Cost of Studying in Australia for International Students in 2027

For an international student starting a bachelor's degree at an Australian university in 2027, tuition alone ranges from about AUD 31,000 a year to more than AUD 60,000, depending mainly on the university and the field. The same subject can cost almost twice as much at one university as at another: Charles Darwin University lists its Bachelor of Business at AUD 31,208 a year for 2027, while the University of Melbourne's indicative first-year fee for its Bachelor of Commerce is AUD 56,451 to AUD 62,464.

Tuition is only the largest line. Before your first semester you also need a student visa (AUD 2,500), health insurance for the whole visa period, and evidence that you can cover at least AUD 29,710 a year in living costs. This guide breaks down what each cost is, which ones are fixed and which vary, and how to build a realistic first-year budget.

How Australian universities set international tuition

There is no national fee for international students. Each university sets its own price for each course, and at many universities the bill is calculated from the individual subjects you enrol in. That is why official fee tables often show a range rather than a single number: two students in the same degree can pay different amounts depending on the subjects they choose.

Three terms appear on almost every fee page, and it helps to read them carefully:

• Indicative annual or first-year fee: the estimated tuition for one year of full-time study, usually for students starting in that calendar year.
• Indicative total course fee: the estimated cost of the whole degree, which normally includes expected annual increases.
• Annual increases: fees are reviewed every year and rise during your degree. Charles Darwin University's Bachelor of Business, for example, was AUD 28,376 a year in 2025 and AUD 31,208 in 2027.

The practical rule is simple: budget on the total course fee, not the first-year figure multiplied by the number of years.

What tuition looks like at different universities

The examples below use each university's own published figures for 2027. They are not averages; they show how wide the spread is within the same level of study.

University	Course	2027 tuition (AUD)
Charles Darwin University	Bachelor of Business	31,208 per year
University of Melbourne	Bachelor of Arts	44,356 to 57,764 (first year)
University of Melbourne	Bachelor of Commerce	56,451 to 62,464 (first year)
University of Melbourne	Bachelor of Biomedicine	58,084 to 65,288 (first year)

Two patterns hold across the sector. Research-intensive universities in Sydney and Melbourne sit at the top of the price range, while universities in smaller cities and regional areas are usually cheaper for comparable degrees. And within any one university, laboratory and clinical fields cost more than humanities and business; medicine, dentistry and veterinary science carry the highest fees of all.

Postgraduate coursework degrees are generally priced per course, and a master's degree is often one to two years long, so the total can be lower than a three- or four-year bachelor's even when the annual fee is similar. Always check the exact course page, because two master's programs at the same university can differ by thousands of dollars a year.

Costs you pay before you arrive

Several payments fall due between receiving an offer and boarding your flight. Some are fixed by the government; others depend on the university or the provider you choose.

Cost	Amount	Fixed or variable
Application fee	From nothing to AUD 150 per application	Set by each university; CDU charges nothing for online applications, UNSW charges AUD 150
Tuition deposit	Varies by university	Set by each university; the University of Melbourne requires AUD 17,000 from undergraduates
Student visa (subclass 500)	AUD 2,500	Fixed government charge for applications lodged from 1 July 2026
Overseas Student Health Cover (OSHC)	Varies by provider and cover type	Mandatory for the full visa period and needed before you apply for the visa
English test and flights	Varies	Depends on the test, your country and when you book

The deposit is not an extra fee. It is paid when you accept your offer and is credited towards your first tuition payment, but it is money you need in hand months before classes begin. Health insurance works the same way: single-student cover is the cheapest option, while couple and family policies cost several times more, which matters if your spouse or children will join you.

The visa fee is set by the date you lodge the application, not the date you receive your offer. The charge rose from AUD 2,000 to AUD 2,500 on 1 July 2026, and the government has raised it twice in two years, so treat it as a cost that can change again.

How much money you must show for the student visa

The Department of Home Affairs asks many applicants to prove they can pay for their first year. At a minimum, the funds must cover travel, up to 12 months of course fees, and 12 months of living costs for you and any family members coming with you.

Person	Living-cost amount per year (AUD)
Student	29,710
Accompanying spouse or partner	10,394
Each accompanying child	4,449
School costs for each school-age child	13,502

As an alternative to savings, applicants can show that a parent or partner earned a personal income of at least AUD 87,856 in the 12 months before the application. Loans from financial institutions and scholarships are also accepted as evidence.

One distinction matters here: AUD 29,710 is a visa threshold, not a prediction of what you will spend. Home Affairs itself notes that real living costs vary across Australia and can be higher, particularly in Sydney and Melbourne. Rent is the biggest variable, so your city choice affects your budget almost as much as your university choice.

Costs that fee pages often leave out

Tuition figures on course pages normally cover teaching only. Plan separately for:

• Study materials: textbooks, equipment and field trips are usually excluded from tuition. UNSW, for instance, adds an estimate of about AUD 1,000 a year for study-related costs when it calculates the total cost of a degree.
• Student Services and Amenities Fee (SSAF): some universities charge it on top of tuition; others, such as the University of Melbourne, cover it for international students.
• Under-18 supervision: students who arrive before turning 18 need approved accommodation and welfare arrangements, which carry their own fees.
• Staying on after graduation: the Temporary Graduate visa (subclass 485), which lets graduates live and work in Australia after their studies, now costs AUD 5,750 to apply for.

A sample first-year budget

The comparison below is illustrative. It uses the published 2027 tuition figures above and the visa living-cost amount as a floor for living expenses. It excludes health insurance, flights and study materials, which vary too much to state as a single figure.

Item	CDU, Bachelor of Business	University of Melbourne, Bachelor of Commerce
Tuition, first year	31,208	56,451 to 62,464
Living costs (visa minimum)	29,710	29,710
Student visa	2,500	2,500
Subtotal (AUD)	63,418	88,661 to 94,674

Even before health insurance and flights, the gap between the two options is more than AUD 25,000 in the first year alone, and it grows over a three-year degree once annual fee increases are added. That difference is the main reason to compare universities on total cost rather than on ranking or reputation alone.

Ways to lower the cost

Most of the cost of studying in Australia is decided when you choose a course and a city. After that, a few levers remain:

• University scholarships: most universities offer partial tuition scholarships for international students, usually based on academic results. Many have their own application deadlines, often earlier than the admission deadline.
• Government sponsorship: students on a government scholarship from their home country usually have tuition and allowances paid by the sponsor. Confirm with your sponsor which universities and programs are approved before applying.
• Credit for previous study: recognised prior study can shorten a degree, which reduces the total fee.
• Part-time work: student visa holders can work up to 48 hours per fortnight during study periods. Wages can help with living costs, but they cannot replace the funds you must show for the visa, and they are rarely enough to cover tuition.

Notes for Saudi and GCC students

For students sponsored by the Saudi government or another GCC government, the sponsor's approval list comes before any cost comparison: a cheaper university is not an option if the sponsor does not recognise it. Saudi students can check with the Saudi Arabian Cultural Mission in Australia.

Sponsorship can also affect timing. Student visa applicants sponsored by a foreign government scholarship receive the highest processing priority, whatever the university's international student allocation status.

Self-funded students and their families should plan cash flow as well as the total. The deposit, the visa fee and health insurance are all paid before arrival, and the first full tuition instalment usually falls due at the start of the first study period.

How YouApply can help

YouApply lets you compare tuition information, entry requirements and available scholarships across Australian universities in one place, so you can see how the courses on your shortlist differ in cost before you apply.

Before you apply

For each course on your shortlist, write down three numbers from the university's own course page: the indicative first-year fee, the indicative total course fee and the deposit required on acceptance. Add the visa charge, the living-cost amount you must show and a health insurance quote for your full visa period. If the total does not fit your budget or your sponsor's limits, change the university or the city before you pay any deposit, because that is the point where the cost of studying in Australia is still fully in your control.