If you’re comparing study destinations by budget, the first number to know is this: undergraduate tuition in Australia runs from AUD 20,000 to AUD 45,000 per year, and postgraduate programs sit in a band of AUD 22,000 to AUD 55,000. Those ranges, published on the government’s official course registry, tell you the annual cost before you add housing, food, transport, and everything else. The second number to know is that the Australian government currently charges AUD 2,500 for a Student Visa (Subclass 500). Everything below unpacks what those figures actually mean for a prospective international student planning a multi-year budget.
What the tuition bands cover, by study level
The fee ranges in the official registry are organized by level of study, and they overlap more than you might expect. Foundation year programs, which prepare students for undergraduate entry, sit at AUD 15,000–35,000 per year. International Year One programs, which function as a pathway into second-year undergraduate study, run AUD 20,000–40,000. Undergraduate degrees occupy the AUD 20,000–45,000 band, and postgraduate degrees extend higher at AUD 22,000–55,000.
What this means in practice: the cheapest route into an Australian degree is not necessarily the one with the lowest sticker price. A foundation year at the bottom of its range costs less than an undergraduate year at the bottom of its range, but it also adds time. The upper ends of the postgraduate band reflect professional programs in fields like medicine, dentistry, and business, where tuition runs well above the median. The ranges are wide because they span institutions from regional universities to the Group of Eight, and because some courses carry laboratory or clinical costs that others do not.
| 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 |
Living costs: the eight-city picture
Tuition is only half the equation. The other half is what you spend to live in the city where your institution sits. The government’s financial capacity requirement for a student visa currently assumes AUD 29,710 per year for living costs alone — that is the figure you must show you can cover, on top of tuition and travel, when you apply. Actual living costs vary by city, and the spread is meaningful.
Sydney is the most expensive city in the dataset, with living costs of AUD 25,000–35,000 per year. Melbourne follows at AUD 22,000–32,000. Brisbane and Canberra both sit in the AUD 20,000–28,000 band, and Perth is close behind at AUD 20,000–27,000. Adelaide and the Gold Coast are the most affordable options in the list, both at AUD 18,000–25,000 per year.
The gap between the cheapest and most expensive city is not trivial. A student in Adelaide at the lower end of the range might spend AUD 18,000 in a year, while a student in Sydney at the upper end could spend AUD 35,000. That difference is roughly the size of a year’s tuition at a mid-range institution. When you compare destinations, the city choice matters as much as the course choice.
| 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 |
What the visa actually requires
The Student Visa (Subclass 500) is the single entry point for international students, and its requirements are specific. You need a Confirmation of Enrolment (CoE) from a provider registered on CRICOS — the Commonwealth Register of Institutions and Courses for Overseas Students. You need to satisfy the Genuine Student requirement, which replaced the old GTE test in 2025. You need English proficiency, typically IELTS 5.5–7.0 depending on course level. You need Overseas Student Health Cover, and you may need a health examination and to meet character requirements.
The financial capacity requirement is the one that most affects your budget planning. You must demonstrate AUD 29,710 per year for living costs, plus your tuition, plus travel costs. That figure is a visa threshold, not an estimate of what you will actually spend — in Sydney you will likely spend more, and in Adelaide possibly less. But it is the number the Department of Home Affairs uses to assess whether you can support yourself.
Work rights are part of the package: 48 hours per fortnight during semester, with unlimited work during scheduled breaks. For a student trying to offset living costs, that is a real but limited source of income. It is not enough to cover the gap between the visa threshold and actual costs in an expensive city, but it can help with day-to-day expenses.
Processing times are worth factoring into your timeline. The department reports that 75% of applications are processed within 4–8 weeks, though this varies by assessment level. If you are applying from a country with a higher assessment level, you should plan for the longer end of that window.
Where to verify these numbers yourself
Two official sources matter more than any third-party summary. The first is CRICOS, the government’s complete searchable database of every course offered to international students in Australia. By law, all CRICOS-registered courses must appear there. The database includes course code, course name, institution, CRICOS provider code, level (AQF), duration in weeks, tuition fee range, and campus location. You can search it directly, and the full dataset is available as a downloadable spreadsheet. This is where the tuition bands in this article come from, and it is where you should check the specific range for any course you are considering.
The second is QILT — the Quality Indicators for Learning and Teaching — which publishes the Australian government’s official higher education data. Its Graduate Outcomes Survey gives employment rates by university and field of study, the Student Experience Survey measures how students rate their courses, and the Employer Satisfaction Survey captures what employers think of graduates. The comparED tool lets you compare institutions side by side. If you are choosing between two universities with similar tuition, QILT is the place to look for evidence about outcomes rather than marketing claims.
For the visa fee, the authoritative source is the Department of Home Affairs page for the Student Visa (Subclass 500). The fee is listed there as AUD 2,500, and that page should always be checked before you apply, since government fees are subject to change.
Data notes
The tuition ranges in this article are drawn from the CRICOS registry as of the data reference date of 2026-05-04, organized by study level. The living cost ranges by city are compiled from official sources and represent annual costs including accommodation, food, transport, and other essentials. The visa requirements, including the financial capacity figure of AUD 29,710 per year, come from the Department of Home Affairs requirements for the Student Visa (Subclass 500). The visa fee of AUD 2,500 is the current government fee, but the official immigration page should be treated as the final authority on that figure.
Several limitations apply. The tuition bands are ranges across all institutions and course types, not a precise figure for any specific program — you must look up the exact course on CRICOS to get its published range. The living cost figures are ranges, and your actual spending will depend on your lifestyle, accommodation type, and city. The financial capacity requirement is a visa threshold, not a realistic budget for every city. Processing times are reported as a percentile, not a guarantee. All figures are subject to change by the Australian government, and the official sources listed above should be re-checked before you make financial commitments.