Booked PTE Core for your Australian visa? Home Affairs’ accepted list does not include it
Published 6 min read
If you are applying for an Australian visa and someone has mentioned PTE Core, check the test name carefully before you book. For tests taken on or after 7 August 2025, the Department of Home Affairs lists the English tests it accepts for Australian visas, and PTE Core is not one of them. PTE Academic is. The two have similar names and share some task types, so it is an easy mix-up, and an expensive and time-costly one if you sit the wrong test and your visa application is delayed while you book again.
Here is exactly what the Home Affairs list includes, what PTE Core is actually for, and how to tell the two tests apart before you pay for either one.
The short answer
No. The Department of Home Affairs' current accepted-test list for Australian visas does not include PTE Core. If your visa application needs an English test score, PTE Academic is the Pearson test Home Affairs actually accepts, not PTE Core.
What Home Affairs actually accepts
For English tests taken on or after 7 August 2025, Home Affairs accepts results from a specific list of tests, each taken at a secure test centre:
| Test | On the Home Affairs list? |
|---|---|
| C1 Advanced | Yes |
| CELPIP General | Yes |
| IELTS Academic | Yes |
| IELTS General Training (including One Skill Retake) | Yes |
| LANGUAGECERT Academic | Yes |
| Michigan English Test | Yes |
| OET | Yes |
| PTE Academic | Yes |
| TOEFL iBT | Yes |
| PTE Core | No |
This list, and the rules around it, can change, so always check the Department of Home Affairs English language page directly before you book a test or lodge an application.
What PTE Core actually is
PTE Core is a 2-hour, computer-based test of general English skills: speaking, writing, reading and listening. It was built for Canadian immigration: PTE Core is accepted by IRCC for Canadian economic immigration programs that require an IRCC-approved English test, and for citizenship applications. It was never positioned as an Australian visa test, which is why it does not appear on the Home Affairs list above.
PTE Core vs PTE Academic: how to tell them apart
Both are made by Pearson and share some task types, such as Summarise Written Text, which can make them easy to confuse when someone mentions "PTE" without saying which version. The practical difference for an Australian visa is simple: PTE Academic is on the Home Affairs accepted list; PTE Core is not. If anyone, including a migration agent, education provider or a quick online summary, tells you "PTE" is accepted for your Australian visa, confirm which version they mean and double-check it yourself on the Home Affairs page before you pay for a test.
Why the two tests get mixed up
Part of the confusion is simply the name: "PTE" on its own does not say which test a person means, and both tests are booked through Pearson's own systems, so the booking process can look similar at first glance. PTE Core was introduced for the Canadian market specifically, after PTE Academic had already been used for Australian, New Zealand and UK visas for years, so older advice or forum posts written before PTE Core existed sometimes get quoted as if they still cover "every PTE test", when they were only ever about PTE Academic. Education agents who work across both Australian and Canadian applications can also mix up which test belongs to which country if they are moving quickly between client files.
None of that makes the mix-up any less costly if it happens to your own application, which is why the official Home Affairs page, not a summary of it, is the one page worth opening before you pay.
What to do if you already booked or sat PTE Core
- Check which visa and which requirement you actually need the score for. If it is a Canadian program, PTE Core may still be exactly the right test; the mix-up only matters if the result was meant for Australia.
- Re-read the Home Affairs page for your specific visa, since different visas can have different notes about accepted tests.
- If you still need a result for an Australian visa, book PTE Academic (or another test from the accepted list) instead, rather than resitting PTE Core.
How to double-check before you book any test
Before paying for any English test for an Australian visa: open the official Home Affairs page yourself, search for the exact test name (not just "PTE" or "IELTS"), and check the date, since rules can change on a set date, such as 7 August 2025 for this list. Booking through the test owner's own site also reduces the chance of booking the wrong version of a test.
It is also worth checking the specific visa subclass page on the Home Affairs site, not only the general English language page, since some visa subclasses add their own notes about which test results they will accept and how recent the test needs to be. If anything on a subclass page seems to contradict the general accepted-test list, treat the subclass page as the more specific, and more current, instruction for your own application, and contact Home Affairs directly if you are still unsure before you book.
Frequently asked questions
Is PTE Core the same test as PTE Academic?
No. They share some task types and the same test maker, but they are separate tests with separate task lists, and only PTE Academic is on the Home Affairs accepted list for Australian visas.
Can I use a PTE Core score for an Australian skilled visa?
Based on the current Home Affairs accepted-test list, no. PTE Core is not one of the tests that list accepts; PTE Academic is.
Is PTE Core accepted anywhere?
Yes, for Canadian immigration: PTE Core is accepted by IRCC for economic immigration programs that require an IRCC-approved English test, and for citizenship applications.
Does this list apply to every Australian visa?
The accepted-test list above is the general one Home Affairs publishes; some visas may have their own extra notes, so check the page for your specific visa as well as the general list.
What if I might apply to Australia and Canada at different times?
Since Home Affairs accepts PTE Academic and IRCC accepts PTE Core, booking the right one depends on which application you are preparing for right now; the PTE Academic or PTE Core comparison walks through the task and format differences between the two if you want to understand them before you choose.
Key takeaways
- PTE Core is not on the Home Affairs accepted-test list for Australian visas taken from 7 August 2025; PTE Academic is.
- PTE Core was built for Canadian immigration through IRCC, not for Australian visas.
- Always check the exact test name against the official Home Affairs page before you book, since "PTE" alone is not specific enough.
- If you need a test for an Australian visa, PTE Academic, IELTS and OET are among the tests Home Affairs currently accepts.
PractiseNow's test picker lets you choose PTE Academic or PTE Core separately, so you only practise the task types and timing for the exact test you are booking. The PTE Core track includes that test's own tasks, such as Write Email, which do not appear on the PTE Academic track. You can start free once you have confirmed which test your visa actually needs, or compare passes if you already know you want full access to your test's levels and AI credits.
Last checked: 17 October 2026. Test rules and score requirements change: confirm on the official pages linked in this article before you book or apply.
