Ask an Indian student today what they like about Australia, and the first answer would be the education system. It has been quite a few years that the education system has taken precedence over the marsupials like a koala, kangaroos, and wallabies, or the Great Barrier Reef and Bondi beach when it comes to the attractive features of Australia for an Indian student. Over 52000 thousand Indian students enrolled in Australian universities in 2021. The primary reason is the variety of academic programs and the highly ranked universities. Apart from the lack of racism, the welcoming nature of the citizens and the cosmopolitan culture are the other reasons for choosing Australia over other top nations famous for international study. But what becomes a roadblock to study in Australia for Indian students is the cost.
Unfortunately, all experts can state the approximate amount every student must spend studying in Australia. Still, none can detail the factors on which the costs may vary. Here are the complete details on the factors that students must consider to calculate the cost of studying in Australia.
The cost of studies depends on the factors like:
- Tuition fees
The tuition fees to study abroad, especially in Australia, is a significant factor that contributes to the total cost of studies. Tuition fees are paid yearly for all academic programs or weekly for language studies, and the price varies with the academic intuition and programs chosen. Here are the details:
| Academic level | Tuition fees (in INR) |
| Undergraduate Program | 1,14,000 – 2,56,000 |
| Postgraduate program | 1,24,000 – 2,84,000 |
| Technical and Further education or Vocational Education and Training | 22,000 – 1,25,000 |
| Ph.D. programs | 102,000 – 2,38,000 |
| Studies in the English language | 17000 |
Now, let’s find the difference in the popular academic programs at the best universities in Australia.
| Name of the academic institution | Approximate Yearly Cost of studying BE/B Tech (in INR) | Approximate Yearly Cost of studying MS (in INR) | Approximate Yearly Cost of studying for MBA (in INR) |
| Australian National University | 27,55,764 | 28,67,624 | 28,67,624 |
| The University of Melbourne | 24,76,170 | 23,63,586 | 50,92,309 |
| The University of Queensland | 25,67,206 | 26,81,001 | 45,97,757 |
| University of New South Wales | 27,17,415 | 26,90,104 | 33,70,300 |
| University of Sydney | 27,59,519 | 27,87,968 | 38,12,119 |
- Cost of living in Australia
The expense of living in Australia for an Indian student completely depends on the student’s lifestyle, believes experts who provide visa assistance services. Moreover, the location and rent of accommodation, the primary choice of commutation, food habits, shopping sprees, entertainment, etc., play a significant role. Even to maintain a simple living, an Indian needs to spend 11, 14,000 Indian rupees each year. Here is an approximate cost of the items:
| Features | Average monthly cost (in INR) |
| Accommodation | 17000 – 42,274 |
| Groceries | 11,000 – 23,600 |
| Commutation | 2500 – 5000 |
| Everyday bills | 796 – 1700 |
| Supermarket run | 6500 – 12,800 |
| Sundry expenses | 1137 – 1706 |
- Pre-arrival and post-arrival costs
Apart from the recurring costs of studying and staying in Australia, one must also include the one-time expenses that are met before arrival to the country study or just after arriving there. For example:
- Cost of entrance exams:
One cannot apply for an Australian university unless one passes the entrance exams. However, passing these entrance tests is not easy. Therefore, students take PTE exam preparation courses and courses to pass IELTS, TOEFL, GMAT, and GRE. Each preparation program comes with a specific cost that varies with the training intuition, city, and course length. Usually, each 45-hour course, if conducted in 30 classes, costs around 22,000 INR. Plus, the registration fee for each test is nearly 14,000 INR. Hence, if a student appears in each of these tests, it may cost them 1,10,000 for preparation and 70,000 for appearing in the tests. Thus, the total cost comes to 1,80,000 INR.
- One-way flight charges:
There are no direct flights from India to Australia to date. One has to fly to Singapore and take a connecting flight to any Australian city. Therefore, calculating the exact flight charges is difficult. Plus, flight charges vary with the date of purchase and the airlines chosen to fly to Australia. A ticket purchased nearly 6 months before the date of the journey will cost almost half of the ticket price bought a day before the flight. Here is the approximate cost to fly from Mumbai and Bangalore.
From Mumbai – Approximately 84,000 INR
From Bangalore – Approximately 65000 INR
- Visa charges –
The Visa charges are not constant and might change every year. Moreover, one must have a passport to apply for a student visa. Here are the approximate fees to apply for Visa and Passport.
Passport fees – 1500 INR (approximate value)
Visa cost – 35796 INR (approximate value)
- Health Insurance –
Students who want to visit Australia to study at its universities must secure health insurance. The cost of health insurance varies with the length of stay and the facilities students wish to avail of from the medical centers in the country. Usually, the cost of health insurance ranges from 34000 to 1,94,000 INR.
- Proof of funds
International students must show that they have enough financial support to pursue an academic program in the country. Therefore, proof of funds is mandatory. One can expect a minimum financial balance of 11,54,000 INR in their bank account.
- University application fee
Unfortunately, international students are not exempt from paying the application fee to Australian universities to pursue an academic program there. The minimum application fee is 7500 INR.
To sum up,
It is not cheap to study in Australia for Indian students when the monthly wage of an average Indian is $179 a month. However, the expense is much less than many European and American nations. Plus, the money spent there can easily to regain thanks to the value the Australian academic degrees add to a student’s portfolio. Therefore, students must work hard to make the best of the world-class educational facilities available in Australia.
