Australia is fast coming up as a popular study destination among Indian students. Australia attracts approximately 9,500 students from India annually.

Most Indian students go to Australia to study in the vocational education and training system and at university level.  The most popular fields of study are business and management, information technology, engineering, and tourism and hospitality. Although Indian students are increasingly studying in a wide range of disciplines at Australian institutions.

The safe, multicultural and internationally recognised environment for further education, innovative research intensive culture and international rapport has made Australia a leading provider of top quality education to international students from all over the world.

Why Australia so popular among Indian Students?

1. Australia delivers practical and career-orientated training so students gain confidence and skills demanded by employers.

2. Australian qualifications are internationally recognised when seeking employment or further study at leading international universities.

3. Many students are attracted by the flexibilities afforded by the Australian Qualification Framework, which sets out 12 levels of qualifications across the three educational sectors - school, university and vocational education and training.  Qualifications are awarded only after the achievement of competency standards.  Once achieved, students can progress through different levels of qualifications, regardless of the sector in which they were achieved, thus providing many different pathways between different levels. 

4. The interests of international students in Australia are protected by legislation - the Education Services for Overseas Students Act. Only institutions which are registered by the Australian Government can recruit students from overseas.

5. The costs of studying and living are much lower as compared to some other countries and there are some liberal merit scholarships as well. The students are allowed to work part time 20 hours a week while they are studying there.

6. Academic staff in Australian education institutions are recruited from around the world and often are leading industry experts in their field.

7.  Teaching, training and research  facilities are world-class in terms of state-of-the-art laboratories and classrooms, outstanding libraries and modern technology.

International students in Australia on a student visa can apply for permission to work. A student can work up to 20 hours a week on a casual basis during course time and full-time during vacation periods if they have been granted a visa with work rights. If you are studying a Masters or Doctorate course under subclass 574 you are permitted to work unlimited hours. Family members can can apply for permission to work up to 20 hours a week throughout the year. You can only apply for a visa with work rights after you arrive in Australia and have begun studying. The application charge for a student visa with permission to work is A$50.

The money you earn from working in Australia should only supplement your income and not be used as your only source of income. It can be a risk for international students to rely too  much on part-time work as their main and only source of income; they may be asked to work for different working hours for varying payments. Sometimes it becomes too difficult to handle studies alongside a job, especially towards the end of the term.    

Most students take part-time or casual jobs at some time during their studies. Some jobs are closely tied to courses of study (such as formal cadetships and informal arrangements such as part-time work by law students in solicitors' offices). Some students tutor school children or get jobs on campus in the canteen, the bookshop, in the institution's offices and as laboratory assistants. Some jobs are entirely outside the education community such as bartending, babysitting, gardening, hospitality, sales, information technology, restaurants, checkout work or fruit picking.

Some institutions offer a job placement service. If work is available you will need to obtain a tax file number from the Australian Government. Under certain circumstances dependants of students are permitted to work.