PTE Academic runs on one number: 14 full calendar days. Move the date with more than 14 full calendar days to go and it costs nothing; cancel inside the last 7 and nothing comes back. The other four tests Australians sit run on completely different numbers: CELPIP on 7 calendar days and a 50% refund, NAATI CCL on 8 days to move the date free of charge and 75% back if you cancel at least an hour before the start, OET on two days and a reschedule fee of AU$120 to AU$200 - and IELTS on no published number at all, because the IELTS refund policy belongs to the test centre you booked with, not to the test owner.
This page puts the five policies side by side, with the exact wording from each test owner, checked on 14 October 2026. If you are still choosing between the tests, start from our hub on the best English tests in 2026; if you want the price of each test first, see what each English test costs in Australia.
Moving the test date
| Test | Latest you can move the date | Cost to move it | Limit on moves |
|---|---|---|---|
| PTE Academic | More than 14 full calendar days before the test. Inside 14 days the Reschedule button is not shown at all | Free | 6 reschedules per appointment |
| IELTS (paper and computer) | Any time before the test, but a late request may be handled as a cancellation. The new date must be within three months of the original | Not published centrally - set by your test centre | One transfer per booking |
| CELPIP-General | At least 7 calendar days before the original test date; inside 7 days only through customer service, with documentation | CAD $50 plus taxes (the same page also says the first transfer is free - see below) | Not published |
| OET | Up to two days before the start of your first sub-test. Paper cannot be moved after 11:59pm the day before | AU$120 up to 7 days before, AU$200 inside 7 days; AU$30 for the Speaking sub-test alone | Not published. You cannot move the rest once you have sat one sub-test |
| NAATI CCL | Up to 8 days before the test, in myNAATI | Free | Not published |
Pearson states the rule and the ceiling in two sentences: "You can reschedule your test for free if there are more than 14 full calendar days left before your test" and "The maximum number of times you can reschedule a single test appointment is 6." The page was last updated on 17 September 2026.
NAATI is the only one of the five that charges nothing and says so plainly. Its terms and conditions, updated 18 February 2026, read: "Rescheduling is allowed up to 8 days before the test" and "There is no cost to reschedule."
The IELTS Partners allow a late change but warn what it may turn into: "You may change your test date at any time before the test. However, your transfer request may be treated as a cancellation dependent on how near to the test day it is made." Two further limits sit in the same section - "You must select a new test date, where available, within three months of your original test date" and "You can only transfer the same booking once."
Cancelling and getting money back
| Test | Cancel by | What comes back | Nothing comes back when |
|---|---|---|---|
| PTE Academic | More than 14 full calendar days before | Full refund. Between 14 and 7 full calendar days: 50% | 7 calendar days or fewer are left |
| IELTS | Any time before the test, by notifying the test centre | Depends on the centre - no percentage is published centrally | Depends on the centre |
| CELPIP-General | At least 7 calendar days before the session | 50% of the fee paid | The request arrives less than 7 calendar days before |
| OET | Paper: up to one week before test day. Computer and OET@Home: up to two days before | AU$460 of a full test cancelled before bookings close, AU$380 after; the AU$7 booking fee is not refundable | You have sat one sub-test, or the test is over |
| NAATI CCL | At least 1 hour before the scheduled start time | 75% of the test fee - AU$610.50 of the AU$814 fee for 2026-27 | Non-attendance, or cancelling after the start time |
Pearson's middle tier is the one most people miss: "If you cancel between 14 and 7 full calendar days before your test, you will receive a 50% refund."
OET is the only owner of the five that publishes the refund in dollars rather than in percent, and the arithmetic is public: a full OET Test costs AU$587, the cancellation fee is AU$120 before bookings close or AU$200 after, the AU$7 booking fee stays with OET, and what is left - AU$460 or AU$380 - is returned "to the original card used to book the test within 7-10 business days". OET also warns that the step is one-way: "Please take care when cancelling your OET Test, as it cannot be reversed."
NAATI's refund page is equally direct - "You are eligible for a refund of 75% of your test fee" if you cancel at least an hour before the start, and "You will not receive a refund for non-attendance or cancellations after the scheduled start time." On the current fee of AU$814, valid from 1 July 2026 to 30 June 2027, that is AU$610.50 back and AU$203.50 kept. The result timeline for a CCL test sat later is unchanged; we cover it in what the NAATI CCL test costs and how long the result takes.
If you are ill on test day
| Test | What the owner offers | Deadline for the evidence |
|---|---|---|
| PTE Academic | A free reschedule at Pearson's discretion, through the Request Emergency Reschedule form, with evidence attached | No later than 72 hours after the test appointment |
| IELTS | An application to the test centre for special consideration due to exceptional circumstances, including illness, injury, bereavement, civil unrest or domestic crisis | Not published centrally - ask your test centre |
| CELPIP-General | A transfer request inside the 7-day window, decided by Paragon, which may ask you to support it with documentation | Not published - contact customer service |
| OET | A review of extenuating circumstances after a no-show, assessed case by case | Five Business Days after the test day |
| NAATI CCL | Cancel in myNAATI before the start time and take the 75% refund; a missed test is not refunded or rescheduled | Cancellation at least 1 hour before the start |
Pearson is unusually blunt about what a medical reason does and does not buy you: "There is no automatic right to rebook or obtain a refund if you cannot sit a test for medical or family reasons." OET sets the same expectation with a clock attached: "Unless you can demonstrate extenuating circumstances impacted your ability to attend the scheduled test day, you will not be eligible for a refund", and "If you do not show up for your test, you have five Business Days to contact OET Support to supply evidence of your situation."
What this means for you
Three practical conclusions come out of the tables above.
The expensive mistake is not the fee, it is the calendar. Every one of these policies is a step function: on day 15 a PTE change costs nothing, on day 14 it costs half the fee, on day 7 it costs all of it. If your visa or registration deadline is tight, the day you book matters less than the day you would have to decide. Put the owner's cut-off date in your calendar on the day you book, not the test date.
Rescheduling and cancelling are two different products with two different clocks. PTE will not let you reschedule inside 14 days but will still refund half your fee up to day 7, so inside that window "cancel and rebook" is the only route and it is not free. OET works the other way round: you can still move the date two days out for AU$200, which is less than losing the AU$587 you paid. Work out which of the two the owner is actually offering you before you write to them.
With IELTS you are not reading the right page until you read your centre's. The IELTS Partners say so themselves: "Detailed policies are available from your test centre and may vary depending on the test centre location." Whatever a comparison page tells you - including this one - the numbers that will apply to your booking are the ones published by the centre where you booked. Ask for them in writing before you pay.
At Green School, an online school in Australia (formerly Green English), the question we hear most often in the last week before a test is whether to sit it unprepared or move it. The policies above are the honest input to that decision: for PTE inside 14 days and CELPIP inside 7, moving is no longer cheap, and for NAATI CCL it is still free up to 8 days out. If you decide to sit it and only one skill lets you down, the repair route differs by test too - see where an IELTS One Skill Retake counts and where it does not.
Two places where the published rules are not clean
We would rather show these than tidy them away.
CELPIP contradicts itself on the transfer fee. The policies page says "The first transfer is free; the subsequent transfer fee is CAD $50 or equivalent (plus applicable taxes)", and a few lines later, for a request made at least seven calendar days before the session, that "you will be required to pay a transfer fee of $50.00 CAD" plus taxes. Both sentences are on the same page. Until Paragon reconciles them, treat CAD $50 as the figure you may be charged on a first transfer, and ask in writing before you move the date. The deadline itself is not ambiguous: "Transfers must be made at least 7 days before the original test date."
IELTS publishes no number at all. This is not an oversight - the IELTS model devolves fees and refund tiers to the centre. It does mean that of the five tests on this page, IELTS is the only one where a published national comparison cannot tell you what cancelling will cost you.
FAQ
Can I change my IELTS test date?
Yes, at any time before the test, but the new date must fall within three months of the original one and you can only transfer the same booking once. A request made close to test day may be treated as a cancellation instead, and the fee for either is set by your test centre.
How late can I reschedule PTE Academic?
Up to the point where more than 14 full calendar days remain. Inside 14 days the reschedule option disappears from the myPTE dashboard and the only route is to cancel and book again - with a 50% refund down to day 7, and nothing from day 7.
I booked the wrong CELPIP date. What will it cost?
If you are at least 7 calendar days out, a transfer is possible and the page quotes CAD $50 plus applicable taxes, while also stating that the first transfer is free. Inside 7 days you have to contact Paragon's customer service and may be asked for documentation.
Do I get my OET money back if I cancel?
Partly. A full OET Test costs AU$587; cancel before bookings close and AU$460 is returned, cancel after and AU$380 is returned, with the AU$7 booking fee kept in both cases. Once you have sat one sub-test you cannot cancel that test administration at all.
What happens if I just do not turn up?
For NAATI CCL and PTE, nothing comes back. OET will look at extenuating circumstances if you contact support within five Business Days with evidence. IELTS has a special consideration process run by your test centre. None of the four owners promises an outcome in advance.
How many days before the NAATI CCL test can I move it?
Eight. NAATI puts no charge on it and you do it yourself in myNAATI; cancelling instead returns 75% of the fee as long as you do it at least an hour before the scheduled start.
My visa application deadline depends on the test date. Who decides whether a late result still counts?
The decision-maker does, not the test owner. The rules for your visa or your registration are published by the Department of Home Affairs and by Ahpra respectively, and for your own application you should check with your own registered migration agent.
Sources
All pages below were opened and checked on 14 October 2026.
- Pearson, PTE cancellations and rescheduling - 14 and 7 day tiers, the limit of 6 reschedules, the emergency reschedule form; page last updated 17 September 2026.
- IELTS, Cancellations, refunds, remarks and transfers - transfer within three months, one transfer per booking, centre-level policies, special consideration.
- Paragon Testing Enterprises, CELPIP policies and forms - 7 day cancellation and transfer deadlines, 50% refund, CAD $50 transfer fee.
- OET, Manage your booking - two day rescheduling deadline and the AU$120, AU$200 and AU$30 reschedule fees.
- OET Support, How do I withdraw - AU$460 and AU$380 refunds, the AU$7 non-refundable booking fee, 7-10 business day return.
- OET, Test regulations - no-show rule, five Business Days for evidence, one booking per test administration.
- NAATI, Terms and conditions - rescheduling up to 8 days before at no cost; page updated 18 February 2026.
- NAATI, Refunds - 75% refund and the one hour cut-off.
- NAATI, Fees - CCL test fee AU$814 for 1 July 2026 to 30 June 2027.