Study in Australia

There are over 1,200 institutions and over 22,000 courses on offer for International students considering Australia as a destination.  Importantly, Australian education institutions have an international reputation for excellence in many disciplines.

Some of the reasons for this are as follows:

1. Institutions deliver practical and career-orientated training so graduates can be confident they have the skills demanded by employers.
2. Australia has a reputation as an innovative and research-intensive culture.
3. Academic staff are recruited from around the world and often are leading industry experts in their field.
4. Australian teachers are experienced in supervising students from many countries.
5. Each year student and staff exchange programs are forged from Australia’s international links with education institutions in the USA, UK, Canada, Europe and Asia.
6. Australia has a reputation for adopting new technologies at a faster rate than in most other countries and has one of the highest rates of Internet access in the world.
7. Facilities for teaching, training and research are world-class in terms of state-of-the-art laboratories and classrooms, outstanding libraries and modern technology.

Ability to Work

During Their Studies: Australia as a study destination is attractive for students since they are allowed to work to supplement their income.

International students studying in Australia are only allowed to work once they commence their course.

A Student visa holder is subject to work condition 8105 which permits the student to work 40 hours per fortnight* while their course is in session and unlimited hours while their course is not in session;

A student’s course is considered to be ‘in session’:

• for the duration of the advertised semesters (including periods when exams are being held);
• if the studies have been completed but the Confirmation of Enrolment (CoE) is still in effect and
• if a student is undertaking another course during a break from their main course and the points will be credited towards their main course.

Refer to this section on Work rights for Students for more information

* Postgraduate Research (subclass 574) students can work unlimited hours once their course commences.

Dependants: Dependants of student visa holders are permitted to work in Australia for 40 hours per fortnight once the student has commenced their course.

If the student’s course of study is a course for the award of a masters or doctorate degree registered on the Commonwealth Register of Institutions and Courses of Overseas Students a dependant may work unlimited hours.

Post-Study Work Rights

The Post-Study Work stream of the Temporary Graduate visa (subclass 485) offers extended options for working in Australia to eligible graduates of a higher education degree. Under this stream, successful applicants are granted a visa of two, three or four year’s duration, depending on the highest educational qualification they have obtained.

Students must meet the Australian study requirement in the six months immediately prior to making their application by having:

1. attained either a single qualification on CRICOS requiring at least two academic years study or multiple qualifications resulting in a total period of at least two academic years study; and
2. undertaken this study in no less than 16 months
3. completed the course while physically being in Australia