Australia is not only a beautiful country but it presents many opportunities for the students who are willing to take their life to the next level. Studying in Australia can be a very rewarding experience for the students that is why many overseas students decide to choose Australia as a preferred study destination.
Here are 8 facts about studying in Australia:
1. Number of overseas students studying in Australia
As per the International Education Data released by the Department of Education and Training, approximately 640,362 (August 2018) international students are studying in Australia. The top five countries from where these international students come from are – China, India, Nepal, Malaysia, and Brazil.
2. Number of Institutions available for studying
Cricos keeps all the list of international education providers in Australia. According to our research and the data provided by the Study in Australia website, there are more 1,100 institutions that students can choose from when they decide to study in Australia. You can search these institutions on our super-fast search engine as well.
3. 3rd Most popular study destination
After the US and UK, Australia is the third most popular destination for international students to study in the world. Although, as per the research by the Times Higher Education, Australia is set to take over the UK as the second most popular destinations within a year. So, it is quite evident that many international students choose to study in Australia than in other countries.
4.Best Student Cities
QS Best student cities rate the world’s top cities for the international student to study. As per the rankings, 7 Australian cities makes it in the Top 100. So not only, Australian educational institutions rank in the top of the world, Australian cities are equally providing a high-class student experience.
Best Student Cities- Australia
World Rank
Melbourne
3
Sydney
9
Brisbane
21
Canberra
22
Perth
39
Adelaide
41
Gold Coast
87
5. Best University Rankings
QS World University Rankings also provides the list of the World’s top universities and 7 Australian universities makes it to the Top 100 as well. Here is the list for Top 7 universities that make it to the list in 2018. Please note the ranking changes every year so make sure to check the latest ranking when applying for the student visa.
Top Universities – Australia
World Rank
The Australian National University (ANU)
20
The University of Melbourne
41
The University of New South Wales (UNSW)
45
The University of Queensland
47
The University of Sydney
50
Monash University
60
The University of Western Australia
93
6. Number of courses available
Again, Cricos keeps the records of all the courses available for the international students in Australia. As per the data collected, there are more than 23,000 courses available for overseas students to study in Australia.
Students can study from any types of courses like accounting, business, engineering, IT, hospitality, childcare, nursing, aged care, horticulture and many more. You can search pretty much all these courses on our super-fast search engine.
7. Australian Government Scholarships
Australia Awards is an Australian Government’s initiative to help the students from the developing countries and provide them with support for tuition fee, accommodation, airfares, insurance, and other living expenses.
So far this year, the Australian Government has already provided $305 million worth of scholarships and financial aid to international students from over 55 developing countries. In this video, we explain on how to apply for this scholarship and study for Free in Australia.
8. Safety in Australia
As per the Global Peace Index, Australia is one of the safest and peaceful countries in the world, ranking at 13th in the list of 163 countries. The crime rate is generally very low and it is easy and safe for the students to travel around the cities even during the late nights.
And here is the Overall summary about studying in Australia
Need extra funds? It’s important to know what’s involved in applying for a loan.
Australia offers a wonderful lifestyle, and having access to extra funds could help you make the most of it all.
However, special rules apply to non-residents hoping to source a loan. For the full picture, take a look at our seven fast facts for taking out a loan in Australia.
1 Your visa matters
When it comes to lending for, say, a car loan, restrictions apply to non-residents. The type of visa you hold matters because not every type of visa will be accepted by all lenders. In addition, the remaining term of your visa will dictate the term of your loan.
2 Lenders will want to know about your income
Lenders are required by law in Australia to be sure that you can comfortably meet the loan repayments. This being the case, a lender who will accept the terms of your visa will want to know details of your personal income.
3 There are plenty of lenders to choose from
Over 50 banks operate in Australia as well as a large number of credit unions and building societies.
The sheer number of lenders increases the likelihood that you may find a lender who is happy to offer a loan.
4 It pays to shop around
The sheer number of lenders available means that it can take time to know which one is best-suited to your needs.
Interest rates on loans vary widely too, so it’s important to shop around to find the best deal for your situation.
5 Look at the total cost
It can be tempting to choose the lender with the lowest interest rate. But a low rate loan can come stacked with fees including upfront fees and monthly fees.
This highlights the need to consider the total cost of the loan, not just the rate you pay.
6 Don’t assume your own bank offers the lowest rate
If you have an account with a foreign bank operating in Australia, it can seem like an easy option to take out a loan with this bank. However, that can mean paying more than necessary. Chances are you could get a better deal with a different lender.
7 Mortgage brokers are loan experts
In an unfamiliar country, it can be challenging to know how you go about applying for a loan. Even Australians can find this confusing, and that’s why many turn to a mortgage broker for professional help. In fact, 55% of home loans in Australia are arranged through a mortgage broker1.
A broker can let you know how you stand in relation to securing loan finance. Some, like Mortgage Choice, offer a free car buying service that streamlines the process of finding a new car. For more information on how Mortgage Choice can help, click here (they even have Guides in Mandarin).
If you are an overseas student in Australia, chances are that you might be on a tight budget. Saving some money here and there can certainly help in making life easier. So we decided to create this guide in order to rescue you, so you can save money using some of the practical strategies in the various aspects of life. Before we begin, we suggest you join our Facebook Group as we post heaps of freebies there. Let’s start saving money without further delaying:
Textbook and course supplies
For saving money in regard to textbooks, we suggest you either borrow books from the library to study.
But surely those books are either not available in the library or just already been loaned by someone. Then, the best bet is to buy the used/old textbooks from people who have already finished the subject.
Usually, students post ads in university for textbooks or online in university forums or even gumtree.
In regard to things like stationery and other course supplies, if it’s cheaper, get that from your home country.
Otherwise, we suggest you go to Kmart and Officeworks to find cheap supplies.
If you need to have software for your studies like Microsoft Office or Photoshop, then look out for some free alternatives you can instead of paid service. For example, you can use LibreOffice or Google Docs, Sheets or Slides instead of Microsoft Office. There are many other free open source alternatives available for the software these days, so go and search them out.
Accommodation
If you are renting the accommodation through a private landlord or an agent, we always suggest you to try to negotiate for a rent. Yes! You can actually do that. But be reasonable and don’t try to negotiate too hard. The worst case in negotiating nicely is that the person may say no but it is always worth trying.
Secondly, in order to save money, try to share the house with others. If you want to save even more, then you can share a room as well.
Even, if the landlord doesn’t want to negotiate on the rent, they might be open to discuss the share some of the bills like electricity, water, gas and internet. Try to get that included in your rental costs.
Make sure you always compare if renting an apartment by yourself is a better option or living in student accommodation is the way to go as they usually include all the bills, furniture and some extra services like gyms, swimming pools, entertainment activities
Transport
If you really want to save some money on transport then you should try to find the accommodation closer to your university or institution.
Although, sometimes it can be more expensive to live too close to the university or institution, in that case, try to buy the bike (bicycle) from Gumtree or Kmart and ride along. It is not only cheaper but a much healthier option as well.
But if you have to choose public transport, then you should see if the student concession is available to buy the tickets or not in your state or territory you are living in Australia.
Most of the university students are entitled to public transport concessions but again it depends on the state or territory you are studying in, so please check if that is available for you or not.
If possible, try to use public transport in the off-peak hours as the fare costs are much cheaper than.
We also suggest you choose your timetable in a way that you can catch public transport in the off-peak hours
We don’t recommend overseas students to use Taxi’s as they are quite expensive in Australia. If you have to travel somewhere and no other public transport is available, then we suggest you use ride-sharing service like Uber, Ola, Didi, Taxify instead.
Groceries
Try to learn basic cooking so you don’t eat out too often as it can be very expensive on the pocket.
If you cook at home, try to bring your lunch from home as it will save heaps
Always look out for specials of the week from the major supermarkets like Woolworths, Coles and Aldi.
Don’t forget to get those loyalty cards from the big supermarkets as they usually offer special deals and when you accumulate 2,000 points, you can claim up to $10.
Try not to shop a lot at convenience stores like 7-eleven as they can be expensive in Australia (unless you are buying $1 coffee).
If you want to save further 5% on groceries, then you can buy Woolworths gift cards from cash rewards or shop back and save 5% further on your grocery bills.
Always plan ahead and cook enough for yourself and avoid wasting food at all
If you are planning to buy your country specific items then we suggest you find out local grocery shops as they might be selling groceries cheaper than big supermarkets.
Never go shopping on an empty stomach.
Always make a list of items you will need to buy before you go for grocery shopping.
Clothing
One of the best ways to save money when buying clothes is to buy off season. So, buy winter clothes in summer and summer clothes in winters.
Always look out for special offers, sales and deals as they are offered during certain times in a year, for example, boxing day, black friday, cyber monday, Australia day etc.
If you are looking for specific brands then rather than going to the premium stores, you should always look for factory outlet stores, which you can find in the shopping centres like DFO’s.
If you are on a tight budget and would still have to buy some clothes, then we suggest you to head to stores like Salvation Army, Vinnies and local op-shops for affordable and pre-loved items.
If you are shopping online, then we suggest you use cashback websites like Cashrewards, Shopback as you can get cash back on lots of your purchases.
Always look out for eBay promotional codes and Amazon deals for more saving online.
You can also visit some local weekend markets and look for some inexpensive bargains there.
Bills/Utilities
The first saving tip for the bills is a no-brainer as it is always good to use as much as needed and switch off the items when not in use as it will do wonders for the saving those hefty bills
Always shop around for the best possible deal for things like electricity, gas, internet and mobile phone plans. Use government websites to compare and save on gas and electricity.
There are plenty of websites to compare and save money for your utility, internet and mobile phone bills.
If you are using mobile plan and it is up for renewal, then we suggest you to tell your current provider that you will take the business to other providers if they don’t offer a better or cheaper deal. This strategy can also work for the internet provider and utility providers also.
Unless you are on a plan or contract, changing providers are usually very easy and simple. We recommend you switching providers if you get a better deal elsewhere (No hard feelings!)
Banking
If you work and have saved up some money, then look for a bank that offers the best interest rates.
Typically, the big 4 banks don’t give the best interest rates, so we suggest you shop around and find out the best rates for your hard earned money.
As a student, you shouldn’t be paying any account keeping fees
Avoid credit cards as they usually carry yearly costs and the interest rates can be very high if you don’t pay back in time.
If you are transferring money from overseas to Australia or vice versa, check the exchange rates, fees, minimum and maximum amounts you send/receive and see if the banks or other money transfer ways works out better for you.
Eating out
Always look out for deals, special offers, there are lots of websites like Groupon, Scoopon and apps like Liven which can help you save heaps on eating out.
Lots of places especially close to the university campuses will have deals on for the students regularly.
Tips are not necessary in Australia, so you don’t need to tip and save some money there.
Avoid eating out on the weekend as it can be hard to find special deals and offers as restaurants are usually busy.
If you are celebrating your birthday, you can check out these deals and pretty much eat out for Free for few days around your birthday. (Make sure to sign up for the services at least a month before your birthday)
Haircuts and grooming
Look out for some training schools as they might need hair models for their training purposes.
If you want to go to Salon, then find out about their weekly specials. Usually, prices for the haircut are cheaper during the weekdays.
Students also usually get discounts for the haircut, so don’t forget to ask for that before the cut.
Gym Memberships
Look up for promotions and offers available in the gyms around your area.
If you are studying in university or TAFE, chances are they may have gyms available on the campus itself.
Make use of the free trails available as usually there are gyms offering for people to sign up.
Use friend’s referrals as you both might be getting benefit or rewards for the signup.
There are plenty of parks, gardens available in Australia for jogging, running and general fitness, and you don’t need to pay anything for that
Look for some free community fitness classes in your local area by joining some Facebook groups.
Night outs
Always bring cash only when going out in the night.
Leave your debit/credit cards at home as it will allow you to stay within your budgets if you just bring cash only.
Use public transport instead of your own car and taxies.
If you are going for drinks, start at home as it will save you heaps.
Enter the nightclub nice and early as the fees for most nightclubs increase after 11.
Never withdraw money at Casino, nightclubs or bar ATMs as they tend to charge high fees.
And if you don’t have money at all, then stay home.
Movies
Always watch a movie during off-peak hours (usually morning sessions and weekday nights).
Tuesday tends to be the cheapest day for watching movies in cinema.
Look out 2 for 1 deals from various providers or Groupon.
If you like watching movies too often then keeping that Netflix subscription ($9.99) might be the way to go
If you liked this article, then you might also want to check our article on Back to Uni essentials (with free checklist included) here.
You must know your work rights when working in Australia and it is even more important for you, overseas students, as you are more vulnerable to exploitation than any other group of workers in Australia. The main reasons why overseas students are more likely to get exploited at work is due to the language barrier, lack of understanding of the workplaces and culture, lack of work experience and most importantly the work limits of 40 hours per fortnight.
Exploitation can be regarding wages (getting paid less money than the minimum wage set out by Fairwork Australia) or forced to work more hours than your visa limitations or not getting the right working conditions for the work you need to complete. Here in this guide, we are going to discuss some of the options you have as a temporary worker in Australia if you are getting exploited at work.
Base rates of pay will increase by 3.5%. The Fair Work Commission has announced a 3.5% increase to award wages and the…
First of all, even as a temporary worker (with 40 hours per fortnight limitation), you have some work rights as a local Australia. Fairwork Australia has set out the National Employment Standards (NES) for the workers in Australia and as an overseas student with a valid work visa entitled you to these standards. If you would like to know more about these standards, check them out here.
✅ Steps you can take to avoid exploitation at work in Australia
Step 1- Speak to your employer
If you are getting exploited at work, the first things you can do is to speak to your senior managers and owners of the business. Sometimes, the line managers and supervisor are not following the business processes and procedures and the senior manager, the owner might be unaware of those wrongdoings. If you believe that this is not going to work or the management is not willing to improve then you will need to follow step 2.
Step 2 – Speak to Fairwork Australia
The second step you can take in order to save yourself from the exploitation at work is to speak to Fairwork Australia. Fairwork Australia is an Australian government agency that looks after the employees at the workplaces in Australia. Their role is to set out the minimum wages, look into the exploitation of the workers and ensuring the working conditions are good for the employees. You can speak to them by calling at 13 14 94 or visiting them on their website.
✅ I worked more than 40 hours per fortnight. Will my visa gets affected if I report my employer to Fairwork?
Lots of students don’t report their employers to Fairwork as they fear that their visa might be cancelled if they do. Luckily, Fairwork Australia and Department of immigration have an agreement in place that if overseas students come forward and report their employers to Fairwork for the exploitation at work, immigration will not cancel their visa even if students have worked more than 40 hours per fortnight. You can read this open letter from the Fairwork Ombudsman to international Students in Australia here.
Studying and working in Australia? A message from the Fair Work Ombudsman Natalie James about working here www.fairwork.gov.au/openletterstudents
Getting paid in cash, bank transfer or a cheque is perfectly fine as long as your employer reports these payments to the Australia Taxation Office (ATO). It’s perfectly fine to get paid in cash as long as
– You are getting paid the right wages
– You are working on the books (that is taxes and super reported)
– You are getting a payslip and you and your boss keeping the records
If not, then, this is where the trouble starts. This illegal activity is quite commonly known as “Cash in Hand” in Australia and you should avoid this at all costs.
🛑 My employer asked me to get an ABN for my work. Is it fine?
The reason why many employers these days ask overseas students (especially some industries like cleaning, fruit picking etc) to get an ABN (Australian Business Number) so they can avoid paying superannuation, leave entitlements, taxes and worksafe insurances.
This activity is known as Sham contracting and is also considered illegal in Australia. Only people who run their business needs ABN. Usually, TFN (Tax File Number) is required to work in Australia as an employee. If you are experiencing this situation at work, we suggest you contact Fairwork.
Just because you’ve been asked to get an ABN, it doesn’t automatically make you an independent contractor. Contractors…
Update: Due to COVID19 some previously mentioned restaurants are closed. We have removed them from the list and added new ones. We have also updated the location, opening hours and pricing of all of the existing restaurants on this list.
Every single cent counts while studying in Australia as an overseas student, so we decided to start a new blog series of cheap eats in various student cities in Australia. To begin with, we will be taking you guys to Melbourne and its cheap eats under $10 for lunch and dinner.
Ok! We all know that those typical fast-food chains (Macca’s, HJ, Dominos, and KFC) can conquer all the top spots, so we have factored in few things in this deciding these top 5 cheap eats.
The main consideration we have given in deciding these top 5 cheap eats:
✅ It must be for or under $10
✅ Food must be on the healthier side
✅ It must in Melbourne CBD
✅ Good reviews
✅ Very Important – Tasty (Fine! We let you decide that)
1.Crossways
📌 Location: 147 Swanston St, Melbourne VIC 3000
⏰ Opening Hours: 11.30am – 8.00pm (Sunday Closed)
🍽 Cuisine: Indian
⭐ Google Reviews: 4.7/5 (from 1419 reviews)
First on our list is Crossways which without a doubt tops a list with all you can eat vegan and vegetarian food for just 7.50 (if you are a student or concession cardholder) or 9.50 for everyone else. They serve the delicious curry with rice, pappadum, and a mouth-watering dessert and a drink.Don’t miss out on their Custard Halva Dessert. Yum!
When it comes to value and taste, you can’t beat Crossways and that’s why they are on top of our list. In case, you have no money left in your pocket, they have a temple in St. Kilda which offers free meals every single day of the year. It is a 20- 25 minute tram journey from the city but if you have nothing else left in the pocket at least you don’t need to starve yourself.
The second restaurant serving also all you can eat Indian vegetarian restaurant is Om Vegetarian. They serve you with two curries, rice and a bread soft naan bread in a Thali plate for just $9.90. The food is yummy and you can refill it as many times as you like also. The major difference between om vegetarian and crossways is the naan bread.
They have many outlets in the city, so you easily find one of their restaurants near you. If you don’t have any money, then they also offer a free meal between 3pm to 5pm on their 113 Swanston Street restaurant. If you like vegan or vegetarian food, then you should check our complete survival guide on it.
One of the most popular place for the students and locals to eat out cheap in Melbourne is Soi 38 restaurant. All the noodle soup bowls are $10 (right on our targeted budget). Some of the popular items on the menu include: Boat noodles with Beef, Pork and Vegetarian Thai Laksa.Decent portion sizes means it is a win-win for any student to save few dollars on the eating out.
You might be surprised with a location of this restaurant as well as you will be eating in the corner of a city car park. (Oops, did we let the hidden secret place out).
4. Nelayan
📌 Location: 265 Swanston St, Melbourne VIC 3000
⏰ Opening Hours: 11am – 9pm
🍽 Cuisine: Indonesian
⭐ Google Reviews: 4.2/5 (from 1119 reviews)
Home-cooked food with a variety of options to choose from the exotic Indonesian cuisines, Nelayan makes in our top 5 list. You can try dishes from popular Indonesian provinces which offer you lots of varieties like Beef Rendang, Sate Padang, Pempek, Nasi Goreng, Mie Goreng, Gado Gado, Soto Betawi and many more dishes for less than $10.
You must try Beef Rendang from the buffet for your spice cravings. For those who don’t know “Nelayan” means Fisherman in Indonesian.
5. Udon Yasan
📌 Location/s: 186 Bourke Street, Melbourne VIC 3000 and 187 Elizabeth Street, Melbourne VIC 3000
⏰ Opening Hours: 11.30 am – 8.30 pm
🍽 Cuisine: Japanese
⭐ Google Reviews: 4.3/5 (from 1287 reviews)
Another Japanese restaurant makes to our list of Top 5, but this one is more for those who feel like noodles. Udon Yasan offers rice bowl sets starting from merely $5 in the heart of Melbourne CBD.
Their fried chicken is absolutely incredible. Once you get your Udon, head to the free topping station to add some extra flavors and make sure to try their variety of teas from their free drink station. Seriously! Can’t ask for a better value.
6. B3 Café
📌 Location/s: 15 Centre Pl, Melbourne VIC 3000 and 2/353 Little Collins St, Melbourne VIC 3000
⏰ Opening Hours: Usually 8.00 am – 3.30 pm (Weekends closed)
🍽 Cuisine: Pattiserie
⭐ Google Reviews: 4.6/5 (from 97 reviews)
This is one hidden gem in the center of Melbourne CBD. You will have to be the one exploring Melbourne’s lane way culture in order to find it. Right in the middle of Centre Pl, you will find huge lines during lunch time and that is for this little tiny takeaway only café.
They have some serious variety of fresh baguettes, from roast chicken to smoked salmon, Salami to vegetarian baguettes. You can’t go wrong with the pricing as well. The smaller baguette costs $6.50 and large one costs only $9. Apart from Baguettes, they got croissants, rice papers and cakes as well. Yum!
If you are a vegetarian, then our recommendation is Eggplant Schnitzel (Our favourite).
7. La Petite Creperie
📌 Location/s: Swanston St CBD, Melbourne, Victoria 3000 Australia (Opposite Melbourne Townhall)
⏰ Opening Hours: Weekday – 4pm to Late, Weekends – 2/3pm to Late
🍽 Cuisine: French
⭐ Google Reviews: 4.6/5 (from 365 reviews)
If you are walking on Swanston street in the Melbourne CBD, you can’t miss this tiny kiosk. We mean it literally.
The aroma of fresh French Crêpes will entice you and once you are around, you won’t be going without taking one of them.
The plain crêpes start from $5 onwards, but you can add toppings to make them Savory or Sweet. The best part is that it is made fresh on-demand, so you know that you are always getting a fresh deal under $10.
⏰ Opening Hours: Monday to Friday (10 am to 6.00 pm), Saturday (10 am – 2.30 pm)
🍽 Cuisine: Korean
⭐ Google Reviews: 4.8/5 (from 209 reviews)
Next on the list is a popular Korean food chain, Seoul Toast Bong. This place is known for their yummy toasties with their signature egg-range starting from just $7.50.
There are plenty of other items on the menu under $10, so you will find something to please everyone.
While on Bourke street, you can easily miss this restaurant as the entry seems quite small and usually the door is closed.
But once you are inside, it is a buzzing place with plenty of options for under $10. This place (as the name suggests) serves Udon as their specialty, and you can find some of the Udon bowls under $10.
You can get these Udon hot or cold; the choice is yours. Also look out for some lunch specials during weekdays as well.
10. Asia Unique Cafe & Tavern
📌 Location/s: 108 Bourke St, Melbourne VIC 3000
⏰ Opening Hours: Monday to Sunday – 11 am to 8.30 pm
🍽 Cuisine: Thai
⭐ Google Reviews: 4.2/5 (from 77 reviews)
Tucked away in the corner of Food Court, this Thai restaurant serves spicy food with cold drinks.
While many menu items are just over $10, there are few you can try under $10 as well. Some of them include their popular soups like Tom Yum, Pork or Beef Soup, etc.
Most of the other menu items are under $15, so it is still quite manageable. Plus it is in a big food court, so you can easily find a seat to eat as well.
🍴So, have you been to any of these restaurants as we mentioned on the list?
Which restaurants do you go to when eating out in Melbourne? Let us know in the comments section below. If you find any restaurant closed or not falling under $10 mark, feel free to DM us via Instagram.
If you are visiting Adelaide, then you definitely want to check our Top Cheap Eats there too.
Plus, if you are willing to learn more about studying in Melbourne, we have a detailed guide about it on this page.
This is usually that time of the year when the days are longer and warmer and if you are in university or studying vocational programs, you might be enjoying a full semester break from studies.
If you are stuck with some ideas on what to do this summer break, we have got you covered in this list of things that you can do over the summer holidays.
Let’s begin:
1. Travel
First and the one obvious choice is to travel around. After hectic last weeks in the semester, you definitely deserve a break. And what can be a better way than just to take some time out and travel around.
Now with travelling, you got two options: first is to travel within Australia and the second is to travel around other countries.
Travelling within Australia – As you already know, how beautiful this country is and we travelling within our own backyard is one of the best Aussie things to do. You can travel around your city areas, suburban areas or some local tourist attractions. You can also travel interstate and visit other cities and attractions. We have plenty of things to see and do in each state and territory, so you will never run out of options.
Get a few friends together, hire a van or a car and go for a long road trip ( a highly recommended activity). If you don’t feel like driving then you can always catch a flight, though the prices in summer can be on the higher side. Depending on your location, there are many world-class attractions that you can visit, eg, Great Barrier Reef, Sydney Opera House, and Harbour Bridge, Uluru, Great Ocean Road, Fraser Island, Cradle Mountain, Rottnest Island, Broome etc.
Travelling outside Australia – Since lots of overseas students come to study in Australia and plan to return after their studies, the summer break can present an excellent opportunity to travel to Australia’s neighboring countries like New Zealand, Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam, Malaysia, Singapore, Fiji. Make sure to check the visa requirements for your passport before you decide to book any holidays.
If you plan to travel overseas, we recommend you to check on the Australian government’s official website (www.smartraveller.gov.au) for travelling advice. Although made for Aussie travellers, this website still has lots of good content for any traveller willing to travel around the globe.
2. Visit family back home
If you are just too exhausted after assessments and exams and need to see family and missing home food too much then visiting your family back home might be the way to go for you this summer semester.
Get some well-deserved rest, eat mum cooked food, catch up with old mates ( and make sure to tell them how cool studying in Australia is) and most importantly see your loved ones back home.
3. Work
As an overseas student in Australia, you are allowed to work 40 hours per fortnight but did you know that you are allowed to work an unlimited number of hours in your school holidays? Well, for some student’s this is the perfect time to start looking for some part-time work and some student’s look for even full-time work during this time. Usually, during summer breaks, there are plenty of opportunities available for part-time work in hospitality, sales, and retail sectors. We suggest you check some jobs available for international students on websites like Seek, Adzuna, and Gumtree.
If you are not planning to work much or at all, then learning a new skill can be the way to go for you. A whole summer semester can be enough time to develop a new skill. Skills like cooking, public speaking, photography, swimming, coding, musical instrument, basic software skills can be learned in a month. Don’t believe us?
Check this video out yourself. You can actually get better in lots of things in just 20 hours.
5. Learn a new language
We are keeping this one separate from learning a new skill (although some of you might say learning a language is also a skill but we want to keep it separate as by learning a skill, we meant hands-on skills :P). Since Australia is such a multicultural country and you can meet people from all around the world. Why not take this time to learn a new language.
You can actually do this with one of your very own friends and you can teach other your own language’s, (assuming you also already know a language other than English). But if you can’t find a friend to teach a language or they are all too busy then apps like duolingo can be a good way to learn a new language or find some language buddies in language exchange events like Lingos in your city.
6. Pick a new Hobby
At some point in time on holidays, you might be feeling bored. Then it might a good time to pick up some new hobbies. Try some of the hobbies like dancing, painting, gardening or pick something that interests you more.
There might be some event or workshops happening around some of the hobbies, we suggest you check with your local library or Tafe’s for them. Some of them are even Free.
7. Volunteering
Well it is rightly said that if you do a good karma, it will come back to you. We define volunteering as a good karma. Look for some volunteer opportunities around your local community. There is always a need for some volunteers in most of the religious and charitable organisations.
If you still can’t find then we suggest you check out the www.volunteer.com.au. You never know who you meet at these volunteering places, you might even be working with a CEO from a company you always wanted to work with? You really never know.
8. Celebrate Christmas and New Year
Summer in Australia means Christmas and new year time. As you already know that our summer runs opposite than the countries in the northern hemisphere, Christmas is not too white here. Christmas is usually celebrated very differently in Australia.
Most of the people head to the beach for the barbeques on the Christmas day, so why not try to celebrate Christmas in Aussie style. Also, the Australian New Year celebrations (especially Sydney) are world famous. Check out this video to believe it yourself. This is one of the lifetime opportunity and we highly recommend it. Other capital cities also have amazing fireworks, so don’t feel sad if you miss out Sydney’s fireworks.
Ok, not sure how many of you would like to hear the word “Study” in the semester break but this is something that students would like to do part-time. Maybe go and attend some short online courses to learn new things.
You can actually do some free online learning these days via websites like www.open2study.com, www.alison.com, www.coursera.org and you can also do a paid online courses on a website like www.udemy.com as well. There are plenty of other websites you can jump and learn online these days, so go can google “Free online course” to find them out.
10. Watch a live cricket match
Summer also means cricket in Australia. For some of the people, it seems crazy to play a match for five days and not get a result but it is a thing in cricket. Ok, we understand that you may not be willing to commit full 5 days to watch cricket, if so, then there is a shorter version of this game you might like to try, known as 20 20 cricket, which runs around 3 hours and 99% of the time gets results.
We suggest you bring a mate with you who can explain what’s going on in the match.
11. Start a business
This is very interesting as there is no rule that says that an International student cannot run a business in Australia. So starting an online business or a small business might be the way to go.
Do some research and learn some business skills before you decide to jump on the “hustling” ride as you might need to commit some time during the semester as well if you decide to run it for good. The easiest way to start selling things online these days is Shopify.
Start writing something that interest you or you have a hobby in. Whatever the topic you may choose, you can write your heart out about it on your blog. We suggest you choose a theme and follow that theme when writing a blog. You can start writing blogs for free these days using services like wordpress, and weebly
“Books and then my parents”If you ever heard about Elon Musk,(aka the savior of the human race) then you probably know how much he loves reading books and he is pretty much self-taught in all the fields he is currently involved in.
Now, we don’t expect you to become Elon Musk suddenly but we are suggesting that you can read some books in the summer break. And these books don’t have to be your typical uni textbooks but can be anything from motivation to biographies, from fiction to novels.
14. Catch-up with friends
There is no better time than summer to catch up with some of your friends. You can spend longer time outdoors as we have long summer days, so perfect excuse to see those friends who you haven’t met for a while or catch up for a longer time with the friends who you have just seen for 5 minutes every day in last few weeks.
15. Declutter your life
Being a minimalist is the way of life that lots of people are adopting these days. So why not start looking at your room or apartment and see what things you really need and what things you haven’t. If you are not sure whether to keep a thing with you or not, then you should take a mountain test.
16. Develop a career plan
Unless you already have a very organised plan for your career, It might be the time to sit back and rethink your career strategy. Look at your past achievements, assess how did you go and set your new goals for the upcoming semester or even better for your next few years to come.
We suggest you to write down your goals and make sure to include the timelines to achieve. At the end of each semester or study period, you can sit down and analyse how did you go with your semester goals. Remember, if you can’t measure it, you can’t improve it.
17. Catch up on those Netflix shows
We really didn’t need to tell you this as you are at an expert level at this but we just thought to keep this in the list. You never know, if you forgot about all the shows you were planning to watch it during your summer break after the exams.
Well, we all know that one new year’s resolution where we commit ourselves to go to the gym and yes we do start going to a gym for a week or so and as soon as we see our friends going to eat those lovely pancakes, then there go that healthy lifestyle habits out of the window.
Developing a healthy lifestyle doesn’t mean only going to a gym but also eating healthy. There is no better time to develop a new healthy eating lifestyle than the summer break. So look for some healthy alternatives to your daily routine.
Can you replace those Nutella packed toasts with a smoothie? Sure you can!
There is always a healthy alternative to our diets. Fine, you can enjoy that sweet tooth once in a while still while enjoying healthy eating habits for the rest of the time.
19. Take up the summer semester
Last but not the least, if you have no plans at all or don’t feel like doing to any of the things we listed above, there is an opportunity to take up that summer semester and complete your course earlier. We don’t know why would you do that but it is certainly an option for you if you plan to do nothing else.
Well, here you go with all the things we think you might be able to do during the upcoming summer break. Are you planning to do any of these activities during the holidays or planning to do something else. Let us know your thoughts in the comments below. We would love to hear your thoughts.
