Study in Australia

Australia is the sixth largest country in the world, but it has a population of just under 27 million. So, there’s a lot to explore, and plenty of space to do it in! 

The sheer size of Australia is often difficult to comprehend. Individual features of the country are vast – Queensland’s Great Barrier Reef, for example, covers an area bigger than the UK, Switzerland and Holland combined; equal to around 70 million football fields. The wild and beautiful Kimberley region in Western Australia alone covers an area approximately three times the size of England, and there’s only one sealed road in all that space! And flying from Sydney in the east to Perth in the west is a journey that takes well over five hours. Unsurprisingly, this enormous landscape contains breath-taking natural diversity, from the harsh but beautiful desert interior (the Outback) to the rainforests of tropical northern Queensland, the alpine ranges, grasslands and wetlands of Tasmania and the glorious golden sand beaches that can be found in almost every state in the country. Australia’s sunny climate and outdoor lifestyle means that there are so many ways to get out and about, whether that means yoga in the park, diving at the Reef, running on the beach or joining in with Australia’s national love of competitive sport. Cricket, Aussie Rules, football, netball, rugby – league and union – and tennis 

are just some of the sports with high public participation levels. Australia’s population, however, is small relative to its size. Its desert interior is inhospitable and so most Australians live within about 20km of the coast, with most of those concentrated in a southeastern curve from Adelaide up to southern Queensland. Australians themselves tend to be friendly, welcoming, confident types. The national stereotype is based on hard work, hard play and a sense of humour with a relaxed, easy-going approach taken to most things. Irreverent and democratic, the Australian love of cutting the overblown or overserious down to size is evident everywhere, from politics to billboard advertising. Australia’s cities are vibrant, busy, cosmopolitan places that offer residents and tourists alike huge amounts to see and do. You could study in glamorous Sydney, with its iconic landmarks of the Opera House and the Harbour Bridge. Or perhaps you’ll prefer Melbourne, with its hidden laneway bars and sophisticated, coffee-and-craft-beer-loving people. Or the vibrancy of sunny Brisbane? The economic powerhouse that is Perth? The laidback gentility of Adelaide? The choice is up to you How much money do you need to live as a student in Australia? There’s no simple answer to this question, as it depends on where and what you are studying as well as on your individual everyday needs and habits. What one person might consider an everyday necessity others think of as a once-a-term treat. Having said that, here we’ll try to give a rough idea of what to expect. When preparing your budget, remember to factor in how long you intend to be in Australia each year. The Australian academic year is typically 40 weeks long, and many of the online cost calculators and example budgets provided by Australian university websites work on the assumption that you will be there for just those 40 weeks. If you want to stay over the summer and work, or travel (both of which you are entitled to do on an Australian student visa) you will need to allow extra budget to cover this. The single biggest living expense for every student is housing. Each university offers several different accommodation options and we recommend looking into them, and factoring the likely costs into your budget, as early as you can. Fully-catered halls of residence or residential colleges are good in terms of having lots of things included in the overall bill, which means you then don’t need to worry about allowing for them in your weekly budget. Fees are generally payable at the start of the semester, often as a lump sum. Halls of residence and residential colleges vary in terms of what’s included in the price, but you can generally count on getting several meals a day, plus all your utilities covered. The fee may also include internet access, local phone calls, laundry and so forth. Check the websites carefully to see what is (and is not) included in the price. All you are then left to worry about are any additional course costs (such as textbooks, art materials, field trips and so on) and spending money for nights out, trips away, and everyday treats like takeaway coffees. Which some people find easier to manage, particularly during their first year away from home. Fully catered accommodation, however, does not allow for much flexibility in your budget. Having a large chunk of each semester’s budget pre-allocated might not leave you with much left over, 

and does not give you the option of, for example, going for cheap eats for a while to save cash. Self-catered university flats or halls of residence offer all the security of fully catered halls 

(including not having to worry about utilities, only having to pay per term, being on or close to campus so lower travel costs etc) but give you the added flexibility of being able to control your food spending. The amount people spend on food varies hugely, but if you can cook, are happy to shop around for ingredients and take leftovers to campus the next day for lunch, this can definitely work out to be a less expensive option than fully-catered. Renting a room or a flat privately is not something that we recommend for new first year undergraduates but lots of 

returning students and most postgraduates choose to stay in private rental accommodation, in part to give themselves as much financial flexibility as possible. While renting privately may 

appear by far the cheapest option at first look, don’t forget that you will need to budget for all your food, utilities, internet, local travel (if living away from campus) and the set up for your 

flat (any missing furniture, linen, kitchen kit, hire of television and white goods) on top of the weekly rent. Also remember that the lease on private housing is likely to be for 52 weeks, so if you are not intending to stay past the academic year, you might end up paying for housing that you don’t use. The amount of rent you pay will partly be determined by the number of people sharing the property – generally, the more of you there are, the lower the rent.