Study in Australia: Admission, Cost, Visa and Scholarships (2027)

Australia's higher education system is built around universities that set their own admission standards, so entry, fees and deadlines vary by institution rather than following one national process. Most bachelor degrees run three years full-time (four for professionally accredited fields such as engineering) across a two-semester academic year: Semester 1 begins in February or March and Semester 2 in July, with a smaller number of universities and courses also offering a November-starting Semester 3 or trimester. Universities publish their own international application closing dates; some run to one fixed date per semester, others run a series of offer rounds through the cycle, and a few, including Adelaide University and Queensland University of Technology, accept most undergraduate applications all year with no single closing date.

International undergraduate tuition is charged per course or per credit point rather than as one flat national figure, and among the universities reviewed for this guide it runs from about AUD 26,000 a year (Southern Cross University's flat-fee Access26 initiative) up to about AUD 61,000 a year at the more expensive end of programs at UNSW Sydney and the University of Sydney; medicine, dentistry and some other professional programs can cost more again. A non-refundable application fee is common, typically AUD 100 to 150, though several universities, including Curtin University, Deakin University, Griffith University and Southern Cross University, charge none.

Every university sets its own English language requirement, but IELTS Academic 6.5 overall with no band below 6.0 is the most common undergraduate floor; a few universities publish 6.0 instead, and competitive fields such as law, medicine, education and nursing commonly require more. Applicants can usually also submit TOEFL iBT, PTE Academic, Cambridge English or another approved test instead of IELTS.

Living costs are separate from tuition. The Australian Government sets an official minimum financial capacity figure for the student visa, currently AUD 29,710 a year (about AUD 2,476 a month) for a single applicant, to demonstrate the visa applicant can cover living costs; actual living costs in Sydney, Melbourne and other large cities are commonly higher than this floor, and smaller cities and regional areas tend to cost less. International students on a Student visa (subclass 500) can work up to 48 hours a fortnight while their course is in session, with no cap during scheduled course breaks and no cap at all for Masters by Research and Doctoral students. After finishing an eligible qualification, most bachelor degree graduates can apply for a Temporary Graduate visa (subclass 485) under the Post-Higher Education Work stream, typically granted for two to three years depending on the qualification, to work in Australia after study.