The English score you need for an Australian Subclass 500 Student visa did not change on 17 September 2026. It is still IELTS Academic 6.0 overall — or 5.5 if your principal course is packaged with at least 10 weeks of ELICOS, or 5.0 with at least 20 weeks — with equivalents for eight other tests. What the announcement by Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke did change is the cost of getting your English wrong: if family members can no longer be attached to a student visa and a course change requires a new visa application, then a re-sit and a missed semester are more expensive than they were last week.
This page is written by Green School, an online school in Australia that prepares students for the exams below. It separates what is already a published rule from what has only been announced, because on 18 September 2026 those are two very different things.
What was announced on 17 September 2026 — and what status it has
The announcement was reported by ABC News on 17 September 2026. As of 18 September 2026, the official text of the ministerial direction had not been published: there is no new item in the Home Affairs news archive, and no September 2026 student-visa direction on the Federal Register of Legislation. This page describes what was announced and will be updated when the official text appears.
Minister Burke, quoted by ABC News on 17 September 2026, described the model he wants to end: “To hop around, up and down, to different institutions, and claim that what is actually just seeking a migration outcome as part of Australia’s export of international education will come to an end as a model”.
| Measure | Status as at 18 September 2026 |
|---|---|
| Family members largely unable to be attached to a student visa (with exceptions reported for Pacific and ASEAN nationals and for certain courses, including PhD) | Announced, to be made by ministerial direction. Official text not published. No commencement date announced. |
| Changing course requires a new visa application | Announced. Official text not published. No commencement date announced. |
| Graduates able to move only to a higher qualification level (for example bachelor to master) | Announced. Official text not published. No commencement date announced. |
| Expression of interest mechanism to manage student numbers | Requires legislation. Not a rule. Nothing to comply with yet. |
| English test scores and accepted tests for Subclass 500 | Unchanged and in force. Set by instrument F2025L00906, in force since 6 August 2025. |
Nothing in the announcement touched the English requirement. That is the part you can act on today, and it is the part this page covers.
The Subclass 500 English score table, in force now
These are the minimum scores published by the Department of Home Affairs on its Subclass 500 Student visa page for tests taken on or after 7 August 2025, checked on 18 September 2026. The governing document is not the web page but the Migration (English Language Tests and Evidence Exemptions for Subclass 500 (Student) Visas) Instrument 2025 (F2025L00906), registered and in force from 6 August 2025.
| Test | Minimum score | With at least 10 weeks of ELICOS, or a Foundation program, or an eligible Pathway program | With at least 20 weeks of ELICOS |
|---|---|---|---|
| C1 Advanced | 161 | Excluded | Excluded |
| CELPIP General | 7 | 6 | 5 |
| IELTS Academic | 6.0 | 5.5 | 5.0 |
| IELTS General Training | 6.0 | 5.5 | 5.0 |
| LANGUAGECERT Academic | 61 | 54 | 46 |
| MET | 53 | 49 | 44 |
| OET | 1210 | 1090 | 1020 |
| PTE Academic | 47 | 39 | 31 |
| TOEFL iBT | 67 | 51 | 37 |
Two things in this table surprise people. First, the packaged-ELICOS columns are a minimum length, not an average: Home Affairs writes that “an applicant who has enrolled in at least 10 weeks of ELICOS packaged with a principal course must have achieved the required IELTS (or equivalent) test score of 5.5”. Second, CELPIP General is on this list. If you are in Australia and already looking at CELPIP, our page on CELPIP vs PTE vs IELTS for an Australian visa sets the three tests side by side across the visa score tables.
Two English requirements, not one
The single most common mistake we see is treating “the English requirement” as one number. It is two, set by two different bodies, and meeting one does not mean meeting the other:
- Your education provider sets an admission threshold for the course. It is set by the university or college, it differs by program, and it is often higher than the visa threshold. Check it on that institution’s own website — nobody else’s figure is authoritative for your program.
- Home Affairs sets the visa threshold, in the table above, under instrument F2025L00906.
A result that gets you an offer letter and fails the visa criterion is an ordinary outcome, not an exotic one. After 17 September 2026, the reverse mistake also costs more: if changing course later means a new visa application rather than a transfer, the course you enrol in on the strength of a borderline score is harder to walk away from.
Three traps in the rules that are already in force
1. At-home and online tests are not accepted
Home Affairs states it plainly on the Subclass 500 page: “The Department of Home Affairs does not accept evidence from English language tests where an entire test is delivered online (also known as ‘remote-proctored’ or ‘at-home’).”
The department names these by name as not approved for Australian visa purposes: IELTS Online, LANGUAGECERT Academic Online, OET@Home, CELPIP Online, MET Digital (taken at-home) and TOEFL iBT – Home Edition. Booking the at-home version of the right test is one of the cheapest ways to lose a test fee and several weeks. Note the distinction that trips people up: preparing online is fine — that is what we do — but the test itself must be sat in a secure test centre.
2. The validity window is measured from a different date depending on your evidence level
Home Affairs requires that you completed the test “within the 2 years before you lodged your visa application, if you are Regular Evidence level; or within the 2 years before a decision is made on your visa application, if you are Streamlined Evidence level and the Department has requested evidence.”
Read that twice. For Streamlined Evidence level, the clock runs to the decision, not to lodgement. A test sat 23 months before you apply can fall outside the window while your application is still being processed.
3. TOEFL iBT has a registration step of its own
From 21 January 2026, applicants must select “Taking TOEFL for Australia” when registering, or the result may not be accepted for Australian visa purposes. This is chosen at booking and cannot be fixed afterwards.
What this means for you
If you are preparing for study in Australia right now, the practical consequences of the week are these:
- Your target score has not moved. Keep preparing to the number in the table above for the test you have booked, and to your provider’s admission threshold, whichever is higher.
- Build the margin in now, not later. If a course change may require a new visa application, the value of clearing the threshold on the first sitting goes up. Aiming at the exact minimum leaves no room for one bad section.
- Check the format of what you booked. Secure test centre, correct test variant, and for TOEFL iBT the Australia registration pathway.
- Check the validity dates against your own evidence level before you decide to reuse an old result.
- If your plan involved bringing family on your student visa, that is the part under change — and it is the part where the official text does not yet exist. Nothing here is advice about your own case: the announced measures, their exceptions and their start dates are a question for your own registered migration agent.
For students whose plan runs through a regulated profession rather than a degree alone, the English requirement multiplies again: registration bodies publish their own tables. Our page on English test scores for AHPRA registration shows how far apart the visa table and the registration table can sit — AHPRA accepts five tests, and CELPIP is not among them.
FAQ
Did the English requirement for an Australian student visa change on 17 September 2026?
No. The accepted tests and minimum scores for Subclass 500 are set by instrument F2025L00906, in force since 6 August 2025, and the announcement did not change them. As at 18 September 2026 the table above is current.
What IELTS score do I need for a Subclass 500 student visa?
IELTS Academic or General Training 6.0. It drops to 5.5 if your principal course is packaged with at least 10 weeks of ELICOS, a Foundation program or an eligible Pathway program, and to 5.0 with at least 20 weeks of ELICOS. Your education provider may still ask for more.
Can I use an online English test for my student visa?
No. Home Affairs does not accept tests delivered entirely online, and names IELTS Online, LANGUAGECERT Academic Online, OET@Home, CELPIP Online, MET Digital (taken at-home) and TOEFL iBT – Home Edition as not approved. The test must be sat at a secure test centre.
How long is my English test result valid for a student visa?
Two years — but measured to the date you lodged, if you are Regular Evidence level, or to the date a decision is made, if you are Streamlined Evidence level and the department has asked for evidence.
Can students still bring family members to Australia?
This is exactly the measure that was announced on 17 September 2026 and for which no official text had been published as at 18 September 2026. Existing families in Australia were reported as not being separated, and exceptions were reported for Pacific and ASEAN nationals and for certain courses including PhD. Because there is no published instrument, nobody can state the rule or its start date yet — check your own situation with your own registered migration agent.
Is CELPIP accepted for an Australian student visa?
CELPIP General appears in the Subclass 500 table with a minimum of 7 (6 with 10 weeks of ELICOS, 5 with 20 weeks). CELPIP Online is not accepted. For the wider picture across Australian visas, see our guide to sitting CELPIP from Australia.
We will update this page
The measures announced on 17 September 2026 were, as at 18 September 2026, an announcement and not a published rule. When the ministerial direction is registered, we will update this page with the text, the commencement date and what it changes for the English part of a student visa application. Green School, an online school in Australia, prepares students for IELTS, PTE, OET, CELPIP and NAATI CCL; you can check who we are and what we charge on our school facts page.
Nothing on this page is migration advice. It sets out published rules and a published announcement; for your own application, speak to your own registered migration agent.
Sources
- Department of Home Affairs, Subclass 500 Student visa — English language requirements, score table, at-home test statement, validity wording, TOEFL registration note: immi.homeaffairs.gov.au/visas/getting-a-visa/visa-listing/student-500 (checked 18 September 2026)
- Department of Home Affairs, English language visa requirements — accepted tests from 7 August 2025: immi.homeaffairs.gov.au/help-support/meeting-our-requirements/english-language (checked 18 September 2026)
- Migration (English Language Tests and Evidence Exemptions for Subclass 500 (Student) Visas) Instrument 2025, F2025L00906, in force 6 August 2025: legislation.gov.au/F2025L00906 (checked 18 September 2026)
- Department of Home Affairs news archive, checked for a published direction: immi.homeaffairs.gov.au/news-media/archive (checked 18 September 2026 — no item on the announcement)
- ABC News, 17 September 2026, for the fact and wording of the announcement only: abc.net.au
Checked 18 September 2026 against the sources above.