What IELTS score do you need for Wintec?

Wintec's Level 5 requirement is stricter than NZQA's floor. NZQA allows IELTS Academic 5.5 (no band below 5) for Level 5 programmes, but Wintec groups Level 5 with Levels 6 and 7 at 6.0 (5.5). So if you plan a Level 5 diploma, aim for 6.0, and ask Wintec which PTE score it accepts at that level.

Wintec states a 2-year validity period for all assessments, and says external bodies may set higher, programme-specific IELTS levels, as nursing and teaching regulators do. Its academic entry requirements are listed by country on the same page, including India and Nepal.

Each programme page states its own English level, and Wintec can change it for a new intake. Confirm the score on your programme page before you book a test.

Outside the universities, New Zealand providers must follow NZQA's English language entry requirements. The minimum by level in NZQA's Table is IELTS Academic 5.5 (no band below 5) or PTE 42 (36) for Level 5 programmes, 6.0 (5.5) or PTE 50 (42) for Level 6 and 7 diplomas and degrees, and 6.5 (6.0) or PTE 58 (50) for Level 8 to 10 postgraduate study. A programme may set a higher level, and then the higher level applies.

Results must be from the two years before the programme starts and from a single test report, taken at a test centre. NZQA accepts IELTS One Skill Retake but not TOEFL MyBest scores. Since 21 January 2026 the new-format TOEFL iBT cannot be accepted by non-university providers; only older TOEFL results and the TOEFL iBT Australia / New Zealand test count. Duolingo is not in NZQA's Table.

A degree taught in English exempts you only if it is from New Zealand, Australia, Canada, Fiji, Ireland, Kiribati, Nauru, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, the Solomon Islands, South Africa, Tonga, Tuvalu, the UK, the US or Vanuatu. Indian, Nepali and Pakistani degrees are not on that list, so applicants from those countries need a test.