If you are a citizen of the UK or Ireland and decide that you would like to study in either Australia or New Zealand, you will counted as an international student. This means you will be paying your tuition fees at international rates.
How much do courses cost?
Each college sets its own tuition fees, so the cost of a course will vary depending on what subject, qualification and college you choose, but you should generally expect to pay somewhere between AU$8,000 and AU$15,000 per year in Australia, and NZ$12,000 to NZ$20,000 per year in New Zealand for tuition fees.
What other costs are involved?
In addition to your course fees, you will also need to budget for the cost of living. This will vary according to where you choose to live – generally speaking a big city like Sydney or Melbourne will usually be more expensive to live in than a smaller town – and also on your lifestyle. You are allowed to work part-time on your student visa, but the income from this will likely only be enough to assist with your living costs. We also recommend that you begin your course before looking for work, so that you know how big your workload is likely to be.
According to the Australian Department of Immigration students must have access to at least AU$18,000 per year to live on. For New Zealand, you will need to budget around NZ$12,000 - NZ$18,000 per year for living costs in the South Island, and around NZ$18,000 - NZ$24,000 in the North Island.
Please note that these figures are intended as a guide for a student in Australia or New Zealand on their own. If you are going out as a family, living costs will be more.
I would be taking my family with me. Will I have to pay school fees for my children?
Yes. As an international student on a temporary visa you will be have to pay fees for your children to go to any school in Australia or New Zealand. Fees vary according to the age of your children and the state or territory that you live in, but expect fees of around AU$4,000 to AU$17,000 per year, per child in Australia and around NZ$9,000 to NZ$15,000 per year, per child in New Zealand.
Is there any help available to pay for all this?
In short, no, not really. As an international student you will be paying international fees and will – in the vast majority of cases – need to be self-financed to pay for these and your living costs. In Australia there are a number of scholarships offered each year through the Australian Government Endeavour Vocational Education and Training (VET) Awards. For details, have a look at the Endeavour Awards page. It is very rare for the colleges to offer scholarships for international students.