Cost of studying in Australia for Indian students in 2026: tuition, living costs and four budgets in rupees

Australia is one of the most expensive places for an Indian student to do a master’s, and the bill rose again in July 2026 when the student visa charge went up. It also gives Indian master’s graduates three years of post-study work. Whether that is worth it depends on knowing the full cost in rupees before you commit.

We built this guide from the international fee pages of nine Australian universities, the Department of Home Affairs and official rent data. It covers tuition, living costs, health cover, the money you must show for the visa and four full budgets in rupees. Every figure links to its source and was checked on 8 October 2026. Rupee amounts use A$1 ≈ ₹68; the Reserve Bank of Australia’s rate on 7 October was ₹67.23, so our figures carry a small margin.

How much does it cost to study in Australia for Indian students?

About ₹48 to 67 lakh for a year of a master’s, tuition and living costs together, and roughly ₹1 crore to ₹1.4 crore for a full two-year master’s. These are our four worked budgets, before flights:

Each budget is two years of the published international tuition, two years of living costs at the Home Affairs figure of A$29,710 a year, A$750 a year for health cover and the A$2,500 visa charge. UNSW’s figures are 2026 fees, so expect a 2027 start to cost more. They are illustrations, not quotes; your offer letter sets the real fee.

What is the tuition for a master’s in Australia?

For a master’s in information technology, the most common choice among our students, from about A$41,000 to A$69,000 a year at the universities we checked. Melbourne, UNSW, UQ and Monash sit at the top; RMIT, Deakin, Swinburne and Federation are cheaper.

Most of these are two-year courses, but several shorten to one or one and a half years if your bachelor’s is in a related field, which cuts the cost by a quarter or more. Fees can rise in each year of the course. Many university pages show the domestic fee first, and it is often several thousand dollars lower; make sure you are reading the international figure.

What does a master’s in engineering, business or accounting cost?

About A$48,000 to A$67,000 a year at the universities we checked, in the same range as IT:

How much does it cost to live in Australia as a student?

Plan on A$30,000 to A$45,000 a year in Melbourne, which is about ₹20 to 31 lakh. That is the range both RMIT and Monash give a single international student. Sydney costs more: UNSW says living costs can range from under A$30,000 to above A$70,000 a year, depending on where you live.

Rent is most of it. Official median rents, which are for a whole home rather than a shared room:

Most students share rather than rent a whole flat. Monash puts shared rentals at A$275 to A$380 a week around its Clayton campus, and groceries and eating out at A$150 to A$500 a week. In our experience, a shared room 30 to 40 minutes from campus by train is the usual first home for a Chennai student.

How much does a student need a month in Australia?

Budget about ₹1.7 to 2.55 lakh a month. The Home Affairs figure of A$29,710 a year works out to about A$2,476 a month (₹1.68 lakh); RMIT’s and Monash’s A$30,000 to A$45,000 is A$2,500 to A$3,750 a month (₹1.7 to 2.55 lakh). A shared room near Monash’s Clayton campus, at A$275 to A$380 a week, is about A$1,190 to A$1,650 a month of that.

The first month costs more. In Victoria, a bond is usually no more than one month’s rent, and no more than a month’s rent can be asked in advance (14 days if you pay weekly). In New South Wales the limits are four weeks’ rent as bond and two weeks in advance. Keep about two months’ rent aside for when you arrive.

How much money do you need to show for an Australian student visa?

Twelve months of costs: A$29,710 for living, your first year’s course fees and A$2,000 for travel if you apply from India. That is about ₹20.2 lakh for living alone. For Federation’s master’s the total is A$73,110 (about ₹49.7 lakh); for Melbourne’s Master of Information Technology it is A$100,190 (about ₹68.1 lakh). Home Affairs sets these on its Student visa (subclass 500) page.

Alternatively, your parents or your partner can show annual income of at least A$87,856 in the 12 months before you apply (both parents’ incomes can be combined), using official documents such as tax assessments; Home Affairs does not accept bank statements or employer letters for that route. Whether you must upload evidence at all depends on its Document Checklist Tool, which is updated each March and September. Our proof of funds guide compares Australia’s rules with the UK, Canada, Germany and the USA.

Can you bring your family on an Australian student visa?

For most students, no longer. From 2 October 2026, Home Affairs says most Student visa applicants can no longer include family members, and family cannot join later as subsequent entrants. The exceptions include PhD students (not master’s by research), students sponsored by Australia’s foreign affairs or defence departments, and students on a foreign government scholarship that fully funds their studies. If you were planning to bring a spouse on a master’s, that plan no longer works.

What other costs should you budget for?

Four more: the A$2,500 visa charge, health cover of about A$590 to A$750 a year, a tuition deposit before your Confirmation of Enrolment, and A$5,750 later for the post-study work visa.

Health cover is a condition of the student visa for the whole stay, so it is bought upfront, usually through your university. Universities also take a deposit before they issue the Confirmation of Enrolment you need for the visa; at Melbourne it is at least A$17,000.

Can part-time work cover living costs in Australia?

Some of them. Student visa holders can work up to 48 hours a fortnight while the course is in session and unlimited hours in breaks; research master’s and PhD students have no limit. Earnings help with rent and food, but the visa asks you to show the full amount without them, and in our experience the first job can take weeks to find.

What does it cost to send money from India?

Money paid from an education loan by a financial institution carries no tax collected at source. From your own savings, TCS is 2% on the amount above ₹10 lakh a financial year, and it is credited against the sender’s income tax. At these totals most families borrow; our education loan guide covers amounts, margins and sanction letters.

Are there scholarships for Indian students in Australia?

Yes, and the common ones are percentage cuts to tuition rather than full scholarships:

• UNSW International Student Award: 20% off tuition for Indian students starting in 2026 or 2027.
• RMIT Future Leaders Scholarship: 20% off tuition for the whole programme, for Indian students in eligible master’s by coursework.
• Deakin: a 20% merit scholarship, a 25% scholarship for excellence, and the competitive Vice-Chancellor’s scholarship of 50% or 100%.
• La Trobe: 20% or 25% depending on your marks, for selected courses, assessed automatically.

If your course is on RMIT’s eligible list, a 20% cut on its A$47,040 is A$9,408 a year, about ₹6.4 lakh. Deakin’s Vice-Chancellor’s award is competitive, so check whether an offer is automatic before you count it in your budget.

Is studying in Australia worth the cost?

It can be, if you use the post-study work years. Under the Australia–India trade agreement, Indian nationals get a Temporary Graduate visa of 3 years after a master’s, coursework or research, and 4 years after a PhD. Coursework graduates must be 35 or under when they apply; research graduates can be up to 49. Most other nationalities get 2 years after a coursework master’s. Three years matches the longest offered by other major destinations.

Places are also managed. The government kept the national planning level for new international students at 295,000 for 2027, the same as 2026, and visa applications to a university are processed faster until it nears its allocation. In our experience, applying early in the intake cycle matters more for Australia than for the UK.

To compare, see our cost guides for the UK and Canada, our country-by-country guide, or our page on studying in Australia.