Enter your course fee and length, where you apply from, and who is coming with you. The page works out the funds Home Affairs expects for the subclass 500 Student visa: first-year fees, living costs for you and your family, school fees for children and travel.
Work out the funds you need
Everything is worked out in your browser. Nothing you type is sent anywhere.
The funds you need
Your total shows up here once you enter the course fee and length.
What to enter
- Where you apply from
- Home Affairs gives a travel amount as a guide, and it depends on where you apply from. It is added for you and for each person coming with you.
- Course fee and length
- Enter the total fee and the length in months. For a course longer than 12 months the page uses the first 12 months of fees, worked out the way Home Affairs shows in its examples.
- Fees already paid
- Optional. Fees you have already paid come off, and you must be able to prove it with a receipt or a Confirmation of Enrolment.
- Family
- Optional. A partner adds a living-cost amount, each child adds a smaller one, and each school-age child adds school fees.
The amounts Home Affairs lists
| Who | Amount a year |
|---|---|
| You | A$29,710 |
| A partner | A$10,394 |
| A child | A$4,449 |
| School fees, each school-age child | A$13,502 |
| Where you apply from | Per person |
|---|---|
| From outside Australia (anywhere except Africa) | A$2,000 |
| From East or Southern Africa | A$2,500 |
| From West Africa | A$3,000 |
| From inside Australia | A$1,000 |
| From inside Australia, returning to Africa | A$1,500 |
A worked example
Here is a made-up student applying from outside Australia for a 24-month course that costs A$40,000 in total. The fees are counted for the first 12 months, which is A$20,000.
Add A$29,710 for living costs and A$2,000 for travel, and the student needs A$51,710.
Now add a partner and two children, one of them school age. Living costs rise by A$19,292, school fees add A$13,502, and travel is counted for 4 people, which is A$8,000. The total comes to A$90,504.
A shorter course is scaled to the months. Take a 6-month course with A$15,000 of fees, of which A$5,000 is already paid. The fees due are A$10,000, living costs are scaled to A$14,855, travel is A$2,000, and the total is A$26,855.
How course fees are counted
Home Affairs works out the first 12 months of fees for a long course like this, and rounds down. The page does the same.
| Course fee | Fees counted |
|---|---|
| A$50,000 over 36 months | A$16,666 |
| A$20,000 over 18 months | A$13,333 |
How the funds are calculated
- The first 12 months of course fees are the whole fee for a course of 12 months or less. For a longer course, the fee is divided by the number of months and multiplied by 12, rounded down. Anything you have already paid comes off.
- Living costs for 12 months are A$29,710 for you, A$10,394 for a partner and A$4,449 for each child. For a stay of under 12 months they are scaled to the number of months.
- School fees of at least A$13,502 a year are added for each school-age child, also scaled for a short stay.
- A travel amount is added for each person, based on where you apply from.
- The total is the fees due plus living costs, school fees and travel.
Funds = first-year fees due + living costs + school fees + travel
Assumptions to keep in mind
- The amounts are the ones Home Affairs lists on its Student visa page on the date shown below. Living costs are A$29,710 for you, A$10,394 for a partner and A$4,449 for a child.
- Home Affairs gives the travel amounts as a guide, so the page uses them as listed.
- The visa application charge is listed from A$2,500 and is not part of the funds you show.
- Home Affairs says the living costs and expenses you declare are the minimum amount of money you need. Many people need more.
- Some students are exempt from schooling costs, for example some PhD students whose children are in a government school with the fees waived. The page does not apply those exemptions.
Mistakes that leave you short
Using the whole course fee
Home Affairs asks for the first 12 months of fees. For a three-year course, that is about a third of the total, not the full amount.
Forgetting that fees you paid need proof
You can take off fees you have already paid, but you must show a receipt or a Confirmation of Enrolment. Without proof, they stay in the total.
Leaving out school fees
If a school-age child comes with you, school costs of at least A$13,502 a year are added for each child. They are easy to miss.
Counting travel for yourself only
Travel is counted for every person coming with you, including family members.
Treating the total as a ceiling
These are minimums. Your real first year can cost more, and the study abroad calculator shows the rest of the bill.
Questions students ask
How much money do I need for an Australian student visa?
At a minimum you need travel, 12 months of course fees (or the whole fee if the course is 12 months or less) and 12 months of living costs. Living costs are A$29,710 for you, A$10,394 for a partner and A$4,449 for each child, plus school fees for school-age children.
How are course fees counted for a long course?
Home Affairs uses the first 12 months. If the fee is A$50,000 for 3 years, it divides by 3 and gets A$16,666. If it is A$20,000 for 18 months, it divides by 18 and multiplies by 12 to get A$13,333.
Is there another way to show I have enough?
Yes. You can show that your parents or your partner earned at least A$87,856 in the 12 months before you apply, or A$102,500 if you bring family members. The page shows this alongside your total.
What does the visa itself cost?
Home Affairs lists the Student visa application charge from A$2,500. It is separate from the funds you have to show. For the full first-year bill, the study abroad calculator adds tuition, living costs and health cover.
Can I take off fees I have already paid?
Yes, but Home Affairs says you must provide evidence you have paid them, such as a receipt or your Confirmation of Enrolment. Enter the amount under fees already paid and the page takes it off the first 12 months of fees.
