Explained: Total cost of studying in Australia.
Did you know that completing a two-year master’s degree in Australia could cost you more than AUD $100,000?
In this article, we are going to give you a complete breakdown of how much it costs to study in Australia along with an infographic example.
Keep reading!
Factors that affect the costs to studying in Australia
The cost of studying in Australia basically depends on these five major factors:
1. Your Country
The country in which you’re applying for your student visa matters a lot, because each country has different requirements for a student visa to Australia.
2. The City You are Planning to Study
The cost of living varies among cities in Australia. For example, the cost of living in Sydney is quite high, while comparatively the cost of living in Adelaide is low.
3. Educational Institute
There are more than 1200 institutions delivering different sorts of courses to international students in Australia. It ranges from private colleges to tech or universities. Choosing one of those institutions is a huge factor in determining the cost of studying in Australia.
4. Cost of Studying
If you’re planning to do a certificate course or a bachelor’s degree or a master’s degree. All these courses have different costs, so you have to be mindful of that.
5. Scholarship
It would be great if you can score a scholarship because it will help to reduce the cost of studying in Australia. And if you don’t get a scholarship then you will obviously be paying a higher cost for your studies.
There are different types of scholarships available for international students studying in Australia; you can check them out here.
Breakdown of the total cost of studying in Australia
1. Passport Fee
The first thing you will need to travel overseas for your study is the passport. For that, you will need to consider the passport fee, and again it varies from the country you are in.
It can cost you anywhere from $15 to $300 for getting a passport..
2. English Test
If you’re not from an English-speaking country, you will need to take an English test. It could be IELTS, PTE or other English tests. The cost of English tests varies depending on the country you are in. But to give you an idea, it can cost around $300.
If you really want to brush up on your English skills before sitting for this English test, then you will be paying around $200 to $400 per month for your English preparation.
3. Educational / Immigration Consultant Fee
Once you get started with the process of applying for your student visa, you’d have to choose an educational consultant.
You can certainly apply for the course and the visa by yourself but it is helpful to get professional advice for your course selection and the visa process.
If you want to know further about how to choose an educational consultant you can check out this video here: https://youtu.be/xcyyn71QFCA .
These days most educational consultants don’t charge any fee for your student visa application, as they make money from the commissions they get from these educational institutes based in Australia.
But they might charge you some fees for the documentation that they will have to prepare for you, and that can be anywhere from $20 – $200.
4. Course Fee
Your course fee will depend on the course you are planning to undertake in Australia.
English Courses Fee in Australia
If you’re planning to study an English course in Australia, it can cost you around $200 to $300 per week. And it depends on the length of the English course that you’re doing.
You’ll have to multiply it out with the number of weeks you’re planning to do this course. For example, if you’re planning to do a 12 week English course it can cost anywhere from $2400 to $3600.
Vocational Courses Fee in Australia
You can do some vocational courses like certificates, Diploma or Advanced Diploma courses in Australia. You can do these courses in a private college or a TAFE.
These courses can range from 3 months to 2 years and can cost around $4000 to $22,000 for the course.
Degree Program Fee in Australia
For your bachelor’s master’s and postdoctoral degrees, it costs anywhere from $20,000 to $50,000 per year.
Be mindful that this is a yearly cost and your course fee will vary depending on how long your course is. if it’s a two-year course you can multiply it by two, and if it’s a three-year course then you have to multiply it by three.
Want to search for the course in Australia that is right for you, check our search courses tab on the website here.
5. Medical Examination
To apply for a student visa, first you may need to undertake a medical test, and it can cost you anywhere from $200 to $300.
6. Visa Application Fee
This is the standard fee for all student visa applications. Every year the Department of Home Affairs reviews these fees, and they usually increase them by some dollars.
In 2022, the cost of visa application is $650. We highly recommend you visit the Department of Home Affairs website to know the current visa application fee..
7. Overseas Student Health Cover (OSHC)
Students who are coming from certain countries may not need this insurance cover because of their government’s agreement with the Australian government. But if you don’t have such an arrangement, you will need to get Overseas Student Health Cover (OSHC), which is to cover you for your health issues in Australia.
On a yearly basis it costs around $550 for OSHC and if you’re bringing your partner, then it is significantly higher around ($3500 for couples) or ($6500 for families with 1 child) in 2022. You can apply for this insurance by yourself; you don’t need to go through an educational consultant when applying for OSHC.
8. Packing
As you’re planning to come to study in Australia, you may need to buy luggage, a bag, handbags, a laptop, clothing, phone and some other accessories.
It will certainly vary depending on your budget, and even if you are on a tight budget you might still be spending around $500 to $1,000.
9. Flights
Like mentioned in other costs, the cost of your flights will vary depending on the country you’re coming from, the time of the year you’re coming in, and the type of the airline you’re choosing.
For example, if you’re coming from Jakarta to Melbourne you could be spending $500 on a one-way ticket. But if you are coming from New Delhi to Melbourne you could be spending around $1,000 one-way. If you’re coming from cities like Bogota, you could be spending around $2,000 for a one-way ticket.
10. Airport Transfer
Once you arrive in Australia, you’ll be needing an airport transfer or pickup. The cheapest option is usually to choose public transport for the airport transfers, or something like a Sky bus which will cost you around $20-$30 to get to the city center from the airport.
But some universities or institutions have a free pickup service available from the airport, so you can also make use of that as well. If you have family or friends who can also pick you up from the airport, it can also save you some money.
11. Cost of Living in Australia
The cost of living will depend on the city you’re planning to live in, but you should be budgeting from $1,000 to $2,000 per month.
Check out our popular YouTube video for the complete breakdown on the Cost of Living in Australia:
Estimated Total Cost of Studying in Australia
Here’s an example to give you a better idea of the cost of studying in Australia for international students:
An international student from India is coming to do his Masters in Accounting from Deakin University in Melbourne, Australia. These are the costs that will be involved as he is planning to study in Australia:
- Passport Fee: $30
- English Test: $300
- English Preparation: $300 (1 month)
- Total Course Fee without scholarship: $76,000 (2 years)
- Medical: $200
- Visa Application Fee: $650
- OSHC: $1100
- Packing: $1000
- Flights: $1000 (one-way)
- Airport Pick-up: $50
- Cost of Living for 2 years – $36,000
- Total – $116,630
This is a very specific example; your cost of studying in Australia will vary depending on the factors we have discussed earlier.
Note: All the information that we’ve given you in this article is in Australian dollars. If you want to convert this into your own currency, we highly recommend you to use a tool like https://www.xe.com, where you can convert any currency from Australian currency to your home currency or vice versa.
We hope you find the information about total cost of studying in Australia useful and let us know if you are already studying here, how much it is costing you to study?
