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Key takeaway: AITSL requires a teacher skills assessment for skilled-migrant teachers; its Secondary and Primary checklists ask for 4 years of study and IELTS 7.0 and 8.0 (or a study option), and Home Affairs publishes the visa conditions and "from" costs.

Teacher occupations on the Home Affairs list

The Home Affairs skilled occupation list page shows Last updated: 6 August 2025. Each row names the lists the occupation is on, the visas and the assessing authority. CSOL is the Core Skills Occupation List, MLTSSL the Medium and Long-term Strategic Skills List and STSOL the Short-term Skilled Occupation List. In the rows read for this review, Secondary School Teacher shows MLTSSL and CSOL, with subclass 189, 190 and 491 among the visas listed, and AITSL as assessing authority. Primary School Teacher shows STSOL and CSOL, with 190 and 491 listed but not 189, also with AITSL. Early Childhood (Pre-primary School) Teacher shows MLTSSL and CSOL, with 189 listed, and ACECQA as assessing authority.

Department of Home Affairs: Skilled occupation list — Secondary School Teacher (241411) Department of Home Affairs: Skilled occupation list — Primary School Teacher (241213) Department of Home Affairs: Skilled occupation list — Early Childhood (Pre-primary School) Teacher (241111)

AITSL qualification criteria

AITSL says teachers migrating to Australia on a skilled migrant visa are required to complete a teacher skills assessment through AITSL. It assesses every application against a qualifications criterion and an English language criterion, and you must meet both. For qualifications, its process page asks for a minimum of 4 years full-time (or part-time equivalent) university-level study that includes a relevant initial teacher education qualification. The Secondary School Teacher checklist adds at least 1 year of secondary initial teacher education and at least 45 days of supervised teaching practice across the 13 to 18 age range. The Primary checklist uses the same minimums, with the 5 to 12 age range in a primary school setting.

AITSL: Skills assessments AITSL: Application process (skills assessment) AITSL: Secondary School Teacher (ANZSCO 241411) Applicant Checklist AITSL: Primary School Teacher (ANZSCO 241213) Applicant Checklist

AITSL English language rules

AITSL says the English criterion can be met through one of two options: a study option or a suitable Academic IELTS Test Report Form. The study option means at least 4 full years of study in the 6 listed countries (Australia, Canada, the Republic of Ireland, New Zealand, the United Kingdom or the United States of America). AITSL says this study must include a recognised initial teacher education qualification, with all its components, including supervised teaching practice, completed in those countries. The Secondary and Primary checklists ask for IELTS of at least 7.0 in Reading and Writing and at least 8.0 in Speaking and Listening, from a test in the 3 years before applying. AITSL accepts only Academic IELTS, not TOEFL or PTE.

AITSL: English language proficiency (skills assessment) AITSL: Secondary School Teacher (ANZSCO 241411) Applicant Checklist AITSL: Primary School Teacher (ANZSCO 241213) Applicant Checklist

AITSL fee and published timing

AITSL's fees page, effective 7 September 2026, lists the application for skills assessment at AUD 1198, and says no Goods and Services Tax is charged on this fee. For timing, AITSL's process page says the majority of assessment-ready applications are completed within 4 weeks and some may take up to 6 weeks. It also says these estimates may be extended when application numbers rise, and that it was assessing applications received in the week of 5 October 2026. Incomplete applications or incorrect documents delay processing.

AITSL: Fees (skills assessment) AITSL: Application process (skills assessment)

Subclass 189 visa conditions

The Home Affairs page for the Skilled Independent visa (subclass 189), points-tested stream, shows Last updated: 1 July 2026. It says you can only apply if invited, must be aged under 45 when invited, and must have at least competent English at the time of invitation. It says you will not be invited if you do not obtain a score of 65 points. It adds that the invitation states the points you must score when the application is assessed, and that this score may be higher than 65. The occupation must be on the relevant list of eligible skilled occupations.

Department of Home Affairs: Skilled Independent visa (subclass 189), Points-tested stream

Subclass 189 cost and processing

The 189 page shows the cost as from AUD 6,135.00 (concessions apply in limited circumstances). Its detailed text gives AUD 6,135.00 for the main applicant and says there is also a charge for each family member who applies. It gives no fixed processing time. It points to a processing time guide tool, which it calls a guide only, and states, for each group, that it is currently processing applications lodged in or before a given month under Ministerial Direction No. 122. One line, June 2026, names Teaching among several sectors. It gives no processing time for any individual application, and says allocation dates and processing timeframes may fluctuate.

Department of Home Affairs: Skilled Independent visa (subclass 189), Points-tested stream

Subclass 190 and 491 visas

The Skilled Nominated visa (subclass 190) page, Last updated: 2 October 2026, says you must have been nominated by an Australian state or territory government agency, and that you will only be invited if nominated. It shows the cost as from AUD 6,140.00, and says there is also a charge for each family member. The Skilled Work Regional (Provisional) visa (subclass 491) page, also Last updated: 2 October 2026, says you must be nominated by a state or territory government agency or sponsored by an eligible relative. It lists a stay of 5 years, applications for permanent residence after 3 years from the time the visa is granted, and a cost from AUD 6,140.00.

Department of Home Affairs: Skilled Nominated visa (subclass 190) Department of Home Affairs: Skilled Work Regional (Provisional) visa (subclass 491)

State teacher registration, one example

AITSL says teacher registration is granted and managed by teacher regulatory authorities in each Australian state and territory, and that you can submit a skills assessment application without Australian teacher registration. As one example, the Victorian Institute of Teaching policy, effective 28 October 2025, says English competence is met by four full years of higher education study that includes an approved teacher education program, in English in listed countries. Otherwise it lists approved tests: Academic IELTS with a minimum of 7 in reading and writing and 8 in speaking and listening, or ISLPR with a standard of 4 in all areas. Other states and territories have their own regulators, which this review did not read.

AITSL: Australian teacher registration (fact sheet for skills assessment) Victorian Institute of Teaching: English Language Competency Policy

Questions before acting

What English score does AITSL ask for?

AITSL says the English criterion can be met through one of two options. One is at least 4 full years of study in the 6 listed countries, including teacher education with all its components, such as supervised teaching practice, completed in those countries. The other is Academic IELTS: the Secondary and Primary checklists (July 2026) ask for at least 7.0 in Reading and Writing and 8.0 in Speaking and Listening, from a test in the 3 years before applying. Other occupations' checklists were not read.

Is teaching on the skilled occupation list?

In the rows read for this review, Secondary School Teacher is shown on MLTSSL and CSOL with subclass 189 among the listed visas. Primary School Teacher is shown on STSOL and CSOL, with 190 and 491 listed but not 189. The list page shows Last updated: 6 August 2025, so check the live Home Affairs list.

How long and how much is the AITSL assessment?

AITSL lists AUD 1198 for the application, effective 7 September 2026. It says most assessment-ready applications are completed within 4 weeks and some may take up to 6 weeks, and that these estimates may be extended.

Corrections in this revision

The previous version included statements without sufficient direct support. This revision removes or corrects:

  • A salary range in euros: removed. No official source for teacher salaries was used, and currency conversions are not allowed.
  • The AITSL assessment time estimate: replaced by the range AITSL itself publishes for assessment-ready applications, which it says may be extended.
  • The AITSL assessment fee figure: corrected to the current figure on the AITSL fees page.
  • The visa processing time estimate for the independent skilled visa: removed. The Home Affairs page publishes no fixed processing time and points to a guide tool.
  • The language-test scores attributed to state registration: corrected to the values in the AITSL checklists and the Victorian Institute of Teaching policy; no source for the old scores was found.
  • The claim that state registration authorities set among the highest language thresholds of any profession: removed as an unsupported comparison; only one state regulator was checked.
  • The degree-length wording (a teaching degree, or a bachelor degree plus a graduate diploma): replaced with the AITSL wording on years of university-level study including initial teacher education.
  • The statement that secondary teachers qualify for the independent skilled visa: reworded to what the Home Affairs row shows, without claiming that anyone qualifies.
  • The statement that primary and early childhood teachers sit on the same short-term list with fewer options: corrected. The two rows differ, and early childhood has a different assessing authority.
  • The statement about special education teachers being on a long-term list: not verified in this review; removed.
  • The claim that qualifications from several English-speaking countries are commonly assessed as equivalent: removed. On the AITSL pages read for this review, nothing says they are commonly assessed as equivalent; the pages say study in those countries can meet its English study option and that qualifications must be comparable to an Australian bachelor degree or higher.
  • The claims that some states combine test scores across sittings and require extra units in Aboriginal education or the Australian curriculum: removed, not described in this article. The one state policy read has its own rule on test sittings, so check the regulator.
  • The statement that Australia especially needs teachers in named subjects: removed, no official shortage source read.
  • The employer-sponsored skills visa as a main route: not covered in this review; only the three skilled visas described in the text are covered.
  • Generic World Bank and OECD data sources: removed from the source list as they support no claim in the text.

Review scope: legal and financial statements in this revised article. Recheck on a provider, professional, immigration or tax-rule change; reuse of dated figures requires a new check.

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About the author

António Mira is the founder of whereTOemigrate. For over a decade he has worked at the intersection of Portuguese real estate and overseas business, helping international clients navigate the cross-border decisions that come with relocating. He sits on the board of CCIAP (Portuguese-Arab Chamber of Commerce), the Portuguese-Saudi Business Council, and the Portugal-Hong Kong Business Association — always with one focus: enabling overseas business and human mobility into and out of Portugal.

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