Entry Requirements

Entry Requirements

International students must meet both academic and English language entry requirements to study an award course at TAFE SA. To check the specific academic entry requirements for your chosen course, please visit the International Course Pages of our website.

Academic Entry Criteria

Each individual course at TAFE SA has academic entry criteria that students must meet to be eligible for enrolment in that course.  To check the specific academic entry requirements for your chosen course visit the International Course Pages of our website. In general, the minimum academic entry is:

• Certificate III course – satisfactory completion of Year 10 or equivalent
• Certificate IV course - satisfactory completion of Year 11 or equivalent
• Diplomas, Advanced Diplomas and Associate Degree courses - satisfactory completion of Year 12 or equivalent

Most Foundation Studies Programs, particularly those offered by Australian Universities, are deemed equivalent to Year 12. 

Additional Academic Entry Criteria 

Some courses require additional entry criteria.  For example,  Arts courses often require a portfolio or audition and Health courses an aptitude or skills test.  Visit the International Course Page for your chosen course to check specific entry details. 

17 Years +

You must be 17 years or over prior to commencement date of studies at TAFE SA.  

21 Years +

If you are 21 years you are considered to be a mature-age student and you do not meet the academic entry requirements of your selected course, you may still be eligible for entry, based on your work experience.  Your application will be assessed on a case-by-case basis, by the relevant Program Area

Bangladeshi, Indian, Nepalese and Pakistani Students

If you are a Bangladeshi, Indian, Nepalese and Pakistani student you need to have satisfactorily completed Year 12 or overseas equivalent and received a result of 60% in your top 4 subjects (excluding your native language) to enrol in any TAFE SA course (ie Cert III, Cert IV, Diploma, Advanced Diploma and Associate Degree).  If you have had to re-sit any of your exams you also need to provide the results of those exams.
Please note: We don't accept Punjab State Board or Haryana State Board HS results. You need to present a Central Board result exam or a higher qualification.

Equivalent Overseas Qualifications

The following overseas qualifications are recognised as being equivalent to Australian Years 10, 11 and 12 for entry onto our courses:

Note: Satisfactory results must be achieved (e.g. 50% minimum average in all courses, except Nursing and Dental applications which require 60% minimum average)

English language requirements

Students must meet the English language entry score of the particular course of interest.  For most Advanced Diploma, Diploma and Certificate courses students are required to have a minimum IELTS (International English Language Testing Service) score of 5.5 overall (academic) with no band/sub score under 5.0. There are some courses which require a different score.  Please check your individual course requirements via the International Course Home Page. 

All of the test must have been taken no more than 2 years before the commencement of course.

*To be confirmed

When IELTS  is NOT Required

The following are circumstances in which you will not be required to provide evidence of an IELTS score:

• Successful completion, within the last two years, of a secondary or tertiary level course, undertaken in English in a country where English is an official language or the main language spoken (as deemed by TAFE SA)
• Successful completion of at least one year of study, within the last two years, in a CRICOS registered course delivered in Australia (Year 12 or above). (Exclude Diploma of Nursing and Dental courses.)
  

Please note however that students applying for any Packaged Program with The University of Adelaide, or for the Bachelor of Nursing Packaged Program with the University of South Australia, are always required to provide evidence of their IELTS score

IELTS Score not high enough?

If your IELTS score is not high enough for entry onto your chosen course then why not improve your score by studying an English language program at our English Language Centre (ELC).  We offer a number of different English language programs, including English for Academic Purposes (EAP), which provides direct entry into our award courses at TAFE SA. 

IELTS Score for University Packaged Programs

If you choose to study one of our University Packaged Programs which lead directly into a Bachelor course at The University of Adelaide or the University of South Australia, you will be required, on completion of your TAFE SA course, to submit proof to the university of an IELTS score of 6 or 6.5. Use the diagrams below to work out how you can achieve this goal through TAFE SA's English language programs:

Please note that admission of TAFE SA international students to the University of Adelaide is based on their overall IELTS equivalent score without reference to individual band score.

Local University acceptance of TAFE SA English programs

English for Academic Purposes (EAP) 20

University of South Australia: Students who have successfully gained a credit result in the TAFE SA English for Academic Purposes (20 weeks) are assumed to have the equivalent of an overall IELTS score of 6.0.
University of Adelaide: Students who have successfully completed the TAFE SA English for Academic Purposes (20 weeks) are assumed to have the equivalent of an overall IELTS score of 6.0.

English for Academic Purposes (EAP) Advanced

University of Adelaide: Students who have successfully completed the TAFE SA English for Academic Purposes (20 weeks) are assumed to have the equivalent of an overall IELTS score of 6.0.
University of South Australia: Students who have successfully gained a P result in all aspects of their final report (together with a Letter of Recommendation) in the TAFE SA English for Academic Purposes Advanced (after 10 weeks in the program) are assumed to have the equivalent of an overall IELTS score of 6.0 with a minimum of 6.0 in reading and writing.
University of South Australia: Students who have successfully gained a P result in all aspects of their final report (together with a Letter of Recommendation) in the TAFE SA English for Academic Purposes Advanced (Part 2) are assumed to have the equivalent of an overall IELTS score of 6.5 with a minimum of 6.5 in reading and writing.

Certificate IV in English Proficiency & Diploma of English Proficiency (recent graduates – this course is no longer offered to International Students)

University of Adelaide: Students who have successfully completed the TAFE SA Certificate IV in English Proficiency are assumed to have the equivalent of an overall IELTS score of 6.0.
University of Adelaide: Students who have successfully completed the TAFE SA Diploma of English Proficiency are assumed to have the equivalent of an overall IELTS score of 7.0
University of South Australia: Students who have successfully completed the TAFE SA Certificate IV in English Proficiency are assumed to have the equivalent of an overall IELTS score of 6.0
University of South Australia: Students who have successfully completed the Diploma of English Proficiency (ISLPR 3+ to 4) will be recognised as meeting the English Language requirements for entry to UniSA undergraduate programs and post-graduate programs requiring a minimum overall IELTS of 6.5. Students achieving below ISLPR 3+ to 4 will be required to submit an IELTS score as required by the program of interest
Admission of TAFE SA international students to the University of Adelaide is based on their overall IELTS equivalent score without reference to individual band score