New language assessments to be used by DIAC.
English Language Tests for immigrants arriving in Australia are to be shaken up in plans announced by the Australian Immigration Department this week.
Previously the IELTS was the definitive test for migrants wishing to enter Australia, but now the DIAC have announced that they will consider rival exams, paving the way for competition amongst English language providers.
A spokesman for the DIAC confirmed to The Australian newspaper that Senator Chris Evans has been in talks with other English language test providers to tell them of “his in-principal support for the acceptance of more than one English language test under the migration regulations.” Rival exams such as Toefl may now be accepted as a suitable assessment for the English language.
ETS, the company that produces the Toefl assessment, said that they were hopeful that Toefl could soon be used by Australian migrants taking English assessments.
The IELTS tests has been crucial to migrants applying for Australian visas and just recently the DIAC announced that pass rates were set to get higher as they focus on getting more skilled migrants will good language skills. The shake-up is just one part of a series of changes to the Australian immigration process.
Although these plans have been on the drawing board since 2008 when the DIAC asked other English language assessment providers to put forward their case for inclusion within the immigration process. It could mean an end to the monopoly that the IELTS assessments have enjoyed and a wider choice for would-be migrants to Australia.
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