Do you get confused with acronyms or abbreviations that you see while studying in Australia or even before planning to study in Australia? And thanks to social media and messengers apps, we are using them more than ever before.

So what is an Acronym?

Acronym is an abbreviation formed from the initial letters of other words and pronounced as a word.

And so what is Abbreviation then?

Abbreviation is a short form of a phrase or a word.

Hope that’s clear now!

In this article, we look at a list of 70+ popular Australian acronyms that international students in Australia should know about.

We divided these acronyms in different areas where you might come across them in Australia.

Australian grading acronyms

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These are some of the acronyms you will come across in the Australian grading system:

HD – High Distinction

D – Distinction

C – Credit

CP – Credit Pass

P – Pass

F – Fail

NYC – Not Yet Competent

C – Competent

ATAR – Australian Tertiary Admission Rank

If you want to know more information on Australian grading system, then we suggest you check this guide.

Education acronyms

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You will come across some of these education acronyms in Australia:

AQF – Australian Qualification Framework

CRICOS – Commonwealth Register of Institutions and Courses for Overseas Students

ECOE – Electronic Confirmation of Enrolment

ESOS – Education Services for Overseas Students

RPL – Recognition of Prior Learning

RTO – Registered Training Organisations

VET – Vocational Education and Training

Government Departments acronyms

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These are the common Australian government department acronyms you might come across:

ABF – Australian Border Force

ABS – Australian Bureau of Statistics

ATO – Australian Taxation Office

DHA – Department of Home Affairs

DFAT – Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade

DoH – Department of Health

FWO – Fair Work Ombudsman

Language acronyms

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Some of these acronyms are commonly used in language classes or courses in Australia:

ELICOS – English Language Intensive Course for Overseas Students

ESL – English as Second Language

IELTS – International English Language Testing System

PTE – Pearson Test of English

AMEP – Adult Migrant English Language Program

States acronyms

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Lists of all the Australian states and territory acronyms:

ACT – Australian Capital Territory

NSW – New South Wales

NT – Northern Territory

QLD – Queensland

SA – South Australia

TAS – Tasmania

VIC – Victoria

WA – Western Australia

Tax acronyms

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Common Australian Tax acronyms:

ABN – Australian Business Number

ACN – Australian Company Number

GST – Goods and Services Tax

PAYG – Pay-as-you-go

TFN – Tax File Number

University acronyms

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Most common Australian university acronyms:

ACU – Australian Catholic University

ANU – Australian National University

CDU – Charles Darwin University

CQU – Central Queensland University

CSU – Charles Sturt University

ECU – Edith Cowan University

JCU – James Cook University

QUT – Queensland University of Technology

RMIT – Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology

SCU – Southern Cross University

UC – University of Canberra

UTS – University of Technology, Sydney

UNSW – University of New South Wales

UWA – University of Western Australia

VU – Victoria University

Visa acronyms

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Some of the Visa acronyms that you will come across in Australia:

OSHC – Overseas Students Health Cover

GTE – Genuine Temporary Entrant

HAP ID – Health Case Identifier

VEVO – Visa Entitlement Verification Online

PSWP – Post Study Work Permit (Visa)

PR – Permanent Resident

Other popular Australian acronyms

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Here are other acronyms you will come across when living in Australia. These can vary from sports to national events and everyday life:

AFL – Australian Football League

AKA – Also Known As

ANZAC – Australian and New Zealand Army Corps

ASAP – As Soon As Possible

BBL – Big Bash League

DIY – Do it Yourself

DOB – Date of Birth

OHS – Occupational Health and Safety

WHS – Workplace Health and Safety

Let us know if you find any other acronyms that you don’t know about, so we can include that in the list of these acronyms. Please make sure to send us your comments and ideas via Instagram DM here.