Applicants for a number of visas are being given more choice in English language testing.
From November 2014, people applying for Temporary Graduate, Skilled, Work and Holiday and Former Resident visas will be able to provide the Department of Immigration and Border Protection (DIBP) with a test score from the Test of English as a Foreign Language internet-based test (TOEFL iBT) or the Pearson Test of English Academic.
These tests are in addition to the International English Language Testing System (IELTS) and the Occupational English Test currently used, and scores from these additional tests will be benchmarked against the IELTS equivalency. A final implementation date in November will be published later this year.
A list of the visa subclasses accepting scores from the alternative tests and a summary of test score equivalencies is available on the DIBP website at: www.immi.gov.au/News/Pages/aelt.aspx.
The DIBP will also be able to accept scores from the Cambridge English: Advanced (CAE) test from early 2015, and later in the year they will publish more about this test on their website. Scores from a Cambridge English: Advanced (CAE) test taken before the 2015 implementation date will not be accepted by the DIBP.