subject: Study In Australia: Living Expenses [print this page] If youre planning to take up study courses in Australia or to become a full-time student at an Australian university, you need to do more than just get your first Australian student visa. Aside from preparing for your enrolment fees, you also need to save up for your daily living expenses.
Whether you will be enrolling in an Australian school or an Australian college, have to create a check list of what you will be spending on. Australia is said to have one of the highest standards of living in the world, but is still affordable.
For an international student, you can expect to shell out as much as $360 per week. This money will cover costs for your accommodation, clothing, food, transportation, communication (ie telephone line), entertainment and incidental costs.
Your biggest spend outside tuition as a student taking up study courses in Australia would probably be for your accommodation. There are many options to choose form depending on your budget. Homestays usually include means and are either shared or single room. They cost around $110 to $270 per week. Hostels and guest houses are another option. These have kitchen and bathroom facilities and would cost you about $80 to $135 per week. Shared accommodations and rentals are popular among international students. But you will need to spend for your own furniture, which can add up to the cost. Rentals range between $100 to $400 per week.
Most Australian universities also have campus accommodation such as residence halls or residential colleges. These have social facilities and are located near the school. They cost roughly $80 to $250 per week.
The most expensive type of accommodation you can get as an international student would probably be for boarding school. These private institutions provide meals, accommodation and laundry service and cost about $10,000 to $20,000 annually.
If you intend to do a lot of travelling during your course break to see the sights in Australia, that should also be properly budgeted. Some student visas allow you to work a specific number of hours after the commencement of your course. What you earn from that should help increase your daily living expense budget by a bit.
