You are exempt from needing to prove English language proficiency if one of the following apply:

• you are a passport holder from:
  • Canada
  • New Zealand
  • the Republic of Ireland
  • the United Kingdom
  • the United States of America
    
    
• you have completed at least 5 years of full-time study in at least a secondary level institution and where most classes were in English. We need the following information:
  • name and location of the institution/s
  • level of qualification/s
  • official transcript from the secondary and/or tertiary institution
  • number of contact hours per week in English
  • number of years of study
    
    
• your nominated occupation in Australia will be performed at:
  • diplomatic or consular mission of another country
  • an Office of the Authorities of Taiwan
    
    
• your nominated occupation requires you:
  • to hold a licence, registration or membership
  • you were granted the licence, registration, or membership 
  • you had to prove that you had equal or higher English language proficiency than that listed in the table below to be granted the licence, registration or membership
    
    
• you are:
  • an employee of an overseas business
  • the business or its associated entity has nominated you to work in Australia 
  • you will receive guaranteed annual earnings of at least AUD96,400
    
    

If none of the above exemptions apply, you must take an English language test before you apply for the subclass 482 visa in the Core Skills or Specialist Skills stream. You must:

• achieve the minimum score in one of the tests listed below 
• take the test within 3 years before you apply 

Table 1 – Tests taken on or after 13 September 2025

Note: If your test offers a single skill retake option, we may accept your result for that skill. 

Table 2 – Tests taken before 13 September 2025

You must achieve the minimum scores in one sitting. Single skill retake results are not accepted. 

The Department does not accept evidence from English language tests where an entire test is delivered online (also known as “remote-proctored” or “at-home”).

Examples of online tests that the Department does not accept, include:

• CELPIP Online
• IELTS Online
• LANGUAGECERT Academic Online
• OET@Home
• MET Digital (taken at-home)
• TOEFL iBT – Home Edition

You must have English language skills suitable to perform your nominated occupation. English requirements may be specified in the Labour agreement between your employer and the Commonwealth.