Study in Australia

• Scale of intake. The Government set a National Planning Level (NPL) of 295,000 new overseas student commencements for 2026, 25,000 more than 2025, and has held it at 295,000 for 2027 (Department of Education). The NPL is a visa-processing priority system, not a hard cap on individual applicants (Study Australia).
• Where the jobs are growing. Health Care and Social Assistance is Australia's largest industry (close to one in six jobs in 2025) and has the strongest projected employment growth over the next 5 and 10 years, driven mainly by growth in the population aged 65+ (Jobs and Skills Australia). Professional services are also projected to grow much faster than average. Total employment is projected to rise by nearly 2.0 million (13.3%) by May 2035 (JSA).
• India-specific post-study benefit. Under the Australia-India Economic Cooperation and Trade Agreement (AI-ECTA), Indian nationals on the Post-Higher Education Work stream of the 485 visa can stay up to 3 years after a Master's (general applicants: 2 years) and up to 4 years after a PhD (general: 3 years). The Bachelor's benefit is narrower than often claimed: up to 2 years (the same as general applicants), rising to 3 years only for a Bachelor's with First Class Honours in STEM including ICT (Study Melbourne, Victorian Government). Full detail is in The India-specific advantage under AI-ECTA.
• A second India-only route. The MATES scheme offers up to 3,000 two-year work visas a year, by ballot, to Indian graduates aged 18-30 from eligible Indian institutions in engineering, ICT, AI, FinTech, mining, renewable energy and AgriTech - no employer sponsorship needed (Home Affairs). It is not a study pathway, but it matters when comparing "study first" with "work first".

The Group of Eight (Go8) are Australia's research-intensive universities: University of Melbourne, University of Sydney, Australian National University, UNSW Sydney, University of Queensland, Monash University, University of Western Australia and Adelaide University (formed on 1 January 2026 from the University of Adelaide and UniSA; Adelaide University: the 2026 merger explained). Several appear in global top-100 tables. Rankings change every year, so check the current QS and THE tables rather than relying on a fixed claim (Ranking sources that matter).

Like the UK, Canada and Ireland, Australia requires no second language for study or for most of the job market. That is a real advantage over Germany, where a professional career usually needs German. It also means Indian students compete directly with a large domestic English-speaking graduate pool.

The 485 visa gives full work rights after graduation without a job offer. For Indian Master's graduates it runs up to 3 years (The Temporary Graduate visa (subclass 485). Since 2024, however, the age limit fell to 35, the English score rose to IELTS 6.5 with no band below 5.5, and the application charge rose to AUD 5,750 from 1 July 2026.

• Cost: tuition is set by each provider, with no free public tuition for international students; Germany's public universities remain far cheaper. 

See how Australia compares with the UK and other destinations in Australia vs other study-abroad destinations: the complete comparison. 

• Language: no language barrier, shared with the UK, Canada, and Ireland.
• Permanent residency: points-tested and employer-sponsored routes exist, but none is guaranteed. The 2026-27 program shifted places toward employer-sponsored (58,040) and state-nominated (35,500) visas and away from regional provisional visas (14,110) (Skilled migration: 189, 190, 491, and the Skills in Demand (482) visa).

• Visa costs. The 485 primary application charge rose to AUD 4,600 on 1 March 2026 and to AUD 5,750 on 1 July 2026. The student visa charge rose from AUD 2,000 to AUD 2,500 on 1 July 2026 (Home Affairs).
• More scrutiny for Indian applicants. On 8 January 2026 Home Affairs moved India (with Nepal, Bangladesh and Bhutan) from Evidence Level 2 to Evidence Level 3, the highest-scrutiny tier. Expect fuller evidence of funds and English (India's reclassification to Evidence Level 3 (8 January 2026).
• Competitive skilled migration. The legal minimum to lodge an Expression of Interest is 65 points, but in the 4 June 2026 round (10,000 subclass 189 invitations) invited scores ranged from 65 for some trades to 100 for some medical specialties, with most professional occupations well above 65 (The points test: minimum vs realistic).
• Graduate outcomes gap. Official survey data shows international graduates have lower short-term full-time employment rates and lower median salaries than domestic graduates, and the salary gap did not narrow over three years (QILT GOS-L 2025).
• Policy moves independently. Provider allocations, visa priority, fees, occupation lists and state nomination settings are each changed by different bodies on different timetables.