Indonesian Students and Australia's Genuine Student Test: English Requirements and Evidence

The Current English Score Requirement

From 23 March 2024, Home Affairs raised the minimum English requirement for a Subclass 500 student visa applying for direct entry to a degree course. The minimum moved from IELTS 5.5 overall to IELTS 6.0 overall, with no individual band below 5.5. This applies to the visa itself, on top of whatever English score your university or college sets for admission, which sometimes runs higher.

Indonesian applicants sit the test through IELTS centres in Jakarta, Surabaya, Bandung, Medan, and other major cities, or take an accepted alternative such as PTE Academic or TOEFL iBT. Confirm which tests your specific university accepts before you book, since not every provider accepts every test.

How Your Provider's Requirement Differs From the Visa Minimum

Universities and colleges set their own English entry score for admission, and this score sometimes sits above the Subclass 500 visa minimum of IELTS 6.0. A competitive program, medicine, law, or a research-heavy master's degree, for example, often asks for IELTS 6.5 or 7.0 for admission even though the visa itself only requires 6.0. Check your specific program's English requirement on the university's admission page rather than assuming the visa minimum is enough to get in.

Building English Preparation Into Your Study Timeline

Start English preparation well before your intended intake, ideally 6 to 12 months ahead if your current score sits well below 6.0. This gives room for more than one test attempt without pushing back your course start date, and reduces the chance you accept a longer ELICOS package purely because time ran out.

The ELICOS Pathway for Lower Scores

If your English score sits below the direct-entry threshold, you enrol in an English Language Intensive Course for Overseas Students (ELICOS) before your main course starts. Since 7 August 2025, this packaged option lowers your visa-eligible minimum to IELTS 5.5 with 10 or more weeks of ELICOS, foundation, or pathway study, or IELTS 5.0 with 20 or more weeks of ELICOS. Your provider's offer letter sets out exactly how many ELICOS weeks and what score applies to your case.

Packaging ELICOS adds time and cost to your study plan, so weigh a longer preparation period in Indonesia against a shorter ELICOS block in Australia before you commit to either path.

How This Connects to the Genuine Student Requirement

Your Genuine Student statement should mention your English preparation as part of your study plan, not as a separate box to tick. Explain how you prepared, the score you achieved or are working toward, and why the course and provider fit your career goals in Indonesia or the wider region. A statement that skips over a low starting score, or does not explain an ELICOS package, prompts extra questions from a case officer.

What Evidence to Prepare

• Your official test report form (TRF) from IELTS, or the equivalent score report from PTE or TOEFL

• Your university's Confirmation of Enrolment (CoE), which lists any packaged ELICOS weeks

• A short explanation in your Genuine Student statement of how you plan to reach the language level your course needs

• School transcripts or prior English study certificates from Indonesia, if relevant to your preparation story

Accepted Alternative Tests

Along with IELTS, Home Affairs accepts PTE Academic, TOEFL iBT, Cambridge English (C1 Advanced), and the Occupational English Test for some course types, each with its own equivalent score band to IELTS 6.0. Check the exact equivalent score for your chosen test on your provider's admission page, since equivalency tables vary slightly between institutions even though the visa threshold stays fixed at the IELTS 6.0 equivalent.

Weighing ELICOS Against a Retake in Indonesia

An ELICOS package inside Australia costs tuition for the extra weeks plus additional living costs and visa duration, but keeps your enrolment timeline moving and lets you settle into student life before your main course begins. Retaking IELTS or PTE in Indonesia costs only the test fee and study time, and keeps your CoE unchanged, but delays your start date if you need several attempts to reach 6.0. Many Indonesian applicants close to the threshold choose a retake, while applicants further below 6.0 choose ELICOS to avoid repeated test fees.

Retaking the Test

If your score misses the threshold by a small margin, retaking IELTS, or switching to PTE Academic if it suits your strengths better, is often faster than committing to a full ELICOS package. Book your retake with enough lead time before your intended course start date, since processing your Subclass 500 application also takes time once you submit your updated score.

Preparing for the Test in Indonesia

Book your IELTS or PTE test early enough to allow at least one retake before your application deadline. Many Indonesian test centres in Jakarta and other major cities run standard test dates monthly, with faster turnaround PTE and computer-delivered IELTS sessions available in some cities for applicants short on time. Practicing with material that matches the real exam format tends to close small score gaps faster than general English classes alone.