Authoritative Resources · Official Links for Studying in Australia

This page collects the primary and authoritative sources we cite across StudyAU. When policy, pricing, or admissions rules shift, these pages are the first place the change is published. Bookmark this list — every serious question about studying in Australia should be answered against one of these sources rather than a forum post or agent brochure.

If you find a broken link or have a better canonical source to suggest, email [email protected] and we will update within 48 hours.

Australian Government — visa, immigration, evidence of funds

• Department of Home Affairs — the master portal for all Australian visas.
• Student visa (subclass 500) — official rules, evidence, conditions.
• Temporary Graduate visa (subclass 485) — Post-Higher Education Work and Post-Vocational Education Work streams.
• Visa Pricing Estimator — current application charges.
• ImmiAccount — the portal where you actually lodge applications.
• Financial capacity — Student visa — current evidence-of-funds thresholds.
• Genuine Student requirement — the test that replaced GTE on 23 March 2024.
• Visa conditions — 8202, 8105, 8501, others — condition codes and what each one means.
• Check visa details online (VEVO) — confirm visa status.

Australian Government — education, quality, provider registers

• Department of Education — Australian Government policy for higher education and VET.
• Study Australia — the Australian Government’s official site for international students (costs, course search, FAQs).
• CRICOS — Commonwealth Register of Institutions and Courses for Overseas Students — the only definitive list of providers and courses that can enrol international students.
• TEQSA — Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency — regulator for all Australian higher education providers.
• National Register (training.gov.au) — the register of RTOs (VET providers) and accredited courses.
• ASQA — Australian Skills Quality Authority — regulator for VET providers.
• Provider Register & course search — check a provider is CRICOS-registered before you pay a deposit.
• ESOS Framework — the law that protects international students in Australia.

English-language tests

• IELTS — the most widely accepted test for Australian admissions and visas.
• IELTS test centre finder — locate an IELTS test centre near you.
• PTE Academic — accepted by almost all Australian universities and for visas.
• TOEFL iBT — accepted by most universities.
• Cambridge English — C1 Advanced / C2 Proficiency widely accepted.
• OET — Occupational English Test — for healthcare-field study and registration.

Rankings and course data

• QS World University Rankings
• QS Subject Rankings
• Times Higher Education (THE)
• ARWU (ShanghaiRanking)
• ratings.education.gov.au — Australian government-endorsed provider info.
• ComparED (formerly QILT) — official student-experience and graduate-outcomes data from surveys of Australian students.
• Good Universities Guide — independent Australian rankings.

Health cover (OSHC)

Overseas Student Health Cover is mandatory for subclass 500 visa holders. These are the APRA-regulated OSHC providers:

• Bupa OSHC
• Medibank OSHC
• Allianz Care Australia (OSHC)
• nib OSHC
• ahm OSHC

Government overview: Study Australia — health cover.

Scholarships

• Australia Awards Scholarships — Australian Government scholarships for citizens of partner countries.
• Destination Australia — scholarships to study in regional Australia.
• Endeavour Leadership Program — government-sponsored mobility.
• Research Training Program (RTP) — domestic PhD funding; some universities extend RTP stipends to international HDR candidates.
• University-specific international scholarships — check each institution’s “International scholarships” page.

Representative university admissions pages

Group of Eight (Go8)

• The University of Melbourne
• The University of Sydney
• The Australian National University (ANU)
• The University of Queensland (UQ)
• The University of New South Wales (UNSW)
• Monash University
• The University of Western Australia (UWA)
• The University of Adelaide

Australian Technology Network (ATN)

• University of Technology Sydney (UTS)
• RMIT University
• Queensland University of Technology (QUT)
• Deakin University
• University of Newcastle
• University of South Australia (UniSA)

Other widely chosen universities

• Macquarie University
• Griffith University
• La Trobe University
• Western Sydney University
• University of Wollongong
• University of Canberra
• James Cook University (JCU) — designated regional for 485 purposes.

Living in Australia — practical official sources

• Australian Taxation Office — Coming to Australia — TFN, residency for tax, working as a student.
• Apply for a Tax File Number (TFN)
• Fair Work Ombudsman — minimum wage, award rates, visa-holder work rights.
• Services Australia — Medicare for international students — reciprocal agreements where applicable.
• Australia Post — moving to Australia
• Transport for NSW — Opal · Public Transport Victoria — myki · Translink QLD — Go card

Post-study work and permanent residency

• Subclass 485 — Temporary Graduate — post-study work visa.
• Subclass 189 — Skilled Independent
• Subclass 190 — Skilled Nominated
• Subclass 491 — Skilled Work Regional
• SkillSelect — the expression-of-interest system.
• Core Skills Occupation List (CSOL) — occupations eligible for skilled streams.
• Labour Market Information Portal — Australian job-market data.

Finding a registered migration agent or lawyer

• MARA — Office of the Migration Agents Registration Authority — search the public register before engaging anyone.

Australian media for policy watching

• The Age — Higher Education · Sydney Morning Herald — Education
• The Conversation — Education
• ABC News — Education
• Campus Review · Times Higher Education — Australia

Reviewed quarterly. If you find a link that redirects or has been restructured, email [email protected] and we will refresh it.