AUSTRALIAN IMMIGRATION NEWS

New Legislation Regarding English Tests for Australian Skilled Migration

Thursday, June 16, 2011

A new definition for Competent, Proficient and Superior English has been included in the changes to the legislation which will take effect on 1 July 2011. Applicants who want to apply for skilled visas, as well as those who want to gain points for Proficient and Superior English will have to take an English test 2 years or less prior to their application's lodgement.

The IELTS test is currently the only English test that applicants for skilled visas must take. The requirement for Competent English is minimum of 6 in each band of IELTS, for Proficient is 7 and for Superior is 8. However, the legislation doesn't refer to the results of the IELTS but to a legislation instrument which will presumably give details of the required score in the IELTS test.

Another change to the legislation is that an applicant will have to take an English test that is conducted in the 2 years immediately before the day on which the visa application is made.

Currently, applicants can lodge general skilled visas without IELTS test result and submit this at a later date as a result from the High Court case of Berenguel. The change in the legislation means that the Berenguel case will no longer apply to visa applications lodged after 1 July 2011.

This change applies to Competent English, which is the basic requirement to apply for skilled migration, as well as the higher levels of English (Proficient and Superior).