Teacher AITSL Skills Assessment 2026: Fee, English Rule, and the 189

How the AITSL teacher skills assessment actually works, its real fee and English requirement, which teaching occupations AITSL doesn't assess, and why only some teaching occupations carry a subclass 189 pathway. Figures as at September 2026.

Read the full guide, with official sources →

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Chapters

  1. 0:00 Not every teacher has a subclass 189 pathway
  2. 0:15 One assessment, two criteria
  3. 0:26 Qualifications
  4. 0:38 English: Academic IELTS only
  5. 0:55 The real cost
  6. 1:08 Processing time
  7. 1:18 What AITSL assesses
  8. 1:39 Early Childhood Teacher (241111) is NOT assessed by AITSL — it's ACECQ
  9. 1:52 Not every occupation has a subclass 189
  10. 2:05 State teacher registration is a separate process
  11. 2:16 Points come from the general scale, not a teaching one
  12. 2:32 Where to read more

Transcript

AITSL doesn't assess every teaching occupation the same way, and not every teaching occupation has a subclass 189 pathway. Here's what actually applies to yours.

AITSL runs one skills assessment, checked against two criteria. Both have to be met: your qualifications, and your English language proficiency.

For qualifications: at least 4 years of higher education study, including a teaching qualification at Bachelor level or higher, and at least 45 days of supervised teaching practice.

For English, AITSL only accepts a single Academic IELTS Test Report Form: 7.0 in both Reading and Writing, and 8.0 in both Speaking and Listening. It does not accept OET, PTE, TOEFL or Cambridge.

The application fee is $1,198, effective from the 7th of September, 2026, with no GST charged. Appealing the outcome costs $938.

AITSL says the majority of assessment-ready applications are completed within 4 to 6 weeks, though volume and complexity can extend that.

AITSL assesses Primary School Teacher, ANZSCO 241213. Middle School Teacher, 241311. Secondary School Teacher, 241411. Special Needs Teacher, 241511. And several other special education codes.

It does not assess Early Childhood Teacher, ANZSCO 241111. That occupation is assessed separately, by the Australian Children's Education and Care Quality Authority.

And visa reach splits the same way. Secondary School Teacher and Special Needs Teacher carry a subclass 189 pathway. Primary School Teacher and Middle School Teacher do not.

Even with a positive AITSL outcome, you still can't teach in a registered school without separate state teacher registration — a different process, on its own timeline.

Points-wise, this is the general skilled-visa scale, not a teacher-specific one: at least 25 but under 33 years old scores 30 points, Superior English scores 20, and a Bachelor degree scores 15 — a standard Master's sits in that same 15 point band.

The full guide, with the official sources, is on migratio.com.au. The link is in the description.

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