PTE vs IELTS for Australia PR: What Vietnamese Applicants Actually Score Higher On

The question comes up in every "Định cư Úc diện tay nghề" Facebook group: PTE hay IELTS? And the answers are all over the place — someone got 79 PTE in six weeks, someone else failed the speaking section three times. What Vietnamese applicants rarely see is a side-by-side analysis specific to their situation: a tonal-language speaker who reads and writes English competently but struggles with the spoken rhythm patterns that IELTS examiners reward.

Here is an honest breakdown of both tests, the specific challenges Vietnamese speakers face in each, and what the choice means for your points total.

Why the Test Choice Matters So Much

English proficiency is worth up to 20 points in the Australian skilled migration points test — more than a four-year university degree (15 points). The difference between "Proficient" and "Superior" English is 10 points. In practical terms, those 10 points can be the difference between waiting 18 months for an invitation and receiving one in the next round.

The three tiers that matter for migration are:

Most Vietnamese professionals sitting the test for migration purposes are targeting either Proficient (10 points) or Superior (20 points). Competent English gets you in the door for eligibility but contributes nothing to your score.

The Vietnamese Speaker's Specific Challenges

Vietnamese is a tonal, monosyllabic language. English is non-tonal and relies heavily on stress patterns, intonation arcs, and vowel reduction in connected speech. This creates predictable friction points in both tests — but the friction appears in different places.

In IELTS:

The Speaking module is assessed by a human examiner over a 12-minute live conversation. Scores are awarded across four criteria: Fluency and Coherence, Lexical Resource, Grammatical Range and Accuracy, and Pronunciation. Vietnamese speakers who have strong grammar and vocabulary frequently lose points on Pronunciation — not because their English is unintelligible, but because tonal interference affects the stress and rhythm patterns the examiner is trained to expect.

The Writing module is also human-graded, and Task 2 (the argumentative essay) rewards a specific "discursive" register that Vietnamese academic writing — which tends to be more declarative and less hedged — does not naturally produce. Many Vietnamese test-takers score 7.0 in Reading and Listening but consistently hit 6.5 in Writing, preventing the 7.0-in-each-band Proficient result.

In PTE Academic:

Speaking is machine-scored. The algorithm assesses pronunciation, oral fluency, and content — but the scoring is based on pattern recognition against model answers, not a human examiner's subjective impression. Vietnamese speakers who prepare specifically for the PTE scoring model — including the rhythm and content templates required for tasks like "Describe Image" and "Retell Lecture" — can achieve consistently higher scores than they would with IELTS.

Writing in PTE is also computer-scored. The automated system rewards specific structural patterns: clear topic sentences, coherent transitions, and vocabulary range. With targeted preparation, Vietnamese professionals find the scoring more predictable than IELTS writing.

The main difficulty Vietnamese speakers face in PTE is the Listening module — specifically the "Summarize Spoken Text" and "Highlight Correct Summary" tasks, which require real-time comprehension of fast, accented English. This requires genuine listening practice, not just template drilling.

Current Test Fees in Vietnam (2026)

Both tests are available at multiple centers in Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, and Da Nang.

The IELTS One Skill Retake, available at IDP centers, is worth noting. If you score 8.0 in three bands but 7.5 in Writing on your IELTS, you can retake only the Writing component for approximately 2,940,000 VND rather than repeating the full test. This is a significant financial relief for applicants near the Superior threshold.

PTE Academic does not offer individual skill retakes — you must resit the full test each time. However, the test can be booked at relatively short notice (sometimes same-week), and the turnaround for results is 48–72 hours versus 3–7 days for IELTS.

Which Test Vietnamese Professionals Actually Choose

Data from Vietnamese migration communities and preparation centers in HCMC and Hanoi shows a clear trend: the majority of Vietnamese skilled migration applicants targeting Superior English now choose PTE Academic.

The reasons are practical:

• PTE preparation is more systematic — there are established template-based strategies for each task type that Vietnamese learners find easier to drill
• Machine scoring removes subjectivity — speaking and writing scores are not affected by a human examiner's personal impression of the applicant's accent or confidence
• Centers are readily available — PTE testing centers in HCMC (Pearson VUE authorized centers) and Hanoi offer frequent test dates
• Score visibility — PTE score reports include subscores for enabling skills (grammar, oral fluency, pronunciation, spelling, vocabulary, written discourse), which helps identify exactly which skills to target in subsequent attempts

That said, IELTS is not always the inferior choice. If you already have strong speaking confidence and your writing consistently reaches 7.5+ in practice, IELTS Academic may take fewer attempts. Some applicants also hold existing IELTS scores from a previous university application and prefer to build on a system they know.

PTE Score Requirements: What 79 Actually Means

The PTE Academic scoring scale runs from 10 to 90. "Superior English" for Australian migration requires a minimum of 79 in each of the four communicative skills: Speaking, Writing, Reading, and Listening.

Crucially, the requirement is 79 in each skill, not an average of 79. An overall score of 82 with a 72 in Speaking does not meet the Superior threshold — it meets Proficient (65+) only.

Important 2025 update: Pearson updated the PTE Academic scoring algorithm in August 2025, with tighter scoring for the Speaking and Writing modules. Applicants who prepared to the pre-update standard may find their scores have shifted slightly. If you are using older preparation materials or mock tests, recalibrate your expectations against current scoring patterns.

The practical preparation benchmark for Vietnamese applicants aiming at 79 in each skill: treat 82 as your target. Building a small buffer above the threshold protects against day-to-day variation in performance.

The Bottom Line

For most Vietnamese skilled migration applicants targeting Superior English (20 points), PTE Academic is the more efficient path. The machine-scored environment reduces the effect of Vietnamese accent features on speaking results, and the template-based preparation approach is well-suited to systematic Vietnamese study habits.

IELTS Academic is still worth considering if you have strong existing speaking confidence, prefer human interaction, or are targeting specific healthcare roles (like nursing) where IELTS scores may also be relevant for AHPRA registration alongside migration.

Whichever test you sit, the 20-point difference between Proficient and Superior English is the single highest-return investment in your migration profile. Getting to 79 PTE or 8.0 IELTS before lodging your EOI — rather than lodging first and retesting later — is consistently the strategy that produces the fastest invitation outcomes for Vietnamese applicants.

The full points optimization strategy, including how to sequence your test results, skills assessment, and state nomination application, is in the Vietnam to Australia Skilled Migration Guide.

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