The English language proficiency standards of Australia’s international students periodically appear in the media spotlight. This paper reports on a nationwide, University sector-lead initiative ensuring Direct Entry English program standards and best practice. The University English Centres Australia (UECA) Benchmarking Project was established to facilitate mutual learning among University English Centres, and to enable institutions to validate their policies, processes and assessment standards. During the project, UECA actively engaged with TEQSA and other industry bodies, on the development of the new TEQSA Guidance Note: ELICOS Direct Entry (23 January, 2019), which offers greater clarity in the interpretation and application of the updated ELICOS Standards 2018. The Standards stress the requirement of providers to ensure that ELICOS Direct Entry programs’ assessment is valid, reliable, fair and clearly referenced to criteria. UECA’s collaborative benchmarking project involved 60 assessors from 20 Australian University Centres using the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR) to externally validate university partners’ writing assessments and international student work samples using the online Peer Review Portal. This paper provides an overview of lessons learnt using collaborative partnerships to benchmark Direct Entry programs to the benefit of the vibrant Australian higher education sector, its providers and students.