Required
For nursing and midwifery registration, Ahpra and the Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia list IELTS Academic with an overall band of 7 and Listening 7, Reading 7, Speaking 7 and Writing 6.5. IELTS General Training is not listed. Two sittings can be combined under set conditions (see the tips below).
IELTS Academic Band ↔ CEFR Level — what a score in a single skill means against the Ahpra minimums
| IELTS Band (one skill) | CEFR Level | Against the Ahpra minimums | What this means |
|---|---|---|---|
| 9.0 | C2 | Above every minimum | No language barrier in this skill |
| 8.0 | C1+ | Above every minimum | Comfortable buffer above 7 and 6.5 |
| 7.0 | C1 | Meets every minimum | Clears Listening, Reading, Speaking and Writing |
| 6.5 | C1 (lower) | Meets Writing only | Enough for Writing (6.5); Listening, Reading and Speaking need 7 |
| 6.0 | B2 | Below every minimum | Short of the minimum in every skill |
| 5.5 | B2 (lower) | Below every minimum | Significant language development required |
Your prep plan
- 1
Run a diagnostic across all four skills before committing to a plan
Ahpra lists 7 overall, 7 in Listening, Reading and Speaking, and 6.5 in Writing. Take a full practice test under exam conditions, then score each skill against the official IELTS band descriptors. It is easy to overestimate your level in at least one component, often Speaking or Writing Task 1. Diagnose before you prepare, so the plan targets your real gaps rather than assumed strengths.
- 2
Prioritise Speaking — it needs 7, so extend responses and vary your register
Speaking 7.0 requires extended, coherent discourse with only minor non-systematic errors. Clinical English can be functionally accurate yet lack the fluency range expected in Part 2 and Part 3. Practise two-minute long-turn responses on general topics using three to four developed ideas per response. Aim for 6 weeks of daily 15-minute speaking practice with recorded self-review before booking.
- 3
Build Academic Writing from chart description upward (target 6.5, aim higher for margin)
IELTS Academic Writing Task 1 — chart and process description — is unfamiliar to many clinical candidates and can pull the Writing band down even when Task 2 essays are strong. Writing is reported as one band, with Task 2 weighted about twice as much as Task 1. The Ahpra minimum for Writing is 6.5, so Task 1 weakness matters but need not be perfect. A sensible split is to spend the first few weeks on Task 1 (overview paragraphs, data vocabulary, process-sequence language) and then add Task 2 essay practice.
- 4
Practice Academic Reading at speed with near-perfect accuracy
Academic Reading texts come from books, journals, magazines and newspapers, and you answer comprehension questions on them under a 60-minute limit. Yes/No/Not Given and Matching Sentence Endings are question types many candidates find tricky, so practise those first, then work on speed: 40 questions in 60 minutes is about 90 seconds per question, including the time spent reading the passages.
- 5
Book when your full mocks consistently clear the minimums
Listening, Reading and Speaking each need 7, so a strong Listening score does not make up for a 6.5 in Speaking. Book when your recent full practice tests each show overall 7 with Listening, Reading and Speaking at 7 and Writing at 6.5 or above; aiming slightly higher in Writing leaves a margin for test-day variation. If you may need two sittings, read the combining rules first, since both sittings must meet specific conditions.
What a band 7+ answer looks like
Band 7 sample — Speaking Part 2 topic: "Describe a time when you explained something complicated to another person. You should say: what you explained, who you explained it to, why it was complicated, and how you felt afterwards."
I'd like to talk about a time I had to explain a treatment procedure to an elderly patient who had very little medical background. It was during my clinical placement, and the patient needed to understand why they were being given a combination of medications that seemed contradictory — one to raise blood pressure, another to manage heart rate. Both drugs are associated with opposing effects in popular understanding, so the patient was understandably confused and a little anxious.
I started by acknowledging their concern rather than immediately correcting the misconception, which I've found tends to put people at ease. Then I used a simple analogy — comparing the two drugs to a car's accelerator and brakes working together to maintain a safe speed, rather than cancelling each other out. By the end, the patient said they finally understood and seemed genuinely relieved. Personally, I felt a real sense of satisfaction — not just because the communication had worked, but because I'd managed to stay patient and adapt my language on the spot.
Scoring notes: Speaks at length with minimal hesitation — Band 7 Fluency. Varied grammatical structures: relative clauses ('who had very little medical background'), participle phrases and comparison (Grammatical Range: 7). Topic-relevant vocabulary used naturally: 'contradictory, misconception, analogy' (Lexical Resource: 7). Coherent narrative with clear problem → strategy → outcome structure (Coherence: 7). No single error disrupts communication — Band 7 tolerance for minor errors met.
Source: Score requirements come from the Ahpra accepted English language tests page (checked October 2026). Ahpra updated its rules for some other tests on 23 April 2026; the IELTS scores did not change. Confirm the current rules there before you book.
Goal-specific tips
- Ahpra lets you combine two IELTS sittings if they are no more than 12 months apart, taken with the same provider, with an overall of at least 7 in each sitting, a combined result that reaches 7 in Listening, Reading and Speaking and 6.5 in Writing, and no component below 6.5 in either sitting.
- IELTS Academic is the listed test, taken on paper or on computer at a test centre. IELTS General Training is not listed. Academic Writing Task 1 is a chart or process description; General Training Task 1 is a letter, so confirm your booking says Academic.
- IELTS One Skill Retake within 60 days of the original test does not count as an extra sitting. If you use it together with two sittings, everything must still fall within the 12-month window.
- Ahpra changed its requirements for some other accepted English tests on 23 April 2026, but the IELTS scores did not change. If you are considering a different test, check the current Ahpra list rather than older guidance.
- The Ahpra minimums are overall 7, Listening 7, Reading 7, Speaking 7 and Writing 6.5. Writing is the one skill with a lower minimum, so a 6.5 there is enough but 7 gives a margin.
- This guide follows the Ahpra page for the Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia. Other professions may be listed differently, so check the page for your own profession before you book.