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Student visa for Australia, for students from Malaysia
As a citizen of Malaysia you will normally need a student visa or residence permit for Australia before your course starts. Some nationalities may enter Australia without a visa and apply for the residence permit there instead; check the official page below for the rule that applies to your passport.
The numbers
- Money you must show
- AUD 29,710 for 12 months of living costs
- Visa fee
- AUD 2,500
- Work while you study
- 48 hours a fortnight when the course is in session, unlimited during breaks
- Stay after you graduate
- Subclass 485, 2-3 years for degree level, up to 18 months vocational. Age 35 or under.
Unchanged since 10 May 2024. Tuition and travel are additional.
Study Australia (Austrade), checked 2026-09-24
From 1 July 2026, up from AUD 2,000. Was AUD 710 two years ago.
Study Australia, published 3 July 2026, checked 2026-09-24
Migration Regulations 1994, Schedule 8, condition 8105, checked 2026-09-24
Study Australia, checked 2026-09-24
The visa
Subclass 500. The fee is AUD 2,500 from 1 July 2026, the third sharp rise in three years: AUD 710, then 1,600 in July 2024, then 2,000 in July 2025, now 2,500. Australia now has the most expensive student visa in the English-speaking world by a wide margin. A concession keeps the prior charge for applicants from ASEAN nations, Pacific Island nations and Timor-Leste, and for independent ELICOS students.
The money: AUD 29,710 for twelve months of living costs, unchanged since 10 May 2024. Anything quoting AUD 24,505 is two revisions stale. This is the living-costs component only: the full test also requires your first year's tuition and travel, so a student on AUD 50,000 tuition must show roughly AUD 82,000 in total.
Overseas Student Health Cover is mandatory and your visa will be refused without proof of it. Six approved insurers; budget roughly AUD 650-1,100 a year for single cover. It excludes dental, optical and physiotherapy and caps pharmaceuticals.
Processing times are not reliably published: allow four to twelve weeks for higher education from offshore, and considerably longer for vocational, where scrutiny is now heavy.
Where to apply
At the embassy or consulate of Australia that covers Malaysia, or through the visa application centre it names. Book early: in the busiest months appointments can be weeks away. Apply only through the official website; nobody can sell you a faster place in the queue.
Questions students ask
Do students from Malaysia need a visa to study in Australia?
As a citizen of Malaysia you will normally need a student visa or residence permit for Australia before your course starts. Some nationalities may enter Australia without a visa and apply for the residence permit there instead; check the official page below for the rule that applies to your passport.
How much money do I need to show for a Australia student visa?
AUD 29,710 for 12 months of living costs. Unchanged since 10 May 2024. Tuition and travel are additional. (source: Study Australia (Austrade), checked 2026-09-24).
Can I work while I study in Australia?
48 hours a fortnight when the course is in session, unlimited during breaks.
This page is general information from official sources, not immigration advice. For a decision about your own case, the official source or a regulated adviser is where that belongs.