New DHA visa requirements for PTE Academic

PTE Author
PTE Author
Higher-Education-Students-in-the-UK
Reading time: 5 minutes

The Australian Department for Home Affairs (DHA) recently updated their score requirements for all accepted tests of language proficiency. The new score requirements take effect from 7 August 2025.

What are the new score requirements? 

From 7 August, anyone who takes the test for DHA visa purposes will need to meet updated score requirements.

The table below shows the old and new score requirements for each score.

We have also created a more accessible version of this table at the end of this article.

A visual of a table displaying the old and new score requirements for each DHA language category.

Is it now harder to meet the requirements for a DHA visa?

Not necessarily. It is important to remember that the category a test taker can achieve is based on all of their scores. Some requirements have increased but most have decreased. Pearson carried out research as part of the enhancements to PTE Academic, including a score concordance study of 1,522 participants. Almost 90% of the participants in the study would be classified in the exact same category or higher by the new visa requirements. 

How can test takers prepare for the new requirements?

Following the recent updates to the PTE Academic test, a number of official preparation resources have also been created or updated to help you achieve the best score. These range from free test tips documents providing guidance on the two new question types to fully scored practice tests that reflect the updated test.

I took the test before 7 August. Do the old requirements apply?

Yes. If you took the test before 7 August, the previous DHA score requirements still apply. This is the case even if you submit your application after 7 August. 

The previous score requirements are shown below:

Other FAQs

Remember that if you took the test before 7 August, the old requirements still apply. 

If you are taking the test after 7 August, our standard Reschedule Policy allows you to change the date of your test for free if you have more than 14 days to go.

If your test is taking place between 7 August and 21 August and you feel you have not had enough time to prepare for the updated score requirements, please contact our Customer Services team to discuss your options.

Like other governments and institutions, the DHA independently decides the score requirements for their visa programs based on the research data we share with them. PTE does not influence the DHA's decision. 

To find out official information about the DHA score requirements, please visit the DHA website. This page will also show the previous score requirements that are applicable for tests taken before 7 August. 

We always encourage you to get the most up-to-date information from the institution or government’s own website.

Updated DHA score requirements

This version of the table displays the updated DHA score requirements in a more accessible format.

Category Old Each Skill New Overall New Listening New Reading New Speaking New Writing
Functional 30 24 - - - -
Vocational 36 - 33 36 24 29
Competent 50 - 47 48 54 51
Proficient 65 - 58 59 76 69
Superior 79 - 69 70 88 85

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