Cambridge C1 Advanced is accepted for an Australian visa at three of the five English levels: competent English needs 163 listening, 163 reading, 170 writing and 179 speaking; proficient English needs 175 / 179 / 193 / 194; superior English needs 186 / 190 / 210 / 208. For functional English and vocational English the Department of Home Affairs tables for tests taken on or after 7 August 2025 do not list Cambridge C1 Advanced at all — so a C1 Advanced test sat today cannot be used to prove either of those two levels.
For health practitioner registration the picture is different again: from 23 April 2026 Ahpra and the National Boards accept C1 Advanced with an overall score of 178 and a writing component of 180. Both sets of numbers are below, straight from the regulators' own pages, checked on 6 October 2026.
Cambridge C1 Advanced across the five visa English levels
Home Affairs splits every English requirement into five named levels, and each level has its own table. The scores below are from the current tables — the ones headed "taken on or after 7 August 2025". Each number is a minimum in that single component; there is no averaging and no trade-off between components.
| Visa English level | Listening | Reading | Writing | Speaking |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Functional English | Not listed in the current table. C1 Advanced appears only in the table for tests taken on or before 6 August 2025. | |||
| Vocational English | Not listed in the current table. C1 Advanced appears only in the table for tests taken on or before 6 August 2025. | |||
| Competent English | 163 | 163 | 170 | 179 |
| Proficient English | 175 | 179 | 193 | 194 |
| Superior English | 186 | 190 | 210 | 208 |
Source: Department of Home Affairs, Functional / Vocational / Competent / Proficient / Superior English pages, Table 1 (Table 2 on the functional page), all five opened 6 October 2026.
The reason the two bottom levels look like that is the change the department made last year. Every one of the five pages opens with the same sentence: "On 7 August 2025, the English language tests approved for Australian visa purposes changed." When the new tables were published, nine tests went into the competent, proficient and superior tables — and eight went into the functional and vocational ones. Cambridge C1 Advanced is the test that is in the first group and not in the second.
That is not a small gap in practice. Vocational English is the level several temporary work and skilled visas ask for, and functional English is the level used for partner, parent and some skilled dependants. A reader who sits C1 Advanced in 2026 expecting it to cover vocational English will be holding a certificate the current table does not mention. Our page on the five English levels and the exact score each test needs shows which tests do appear in those two tables.
Older C1 Advanced results: what they still prove, and until when
A result from before the change is handled under a second table on each page, and it has an expiry. The two expiry dates are not the same, and the difference is real rather than a typo on one page.
| Visa English level | C1 Advanced score needed (test taken on or before 6 August 2025) | Usable as evidence until |
|---|---|---|
| Functional English | A total band score of at least 147 | 6 August 2026 inclusive — this window has closed |
| Vocational English | 154 in each of the 4 components | 6 August 2028 inclusive, depending on the visa |
| Competent English | 169 in each of the 4 components | 6 August 2028 inclusive, depending on the visa |
| Proficient English | 185 in each of the 4 components | 6 August 2028 inclusive, depending on the visa |
| Superior English | 200 in each of the 4 components | 6 August 2028 inclusive, depending on the visa |
Source: Department of Home Affairs, the second (legacy) table on each of the five English level pages, opened 6 October 2026.
The footnote under the vocational, competent, proficient and superior tables reads: "Test results from a test taken on or before 6 August 2025, may be used as evidence of English proficiency for visa purposes until 6 August 2028, inclusive. This will depend on the visa." The footnote on the functional English page is worded identically except for the year: "Test results from a test taken on or before 6 August 2025, may be used as evidence of English proficiency for visa purposes until 6 August 2026, inclusive." That date is behind us, which is why the functional row above says the window has closed.
There is one more restriction attached to older Cambridge results specifically. The legacy Cambridge row carries this note: "From 12 February 2024 to 6 August 2025, the department will only accept results from the Cambridge C1 Advanced paper-based test." The same row adds that tests taken before 12 February 2024 are still accepted in both the paper-based and the computer-based form, within the validity periods. The current table, for tests from 7 August 2025, carries no paper-only note on the Cambridge row at all. If your result sits inside that 18-month window and you sat the computer-based version, the format is the thing to check first — before the score. Dates and expiry rules across all the tests are set out in our page on how long an English test result stays valid.
Ahpra: C1 Advanced is accepted, with a different writing bar
Health practitioners do not read the visa tables for registration. Ahpra and the National Boards keep their own list, and C1 Advanced is on it. Ahpra states the list plainly, including the permitted formats: "Cambridge - C1 Advanced or C2 Proficiency (paper and computer at test centre only)".
The scores changed this year, and Ahpra says why: "From 23 April 2026, National Boards have updated the minimum scores of accepted English tests to align with current score concordance research and scores set by the Department of Home Affairs for migration purposes." The alignment is visible once the two tables sit side by side.
| Requirement | Overall | Listening | Reading | Writing | Speaking |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ahpra, C1 Advanced, test from 23 April 2026 | 178 | 175 | 179 | 180 | 194 |
| Ahpra, C2 Proficiency, test from 23 April 2026 | 185 | 185 | 185 | 176 | 185 |
| Ahpra, Cambridge, test on or before 22 April 2026 | 185 | 185 | 185 | 176 | 185 |
| Home Affairs, proficient English, test from 7 August 2025 | not set | 175 | 179 | 193 | 194 |
Sources: Ahpra, Accepted English language tests, Table 1 and Table 2, opened 6 October 2026; Home Affairs, Proficient English, Table 1, opened 6 October 2026. The Ahpra rows for tests on or before 22 April 2026 state the overall score as a minimum of 185 with 185 in listening, reading and speaking and 176 in writing, for C1 Advanced and C2 Proficiency together.
Three of the four Ahpra component scores for C1 Advanced are the same as the Home Affairs proficient English row: 175 listening, 179 reading, 194 speaking. Writing is where they part — 180 for Ahpra, 193 for proficient English. So a candidate who clears Ahpra on C1 Advanced has not automatically cleared proficient English for the points test, and the gap is in exactly one skill. Our board-by-board breakdown is in the article on whether your health profession changes the score Ahpra wants.
Ahpra also allows two sittings inside a 12-month period, with a floor under each component. For C1 Advanced from 23 April 2026 that floor is 168 listening, 168 reading, 180 writing and 187 speaking: no component of either sitting may fall below those numbers.
What this means for you
- Going for competent, proficient or superior English? C1 Advanced works, and the writing component is the hard one — 170, 193 and 210 respectively, higher than the listening and reading bars at every level.
- Going for vocational or functional English? Check the current table for your level before booking anything. C1 Advanced is not in it, and for functional English the legacy route closed on 6 August 2026.
- Holding an older certificate? Two things decide whether it still counts: the date and, for tests between 12 February 2024 and 6 August 2025, whether it was the paper-based version.
- Registering with a National Board? Read Ahpra's table, not the visa table. The writing bar is 13 points lower than proficient English, and the accepted formats are wider.
- Taking any test at home? Home Affairs is explicit: "The department does not accept evidence from English language tests that are delivered completely online (also known as 'remote-proctored' or 'at-home')."
If you are weighing C1 Advanced against the other eight tests on the Australian list, the comparison is laid out in our hub, the best English tests in 2026. Green School, an online school in Australia (formerly Green English), has been preparing students for these exams since 2018 and has worked with more than 3,500 students across them. We are a Silver member of the CELPIP Network. None of this replaces advice on your own case: visa and registration eligibility should be checked with your own registered migration agent or with the relevant National Board.
FAQ
Is Cambridge C1 Advanced still accepted for an Australian visa in 2026?
Yes, for competent, proficient and superior English. It is in the current Home Affairs table for each of those three levels. It is not in the current table for functional English or vocational English.
What C1 Advanced score equals competent English?
163 listening, 163 reading, 170 writing and 179 speaking, each as a minimum in that component, for a test taken on or after 7 August 2025.
What C1 Advanced score do I need for superior English and the 20 points?
186 listening, 190 reading, 210 writing and 208 speaking. The points themselves are set by the points test for your subclass, not by the English page.
My C1 Advanced result is from 2024. Can I still use it?
It depends on the level and the format. For vocational, competent, proficient and superior English, results from a test taken on or before 6 August 2025 may be used until 6 August 2028 inclusive, depending on the visa, at 154 / 169 / 185 / 200 in each component respectively. For functional English that window ended on 6 August 2026. And for tests sat between 12 February 2024 and 6 August 2025, only the paper-based version is accepted.
Does Ahpra accept the computer-based C1 Advanced?
Ahpra's list says "paper and computer at test centre only" for Cambridge C1 Advanced and C2 Proficiency, so a test centre sitting in either format is on the list. Fully online, at-home sittings are not.
Is C2 Proficiency accepted for an Australian visa?
C2 Proficiency appears on Ahpra's list of accepted tests for registration. It is not among the tests named in the Home Affairs English level tables, where the Cambridge entry is C1 Advanced.
Why is the writing score so much higher than the others?
Because the department sets each component separately rather than scaling one overall figure. At proficient English the writing minimum is 193 against 175 for listening; at superior it is 210 against 186. In practice that makes writing the component that decides most C1 Advanced attempts at those two levels.
Sources
- Department of Home Affairs — English language (hub, accepted tests and online-test restriction). Checked 6 October 2026.
- Department of Home Affairs — Functional English. Checked 6 October 2026.
- Department of Home Affairs — Vocational English. Checked 6 October 2026.
- Department of Home Affairs — Competent English. Checked 6 October 2026.
- Department of Home Affairs — Proficient English. Checked 6 October 2026.
- Department of Home Affairs — Superior English. Checked 6 October 2026.
- Ahpra — Accepted English language tests. Checked 6 October 2026.