How much does it cost to study in Australia as an international student?

Question

Priscilla Han · Accepted Answer

Budget for three separate buckets, not one tuition figure: tuition, living costs, and the financial proof you must show for the student visa. International tuition varies hugely by university and program — broadly in a high band each year, with the prestigious Group of Eight (Go8) universities and high-demand fields like medicine costing more — and is always far above what domestic students pay. Add living costs of roughly the mid five figures in AUD a year, much higher in Sydney and Melbourne, plus Overseas Student Health Cover (OSHC), which is mandatory for the full length of your visa. Crucially, Australia raised the savings amount you must show for the student visa in 2024, and 2024-25 also brought higher visa application fees and stricter 'genuine student' requirements — so confirm the current Department of Home Affairs figure before you plan, because the financial requirement is now a real gate, not a formality. City choice drives the living-cost bucket more than almost anything else. Sydney and Melbourne are where many of the best-known universities sit, but they also carry the highest rents — accommodation dominates a student budget there. Brisbane, Adelaide, Canberra, Perth and smaller university cities can cut living costs meaningfully while still offering strong institutions. Tuition itself is set per university and per program, so two students in the same city can pay very different amounts — the Go8 and high-demand fields sit at the top of the range. Always price the specific program for the year your child would actually start, not a national average, and remember OSHC is a separate mandatory line item charged for the whole visa period, not an optional extra. Be honest about the overall picture. Australia is a genuine quality destination — safe, English-speaking, academically strong, with large Chinese and wider-Asian student communities — but it is not cheap, and the rules tightened in 2024-25. The higher proof-of-funds requirement, higher visa fees and stricter genuine-student checks mean families now need to demonstrate meaningfully more money up front and prepare a more credible application than a few years ago. Costs and rules also move every year, so treat every figure here as a planning range to verify, not a quote. BrightKey takes no payments from schools or agencies — our honest line is to confirm the current Department of Home Affairs financial requirement and the specific program's tuition and OSHC for the year your child would actually start, then build the budget from those live numbers up.