Still aiming for 65 in each PTE skill? Australia's Proficient English now needs 76 in speaking

If your PTE plan still says 65 in each skill, check it before you book. For PTE Academic tests taken on or after 7 August 2025, Proficient English for Australian visas needs 76 in speaking and 69 in writing, so a result of 65 across the board now falls short of that level. Getting this wrong can mean another test fee and weeks of lost time. Below you will find the new minimums for Competent, Proficient and Superior English, who can still use the old numbers, and how to aim your practice at the skills that now count most.

The new PTE minimums for Australian visas, skill by skill

The Department of Home Affairs sets the English levels for Australian visas. It describes three of them with PTE Academic scores: Competent, Proficient and Superior English. For tests taken on or after 7 August 2025, each level has a different minimum for each of the four skills. Before that date, each level used one number for all four skills.

The four skill columns are for tests taken on or after 7 August 2025, and each number is a minimum: you need at least that score. Confirm them on the official Home Affairs pages for Competent English, Proficient English and Superior English.

Speaking and writing went up, listening and reading came down

Put the two systems side by side and a clear pattern appears. At every level, the new speaking and writing minimums are higher than the old single number, and the new listening and reading minimums are lower. Speaking now has the highest minimum at each level: 54 for Competent, 76 for Proficient and 88 for Superior.

So the change is not simply harder or easier. A candidate whose listening is their strongest skill may find the new numbers kinder. A candidate who freezes when speaking may find them tougher. Either way, a target you set before August 2025 may no longer be the right one.

One low skill is enough to miss a level

The minimums apply to each skill on its own. If three of your skills clear the Proficient numbers but your speaking is one point under 76, that result does not show Proficient English. A very high listening or reading score does not make up for it. This is why a single "target score" is no longer a useful way to plan.

Which numbers apply to you? Your test date decides

The same scores can mean different things depending on the day you sat the test. There are two groups.

You take PTE Academic on or after 7 August 2025

The skill-by-skill minimums in the table above apply to you. That includes anyone booking a test today, so plan with four separate targets from the start.

You took PTE Academic on or before 6 August 2025

Your result is judged against the old numbers: 50 in each skill for Competent, 65 in each skill for Proficient and 79 in each skill for Superior. Home Affairs says results from tests taken on or before 6 August 2025 may be used as evidence of English for visa purposes until 6 August 2028, inclusive, depending on the visa. Read the Home Affairs English language page and the page for your visa before you rely on an older result.

What the old targets mean on a new test

The table below takes the three old targets as results and shows what the same result means on each side of the date.

Example: two fictional candidates, Anika and Tomas, have the same result, 65 in all four skills. Anika sat her test in late July 2025, so her result meets the old Proficient number, and she may be able to use it until 6 August 2028, depending on her visa. Tomas sat his test in September 2025. His writing and speaking are below the new Proficient minimums, so his result shows Competent English, not Proficient. Same scores, different outcome, only because of the test date.

What to do now: five steps before you book

1. Find the level your visa asks for. Home Affairs sets it, and it can differ from one visa to another. Read your visa's own page and the English language page, and do not rely on notes or lists made before the change.
2. Check your test date. On or before 6 August 2025, the old single numbers apply. On or after 7 August 2025, use the new table.
3. Look at any result you already hold. If an older result meets the old numbers for your level, find out whether your visa still accepts it before you pay for another test.
4. Book the right test in the right place. The Home Affairs list of accepted tests for tests taken on or after 7 August 2025 includes PTE Academic taken at a secure test centre. PTE Core is not on that list, and Home Affairs does not accept English tests delivered completely online.
5. Write down four targets, not one. For Proficient English that means listening 58, reading 59, writing 69 and speaking 76. Then measure each skill against its own number, not against an average.

Why speaking and writing deserve most of your practice now

Under the new numbers, speaking has the highest minimum at every level and writing comes second. If your practice results sit around one of the old single targets, those two skills are where the gap is most likely to be. Listening and reading still matter, but they need less of your week.

Practise speaking out loud, every day

Speaking improves with recorded practice and honest feedback, not with reading tips about it. Aim for a clear voice, a steady pace and complete sentences. Record your answer, listen back, and repeat the task you found hardest.

The PTE Academic track on PractiseNow has speaking practice for Read Aloud, Repeat Sentence, Describe Image, Re-tell Lecture, Respond to a Situation and Answer Short Question, recorded in your browser. Each spoken answer marked by AI gets an estimated score, the key ideas you covered and missed, and line-by-line corrections. On PractiseNow, Read Aloud, Repeat Sentence and Describe Image cost 1 credit per answer, and Answer Short Question is marked free.

Practise writing with a plan

Writing now asks for more than the old number at every level. Plan before you write, keep one idea per paragraph, and read your answer once for grammar and spelling before you submit. Rewrite the weakest paragraph after you see feedback, so the correction sticks.

PractiseNow's writing practice for PTE Academic includes Write Essay with a guided planner, a word count and AI marking against the task's criteria. On PractiseNow, Write Essay costs 2 credits.

Keep listening and reading ticking over

Lower minimums do not mean you can drop these skills; you still need to clear every number on the day. A few focused sets a week keep them steady. On PractiseNow, listening and reading answers are checked instantly with a question-by-question review, free on every plan.

A sample week for a Proficient target

Here is an example week for a candidate aiming at listening 58, reading 59, writing 69 and speaking 76. Adjust it to your own weakest skill.

• Monday (speaking): Read Aloud and Repeat Sentence. Record, listen back and redo the two weakest answers.
• Tuesday (writing): one essay, planned first. Read the feedback and rewrite the weakest paragraph.
• Wednesday (speaking): Describe Image and Re-tell Lecture, with a focus on finishing every sentence.
• Thursday (listening and reading): one set of each at full test timing, then review every wrong answer.
• Friday (speaking): Respond to a Situation. Repeat the hardest prompt after reading the feedback.
• Saturday (writing): a second essay on a new topic, timed.
• Sunday: rest, then compare your latest practice results for each skill with your four targets.

PractiseNow's three levels, Starter, Builder and Exam, remove help step by step and end with test-day timing, so you can move each task up a level when it starts to feel comfortable.

Treat practice scores as estimates

Every score on PractiseNow is a practice estimate. It is not an official PTE result and may differ from one. Only the official test provider issues a score that visa offices accept, so use practice estimates to find the skill that needs work, not as proof of your level.

Start practising free

You can try this plan before you pay anything. PractiseNow's free plan gives you the first 3 Starter sets and the first Builder set of every task type in your test, plus 3 AI credits, and no payment details are needed to start. Start practising free, then pick PTE Academic from the five tests.

If you need more marking, PractiseNow's Sprint Pass is $19 for 30 days with 60 AI credits, and the Exam Pass is $29 for 60 days with 150 AI credits. Online payment is not live yet, so passes are bought by email for now; the plans and credits page explains each option.

Frequently asked questions

Do I need a new PTE test if my old result met 65 in each skill?

Not always. If you took the test on or before 6 August 2025, Home Affairs says that result may be used until 6 August 2028, inclusive, depending on the visa. Check your visa's page before you book again.

Can a high listening score make up for a low speaking score?

No. Each level sets a minimum for each skill, so one skill below its number means that result does not meet the level.

Is PTE Core accepted for Australian visas?

PTE Core is not in the Home Affairs list of accepted tests for tests taken on or after 7 August 2025. PTE Academic is on that list when taken at a secure test centre.

Can I take PTE Academic at home for an Australian visa?

Home Affairs does not accept English tests delivered completely online, so plan to sit PTE Academic at a test centre.

Is the score on PractiseNow my real PTE score?

No. PractiseNow gives practice estimates, not official results. Only the official test provider issues a score that visa offices accept.

Last checked: 7 October 2026 against the official pages linked above.