What IELTS score do you need for Northern Territory 190 or 491 nomination?

Home Affairs sets each level per skill, not as one overall score, and a state can only use these levels. Sources: Competent, Proficient and Superior English pages. On the 190 and 491 points tests Competent earns 0 points, Proficient 10 and Superior 20. A citizen holding a valid passport from Canada, New Zealand, the Republic of Ireland, the United Kingdom or the United States meets Competent English without a test, but needs a test score to claim Proficient or Superior.

NT nomination adds 5 points for the 190 (points table) or 15 for the 491 (points table). Proficient or Superior English adds 10 or 20 more Home Affairs points; if your partner's skills earn you points, the NT asks for evidence of their Competent English unless they are from an exempt country.

The NT nomination page (updated 13 October 2026) says the NT Government has received sufficient applications for 2026-27. No new applications are accepted for the 190 or for any offshore stream. New 491 applications are accepted only by exception from onshore NT Graduate or NT Resident applicants with a deadline before 30 September 2027: a substantive visa expiring by then without 485 eligibility, turning 45 by then, or a birthday that drops their 491 points below 65.

State programmes change between and during programme years, often at short notice. Check the NT Government visa nomination page before you book a test or lodge an Expression of Interest. This guide restates official pages read on 14 October 2026; it is not migration advice.