CRICOS-registered
Check the provider and the course
Both are registered separately. Search the register before you pay.
CRICOS · register of institutions and coursesSTUDY ABROAD / AU
Back yourself.Your next chapter.In Australia.
Back yourself / Australian English for trusting your own ability — and then acting on it.
Sandstone quadrangles and glass research buildings, universities and registered training providers, a capital-city campus or a regional one. Australia gives you a genuine choice of route as well as of subject. Start by deciding which qualification you want your name on.
Guide checked · Official sources
SYDNEY / IN FOCUSAUSTRALIA
Jason Tong · CC BY 2.0 · Display cropped
AUD 29,710
The living-cost figure in the visa rule
An evidence threshold for twelve months, not a year's real budget.
Federal Register of Legislation · LIN 19/198 financial capacity48 hours a fortnight
Work while your course is in session
Research master's and doctoral students are not capped.
Study Australia · Student visa (subclass 500)01 / YOUR STARTING POINT
Where are you starting from?
Choose the closest match. Use it to plan your next checks, not as an admission decision.
Pick the degree and the city in the same decision.
An Australian bachelor's runs three or four years, and the honours year is often separate. Entry is by subject and grade, so read the course page rather than the university homepage.
CRICOS · register of institutions and courses- 01Check subject prerequisites, the grade profile and accepted English evidence for that exact course.
- 02Confirm the course and the provider are both listed on CRICOS for international students.
- 03Compare the indicative annual fee with the full course fee, and look at whether the fee is fixed for your cohort.
Keep in mind
A pathway, foundation or diploma year can be a sensible start, but it is a different qualification from the degree it feeds. Ask what you are enrolled in for year one.
02 / THE REAL COST
Three numbers decide whether the plan works.
Tuition, the funds you must evidence, and the cost of actually living where the campus is.
Price the course, not the country
Australian universities publish indicative annual fees per course, and some publish cohort-specific rates, while others increase fees each year. Ask for the annual figure, the full course figure and the student services and amenities fee in writing before you accept.
University of Melbourne · tuition and study feesAUD 29,710 is a threshold, not a budget
The current instrument specifies AUD 29,710 of annual living costs for the student, AUD 10,394 for a partner and AUD 4,449 for a child, alongside course fees and travel. It is the minimum you must evidence, and it is not a forecast of what a year in Sydney or Melbourne costs.
Federal Register of Legislation · LIN 19/198 financial capacityAdd the charge and the health cover
The Student visa application charge rose to AUD 2,500 on 1 July 2026, with concessional rates for some applicants. Overseas Student Health Cover must run for the whole of your stay and is often billed up front for the full visa length.
Study Australia · Student visa application charge increase03 / MAKE THE NUMBERS YOURS
What would your first year look like?
Change the example figures to match your shortlist. See the expenses and the cash you may need to set aside.
UNIVERSITY STUDY / 12 MONTHS / AUD
An illustrative first year for a metropolitan coursework master's, in Australian dollars. These are editable planning assumptions, not a university quote or a national average — international tuition varies widely by discipline, and engineering, computing and health courses often sit well above this figure. Arrival costs assume the visa application charge, health cover and flights. The deposit assumes a four-week rental bond, which is refundable at the end of a tenancy. The AUD 5,500 arrival allowance is a planning assumption for the visa charge, upfront health cover, flights and settling in. Full-course health cover can exceed this allowance; replace it with your actual quote and avoid counting the same insurance in monthly costs.
YOUR FIRST-YEAR PICTURE
Total cash to plan forA$80,000.00
- Estimated expenses
- A$77,600.00
- Refundable deposit
- A$2,400.00
Living costs × 12 + tuition + other fees + arrival costs. The deposit is added separately as money to set aside.
Build from funds you can rely on.
No sign-up. Your figures stay in this page.This example deducts no unawarded scholarship or income from a job you have not secured.
04 / FUNDING THE MOVE
Find the right kind of support.
Start with an affordable study plan. Then explore funding that matches your background.
Start with the provider's own awards
Most usable money for international students comes from the institution. Record whether an award is automatic on your offer or competitive, whether it is a percentage or a fixed amount, and whether it applies to every year or only the first.
Search Australian scholarshipsRegional study: check the current award
Destination Australia has had no new government funding rounds since July 2024; existing recipients continue to be supported. Compare current university awards and confirm that your intake is eligible before counting a regional scholarship.
Check the programme statusBuild the plan without assumed earnings
Term-time work is capped at 48 hours a fortnight and cannot be counted as funding for the visa. Assemble tuition and living costs from confirmed resources first, then treat any job as a buffer rather than a line in the budget.
Check the visa conditionsSTUDY. WORK. UPSKILL.
Work during and after your studies.
Understand the study-related options, then prepare for the next stage.
During your course
Student visa holders may work up to 48 hours a fortnight while the course is in session, and without limit outside session. Research master's and doctoral students are not subject to the cap. Check the conditions attached to your own visa grant.
Study Australia · Student visa (subclass 500)After you graduate
The Temporary Graduate visa (subclass 485) has separate streams. Post-Higher Education Work is generally two to three years; Post-Vocational Education Work is around 18 months and tied to a skilled occupation; a second regional stream can add one to two years. Applicants must generally be 35 or under, with exceptions.
Study Australia · Temporary Graduate visa (subclass 485)Turn the course into experience
Use placements, capstone projects and the careers service from your first semester rather than your last. Longer-term employment needs a suitable visa in its own right — a graduate visa buys time to look, not a job.
Study Australia · Temporary Graduate visa (subclass 485)05 / FROM INTEREST TO ACTION
A route you can work through.
Start at the step that matches where you are. Course dates and your circumstances set the pace.
- 01
Name the qualification and its AQF level
Write down the award, the level, the duration and what it lets you do next.
CRICOS · register of institutions and courses - 02
Verify CRICOS registration
Search both the provider and the specific course before paying any deposit.
CRICOS · register of institutions and courses - 03
Get the fee in writing
Ask for the indicative annual fee, the full course fee and the amenities fee for your intake.
- 04
Draft the Genuine Student answers early
Write them yourself, keep them under 150 words each and make the evidence match.
Department of Home Affairs · Genuine Student requirement - 05
Build a twelve-month budget
Include the visa charge, health cover for the full visa length, a rental bond and an arrival buffer.
Study Australia · Student visa application charge increase
06 / KEEP YOUR PLAN CURRENT
Worth knowing before you apply.
Reviewed guidance and official publishers to follow as your plan develops.
FROM 1 JULY 2026
The Student visa charge is now AUD 2,500.
It rose from AUD 2,000 on 1 July 2026. Concessional rates continue for some applicants, including certain ASEAN and Pacific passport holders and independent ELICOS and non-award students. The Temporary Graduate charge rose at the same time.
Study Australia · Student visa application charge increaseReviewed 10 September 2026GRADUATE ROUTE
Age and stream both matter on the 485.
Applicants must generally be 35 or under when they apply, exceptions aside, and the stream you qualify for depends on the award you actually completed. Check the current rules for your qualification before you build a post-study plan around them.
Study Australia · Temporary Graduate visa (subclass 485)Reviewed 10 September 2026Keep an eye on what’s new
For the latest published notices, visit Study Australia. Read the date, eligibility and deadline on each announcement.
The reviewed guidance above is a dated reference. New announcements do not automatically change the page’s advice.
THE QUESTIONS THAT MATTER
A little more clarity.
Useful answers to bring into your next conversation.
No. The Post-Vocational Education Work stream and the Post-Higher Education Work stream have different durations and conditions, and the vocational stream is tied to a skilled occupation. Check the stream that matches your actual award before you choose the course.
Study Australia · Temporary Graduate visa (subclass 485)YOUR NEXT MOVE, WITH STAAR
Turn “what if” into a first step.
Tell us where you are today. We’ll help you explore what comes next.
SOURCE NOTES
Check the detail at its source.
Reviewed 10 September 2026. Course, funding and immigration rules can change. Use the current rules for your nationality, residence and intake.
Study Australia · Student visa (subclass 500)
Visa conditions, work hours, Confirmation of Enrolment and health cover.
Department of Home Affairs · Genuine Student requirementThe questions asked, the 150-word limit and the factors considered.
Federal Register of Legislation · LIN 19/198 financial capacityThe specified AUD amounts for evidence of financial capacity.
CRICOS · register of institutions and coursesChecking that a provider and a specific course are registered for overseas students.
Study Australia · Temporary Graduate visa (subclass 485)Streams, durations and the age requirement after graduation.
Study Australia · Student visa application charge increaseThe AUD 2,500 charge from 1 July 2026 and the concessional categories.
University of Melbourne · tuition and study feesAn example of reading indicative annual fees and cohort-based fee rules.
Study Australia · scholarshipsSearching provider and government scholarships by profile.
Australian Department of Education · Destination AustraliaNo further funding rounds from July 2024; continued support for existing recipients.