
and charging considerations.

Do not automatically apply the primary applicant's 482 English score
table to every dependent family member.

Home Affairs states that Core Skills and Specialist Skills applicants
must take the test and achieve the required result before applying.

Because test availability, results and possible retakes can affect
timing, it is usually better to deal with English before the nomination
and visa strategy reaches the final lodgement stage.

• visa stream
• whether the standard English requirement applies
• whether an exemption genuinely applies
• test name
• test delivery format
• test date
• whether the pre- or post-13 September 2025 score table applies
• each component score
• three-year validity period
• any single-skill retake
• TOEFL registration requirements for tests from 21 January 2026
• evidence supporting any exemption
• Labour Agreement concessions where relevant

Do not rely on an old score chart without checking when the test was
taken.

Hans Immigration Services can review your proposed 482 pathway and help
you understand the English and other eligibility requirements relevant
to your application.

Book a consultation with Hans Immigration Services to discuss your 482
visa pathway.