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Visas, Immigration and Refugees

Postgraduate Research Sector: Temporary Visa (Subclass 574) - Assessment Level 3

Financial requirements


You must meet the following financial requirements.
Note: There are separate financial requirements for fully funded students.
See: Fully Funded Students

Travel, tuition and living expenses

You must have enough money to pay for travel, tuition and living expenses for yourself, your partner and your dependent children for the duration of your stay in Australia.

You must:

  • show proof that you can meet these financial requirements for the period of any preliminary course and the first 12 months of your principal course.
    Note: If you have completed 75 percent of your course and are applying to renew your student visa, you do not need to show your savings history.
  • declare on your application that you can meet these financial requirements for the remainder of your stay in Australia.

The table below outlines the amounts in Australian dollars (AUD) that you need access to. These amounts are the minimum required for this visa. They do not necessarily represent the cost of living in Australia.

Expenses Per Person Amount required in AUD
Travel Yourself Return air fare to Australia
Family members One return air fare to Australia per person
Tuition Yourself Course fees
Children aged 5-18 AUD8000 per year
Living Yourself AUD18 000 per year
Partner AUD6300 per year
First child AUD3600 per year
Each other child AUD2700 per year

The department must be satisfied that an applicant, once in Australia, will have genuine access to the funds they claim to possess to cover the travel, tuition and living costs for themselves and their family members.

Acceptable sources of income

The money to support you and your family members must come from one or more acceptable sources, which may include:

  • a money deposit with a financial institution held by you, or a person supporting you
  • a loan from a financial institution made to you or a person supporting you
  • a loan from your government
  • your proposed education provider
  • the Australian Government or an Australian State or Territory government
  • the government of a foreign country
  • a provincial or state government of a foreign country that has the written support of the national government of the foreign country
  • an organisation gazetted by the Minister
  • an acceptable non-profit organisation
  • a multilateral agency.
    Examples: United Nations, World Bank or Asian Development Bank

Note: Non-cash assets such as property and shares are not acceptable sources of income. However, non-cash assets may be liquidated or used as collateral on a loan, if they are provided by an acceptable source.

Providing evidence of deposits or loans

You need to show evidence of how the money to fund your studies was accumulated.

If your source of income is a money deposit held in a bank account, you must provide the following evidence:

  • pay slips
  • bank loan documents
  • interest from investments.

If your source of income is a loan, you must provide the following evidence:

  • a bank statement showing the amount of available credit
  • a statement from the holder of the loan that its purpose is to support your studies.

Note: If your source of income is a home loan with a redraw facility from an Australian financial institution, the funds from the redraw facility may be considered a loan. A home loan with a redraw facility from a non-Australian financial institution may be acceptable, but must be considered on a case-by-case basis.

Financial support from a non-profit organisation

A non-profit organisation providing you with financial support must be lawfully established and operating in Australia or overseas.

You must show evidence of the organisation's non-profit status, including:

  • statement from the Australian Taxation Office showing organisation's status
  • documents of incorporation as a non-profit organisation.

You must also show evidence that the organisation has sufficient funds or income to support you financially. Evidence may include:

  • bank statements
  • financial statements.

Supporting family members when studying for less than 12 months

If you are applying to study in Australia for less than 12 months, your family members are not eligible to come with you to Australia. However, you must show that you have enough funds to support your family members in your home country, taking into consideration the standard cost of living in that country.

Prepaid boarding or homestay fees

If you are boarding or have entered into homestay arrangements with your education provider and have prepaid your boarding or homestay fees, the amount you have prepaid can be deducted from the total amount of living costs you must demonstrate to the department.

You will need to show evidence to the department of the boarding or homestay fees as separate from the tuition fees.
Example: A contract or an authorised receipt of payment from your education provider.
Note: Only formal boarding or homestay arrangements will be accepted by the department. Prepayment of private boarding or homestay arrangements or rent will not be deducted from the living cost requirement.