What IELTS score do you need as an optometrist in Australia?

Results can come from one sitting, or from a maximum of two sittings no more than 12 months apart, from the same test provider. With two sittings, IELTS needs 7 overall in each sitting and no component below 6.5; PTE needs 63 overall in each sitting and no skill below 53 (listening), 54 (reading), 60 (writing) or 66 (speaking).

IELTS One Skill Retake is accepted and does not count as an extra sitting, but two sittings plus a retake must all fall within 12 months. At-home, indicative and remotely proctored tests are not accepted; the only exception is the computer-based OET, which must otherwise be taken at a test centre.

Tests taken on or before 22 April 2026 are judged on the older scores: IELTS was the same, PTE Academic was 66 overall with 66 in listening, reading and speaking and 56 in writing, OET was B with C+ in writing, and TOEFL iBT was 94. All of this is on Ahpra's accepted tests page.

Results are generally valid for two years before the date you lodge your application. Older results can still count if, since the test, you have worked continuously in a recognised country as a registered health practitioner (or in a relevant health, disability or aged-care role where English was the main language of practice), or have been continuously enrolled in a Board-approved programme that started within 12 months of the test, and you apply within 12 months of finishing.

You may not need a test at all. The English language skills standard has three education pathways: combined (at least two years of secondary school plus your professional qualification, all taught and assessed solely in English in a recognised country), school (English is your main language and at least 10 years of primary and secondary school in English in a recognised country) and advanced (at least six years of full-time-equivalent education in English in a recognised country, including degree-level study, finished no more than two years before you apply). Recognised countries include Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the Republic of Ireland, the UK, the USA and Malta, plus a list of Caribbean and other territories.

The Optometry Board's overseas practitioners page says your international qualification is assessed by the Optometry Council of Australia and New Zealand (OCANZ) before you apply, followed by the Competency in Optometry Examination (COE). General registration also needs ocular therapeutics competency. Regulators change these rules, sometimes at short notice. Confirm the current scores on the Ahpra page before you book a test.