If you’re planning to study in Australia, the first number you need to understand is not a single figure but a range. International undergraduate tuition sits between AUD 20,000 and AUD 45,000 per year, while postgraduate programs run from AUD 22,000 to AUD 55,000 annually. These bands, current as of 2026-05-04, are the starting point for any realistic budget — but they only tell half the story. The other half is living costs, which vary by city and can add anywhere from AUD 18,000 to AUD 35,000 per year.
Reading the Tuition Bands Correctly
The tuition ranges in the tables below come from CRICOS-registered courses across Australian institutions. They are not fixed prices — they are the spread you should expect when comparing programs.
| Study Level | International Tuition Range (per year) |
|---|---|
| Undergraduate | AUD 20,000–45,000/year |
| Postgraduate | AUD 22,000–55,000/year |
| Foundation Year | AUD 15,000–35,000/year |
| International Year One | AUD 20,000–40,000/year |
Foundation year programs, which prepare international students for undergraduate entry, cost between AUD 15,000 and AUD 35,000 per year. International Year One programs, which combine foundation-level study with first-year university credits, sit between AUD 20,000 and AUD 40,000. The undergraduate band (AUD 20,000–45,000) and postgraduate band (AUD 22,000–55,000) are the widest, reflecting the diversity of fields — from humanities to medicine and engineering.
What these ranges mean in practice: a student choosing a bachelor’s degree in the arts might pay near the lower end, while a clinical postgraduate program could approach the upper bound. The ranges are annual, per year of study, and do not include textbooks, equipment, or other course-related expenses.
Living Costs: The City Factor
Living costs are the second major line in any budget, and they depend heavily on where you study. The ranges below include accommodation, food, transport, utilities, and other day-to-day expenses.
| City | Living Cost Range (per year) |
|---|---|
| Sydney | AUD 25,000–35,000/year |
| Melbourne | AUD 22,000–32,000/year |
| Brisbane | AUD 20,000–28,000/year |
| Perth | AUD 20,000–27,000/year |
| Adelaide | AUD 18,000–25,000/year |
| Canberra | AUD 20,000–28,000/year |
| GoldCoast | AUD 18,000–25,000/year |
Sydney sits at the top of the scale at AUD 25,000–35,000 per year, followed by Melbourne at AUD 22,000–32,000. Brisbane, Perth, and Canberra all fall in the AUD 20,000–28,000 band, with Perth slightly lower at AUD 20,000–27,000. Adelaide and the Gold Coast are the most affordable major options, both ranging from AUD 18,000 to AUD 25,000 per year.
These are not optional extras — they are the minimum you should plan for. A student in Sydney may spend closer to the upper end of the range, while someone in Adelaide could live comfortably at the lower end. The gap between the most and least expensive cities is significant enough to change your total budget by thousands of dollars per year.
The Visa Financial Requirement: A Fixed Benchmark
When you apply for a Student Visa (Subclass 500), the Department of Home Affairs requires proof of financial capacity. The current benchmark is AUD 29,710 per year for living costs, on top of tuition and travel expenses. This figure is a minimum threshold for visa purposes — it is not a recommendation for actual living expenses.
The visa application fee itself is AUD 2,500. Processing times vary, with 75% of applications decided within 4 to 8 weeks depending on the assessment level.
Beyond finances, the visa requires a Confirmation of Enrolment (CoE) from a CRICOS-registered provider, a Genuine Student (GS) requirement that replaced the GTE assessment in 2025, English proficiency (typically IELTS 5.5 to 7.0 depending on course level), Overseas Student Health Cover (OSHC), and health and character checks as required.
Where to Verify These Numbers
The ranges in this article are drawn from official sources, but they are exactly that — ranges. Your actual costs will depend on the institution, the specific course, and your lifestyle. Two official tools can help you narrow them down.
First, CRICOS (the Commonwealth Register of Institutions and Courses for Overseas Students) is a complete searchable database of every course offered to international students in Australia. By law, all CRICOS-registered courses must appear here. The database includes course code, name, institution, level (AQF), duration in weeks, tuition fee range, and campus location. You can search by institution or course and download the full dataset as an Excel file. This is the authoritative source for confirming whether a course exists and what its official tuition range is.
Second, QILT (Quality Indicators for Learning and Teaching) provides government-collected data on student experience, graduate outcomes, and employer satisfaction. It includes graduate employment rates by university and field of study, which can help you weigh cost against outcomes. The public comparison tool, comparED, allows side-by-side comparisons of institutions.
Work Rights While Studying
Student visa holders can work up to 48 hours per fortnight during the semester and unlimited hours during scheduled breaks. This can offset living costs, but it should not be relied upon as a primary funding source. The financial capacity requirement exists precisely because study is the main purpose of the visa.
Data Notes
All figures in this article are drawn from official Australian government sources and internal reference tables compiled from those sources, with a data benchmark date of 2026-05-04. Tuition ranges reflect CRICOS-registered course data; living cost ranges are city-level estimates from government guidance. The visa fee of AUD 2,500 is the current government charge but should always be verified against the Department of Home Affairs website, as fees are periodically adjusted. The financial capacity requirement of AUD 29,710 per year is the benchmark for visa applications and may change with policy updates. CRICOS and QILT are the two authoritative online sources for course-level and outcome-level data respectively; the CRICOS database covers all registered courses, while QILT covers higher education institutions that participate in national surveys. Living cost ranges are indicative and will vary with personal spending habits, accommodation type, and city-specific market conditions.