How Long Are English Test Results Valid for Australian Migration

English test results have a validity period for migration purposes — they are not valid indefinitely. If your visa application takes a long time to process and your result expires, you may have to sit the test again.

Validity period for each test

IELTS: 3 years from the test date for Australian migration purposes. The validity is counted from the test date, not the date you receive your results.

PTE Academic: 3 years from the test date for Australian migration purposes.

OET: OET scores do not have an expiry date under OET’s own policy. However, DHA may require a result from within the past 3 years for visa purposes — check the specific requirement.

TOEFL iBT: 2 years under TOEFL’s policy. DHA generally accepts results within 3 years.

Cambridge: Cambridge does not set an expiry date on the certificate, but DHA may impose a requirement about how recent the result must be.

When DHA recognises a result

DHA assesses your English result at the time of the visa decision, not at the time you lodge the application. This means:

If you lodge a subclass 186 application with an IELTS result from January 2024, and the visa is decided in March 2027 — the IELTS result will have expired before the decision is made

A strategy to avoid an expired result

Allow for realistic processing time: A subclass 186 application often takes 2–3 years to process. If you sat IELTS in early 2024 and expect a decision in 2027, the result will expire in early 2027 — around the time of the decision.

What you can do:

Re-sit IELTS/PTE when your result is about to expire (around 6 months beforehand)
Track the validity period and add the new result to your application through ImmiAccount
Some visas (such as skilled visas) require the test result at the time the EOI is submitted — check the specific requirement

Does re-sitting affect an application in progress

You are fully allowed to re-sit the test and update your application in progress with the new result. DHA will use the most recent valid result at the time of the decision.