AITSL skills assessment for teachers: fee, English scores, documents and timing (2026)

What the AITSL assessment is (and what it isn't)

The Australian Institute for Teaching and School Leadership (AITSL) is the assessing authority that the Department of Home Affairs names for school teaching occupations. If your visa needs a skills assessment, which most skilled and many employer-sponsored visas do, AITSL decides whether your qualifications are 'suitable' for your nominated occupation. It looks at two things only: your qualifications and your English. You must meet both.

Two things catch people out. First, AITSL does not look at how good or experienced you are. Its own FAQ calls it 'a qualifications-based assessment', so ten years of glowing reports won't fix a qualification that falls short. Second, a suitable outcome does not let you teach. Registration is handled by each state's regulator, such as NESA in NSW or the VIT in Victoria. See our guide to overseas teacher registration by state for that second step.

Which occupations AITSL assesses

Pick the occupation your teaching qualification most closely prepares you for, not the job you'd like. If AITSL decides a different occupation fits better, it tells you and lets you switch at no extra cost. Be careful with one-year qualifications that cover more than one age range (for example primary and secondary together). AITSL says these are likely to be assessed as not suitable, because you need at least a year of teacher education relevant to your nominated occupation.

The qualification test: 4 years plus a real teaching qualification

The practicum evidence is where many applications stall. AITSL does not accept placement reports from your supervising teacher, statements from a partner school or training provider, QTS or induction certificates, registration certificates or work experience statements. It must come from the university that awarded the qualification. If your transcript doesn't show it, ask the university's registry or education faculty for a letter well before you apply.

The English test: IELTS Academic 7, 7, 8, 8

You meet the English criterion one of two ways. The study option applies if you completed four full years of study in Australia, Canada, the Republic of Ireland, New Zealand, the United Kingdom or the United States, including a recognised teaching qualification with every component, practicum included, completed in those countries. Otherwise you need an IELTS Academic Test Report Form with at least 7.0 in Reading, 7.0 in Writing, 8.0 in Speaking and 8.0 in Listening, taken within the 24 months before you apply.

• Accepted: IELTS Academic on paper or on computer at an IELTS test centre, and IELTS One Skill Retake.
• Not accepted: IELTS Online, IELTS Indicator, PTE, TOEFL, Cambridge, ISLPR, PEAT or any other test.
• AITSL can still ask for an IELTS result if it isn't sure about your English, even if you used the study option.
• AITSL verifies every TRF. A fake or altered result means a decline, a report to Home Affairs and a three-year ban on new applications.

If you need to sit the test, read our IELTS for teachers guide. The 8.0 in Speaking and Listening is the band most teachers find hardest, and the state registration bodies use similar (but not identical) rules.

Fees, refunds and how you pay

How to apply, step by step

Processing time right now

AITSL says most assessment-ready applications are completed within 4 weeks, and some take up to 6 weeks. Those times can stretch when application numbers jump. On 16 October 2026 its website said it was working on applications received in the week of 5 October 2026, so the queue was moving at roughly the advertised speed. 'Assessment-ready' matters: if AITSL has to ask you for a missing practicum letter, your clock effectively restarts.

If you are found not suitable, AITSL says that outcome has already been checked by three assessment officers, including senior assessors. You can appeal for $938, but an appeal only helps if you can show AITSL got something wrong or you have new evidence of something you already had. It won't fix a qualification that is genuinely too short. In that case, talk to a migration agent about other pathways, or consider extra study.

The Skilled Employment Statement and visa points

The SES is an optional add-on that summarises your teaching employment so Home Affairs can award points for skilled work experience on a points-tested visa. AITSL will only count employment that meets all of these: paid, after you finished the qualifications that met its criteria, in the same ANZSCO unit group as your nominated occupation, within the past 10 years, at least 20 hours a week, and in a registered school (in any country).

AITSL's SES page sets the minimum period that can earn points at one year in Australia or three years overseas. Whether the points help depends on your age, English score and other claims, so model your full points total before paying for the SES. Statements are issued through My eQuals, and you can share a digital copy with your agent.

After AITSL: registration, pay and choosing a state

A suitable outcome is the start, not the finish. Before you can work in a school you need registration (NSW calls it accreditation) with the regulator in your state, a working with children check where the state requires one, and a job. Some regulators, like the VIT in Victoria, run their own pre-assessment of overseas qualifications, so expect your documents to be checked twice.

Your pay depends on the state and on how the employer counts your overseas experience. NSW pays $92,882 to $133,422 for classroom teachers from October 2026, and the NT pays $96,180 to $136,997 from January 2026. Compare every state in our best state to teach guide, and see what a salary means after tax with the take-home pay calculator.