Changes To The IELTS For Graduate Temporary Visa

There will be a collective sigh of relief from all those who are applying to or will need to in the future for a Graduate Temporary Visa, Subclass 485. The changes that are being put in place came into effect last week on 18th April 2015.

Here, there will be a brand new score system in place for the Subclass 485 visa that sees the individual undertaking the IELTS to score an average score of 6. Looking back on how the passing grade was structured, an individual was required to achieve a minimum of 6 for each of the bands that were needed for the visa.

The visa news will bring great joy to those who experienced high levels of frustration as a result of the English tests that have to be sat and passed to receive the Subclass 485 visa. Those who have sat the test in the past would have done so on numerous occasions as they experienced trouble obtaining the needed score of six in each band.

However, as of last week’s introduced changes, all that is needed of the applicants is to score an average of six in all tests resulting in the process becoming a lot easier to apply for the 485 and 457 visas.

Requirements For Graduate Temporary Subclass 485 Visas

Se the requirements in English needed for both a Post Study Work Stream and Graduate Work Stream below:

• Hold a passport from the UK, Ireland, USA, Canada or New Zealand; or
• IELTS (Academic or General Training): overall average of six and at least five in each band; or
• Occupational English Test (OET): B Pass in each band; or
• Pearson (PTE Academic): overall average of 50 with at least 36 in each band; or
• TOEFL iBT (Internet Based Test): total score of 64, with at least four in Listening and Reading, and at least 14 in Writing and Speaking; or
• Cambridge (CAE): 169 overall average with at least 154 in each band.

The lowering of the English requirements will please the applicants who have previously struggled with the previous score structure and the following are some key points to remember:

• Some skills assessment authorities (eg the Accounting Professional Bodies) require English testing for the Graduate Work skills assessment – there is no indication as yet as to whether the assessment authorities will change their English language requirements.
• If completing the OET, the required scores have not changed.
• The English requirements for the Recognised Graduate Subclass 476 visa are similar.

Requirements Changes To 457 Visa

The English language requirements for the Temporary Work (Skilled) Subclass 457 have also been changed significantly:

• Previously, only the IELTS and OET were accepted – Immigration will now accept the TOEFL iBT, Pearson PTE and Cambridge CAE
• An exemption to English language testing applies if you have completed at least five years of study at the secondary or tertiary level. Previously, the study had to be continuous with no breaks
• An average band score of 5 is now required in IELTS – a minimum score of at least five previously applied

Applicants will also need to know the required English test scores for 457 visas, and they are now as follows:

• IELTS: overall average score of five, with a minimum score of at least 4.5 in each band; or
• OET: “B pass” is required for all four components of the OET; or
• TOEFL iBT: total band score of 36, with at least 3 in Listening and Reading and at least 12 in Speaking and Writing; or
• PTE Pearson Test of English (Academic): Average band score of 36, with minimum of 30 in each band; or
• CAE Cambridge English: Advanced: Average band score of 154, with minimum of 147 in each band.

Market Rate Salary

In regards to the Subclass 457 visa program there have also been some important changes to take note of which includes an exemption from the Market Rate Salary minimum decrease requirement. The change has seen the lowering from the existing $250,000 to $180,000. In addition, sponsors will be given an extended period to notify immigration from 10 working days to now 28 days.