How much are living costs in Australia and London for students?

Direct answer: The legal minimum is AUD 29,710 a year for a single student, which is roughly AUD 2,476 a month. The amount comes from the evidence of financial capacity instrument for the Subclass 500 visa, as amended in May 2024, and it applies to applications made on or after 10 May 2024.

The figure is not a market estimate. The Department of Home Affairs (2024) explains that the amounts were previously indexed to the Consumer Price Index and are now "calculated as a proportion of the Australian National Minimum Wage" (p. 2). The reasoning behind the change is stated plainly: "a student visa holder should be able to support themselves to at least the standard of the lowest paid Australian worker" (Department of Home Affairs, 2024, p. 2). The same statement records that the adjusted figures rose by about 21 percent from the previous ones.

That rationale tells you how to read the number. AUD 29,710 is the income of a minimum-wage worker, not of a student who wants a studio near campus, regular meals out and a trip home at the end of the year. It is the sum a visa officer may ask you to evidence, and it says nothing about which city you will live in.

Direct answer: Each family member adds to the amount you must show. Under the amending instrument, a partner adds AUD 10,394 a year, a child adds AUD 4,449 a year, and school costs for a school-age child are set at AUD 13,502 a year.

The table lists the annual amounts that the Migration (LIN 24/042) instrument substituted into the 2019 instrument (Commonwealth of Australia, 2024). The partner and child rows answer the search "living cost in Australia for international students with spouse" in the only way the official sources allow: as an addition to the student's own amount.

A couple therefore has to show AUD 40,104 a year in living costs before tuition, travel and schooling are counted. A couple with one school-age child has to show AUD 58,055 in living costs and schooling. These sums are derived by adding the rows of the table, so check each row against the current instrument before you apply, because the government can amend it again.

Direct answer: Not by the official benchmark. AUD 2,000 a month is AUD 24,000 a year, which sits below the AUD 29,710 visa amount, and below the lowest total that the University of Sydney publishes for the main monthly costs of a student in Sydney.

The University of Sydney (n.d.) publishes monthly ranges for students, and the low ends are instructive. Accommodation starts at AUD 980, food and groceries at AUD 1,000, transport at AUD 130, a mobile plan at AUD 30 and lifestyle expenses at AUD 350. Added together, the lowest end of each range comes to AUD 2,490 a month, which is almost exactly the AUD 2,476 monthly equivalent of the visa amount. AUD 2,000 a month, by contrast, comes to only AUD 24,000 over a year, well short of AUD 29,710.

The coincidence is useful. A student who budgets at the visa minimum in Sydney is budgeting at the cheapest end of every category at once: the cheapest room, the cheapest groceries and very little travel. That is possible for a disciplined student in a shared house, but it leaves no margin for a bond, a laptop repair or a flight home. The university also advises having at least AUD 500 available at the start of each semester for study materials, which sits outside those monthly ranges.

Direct answer: For one student in Sydney, AUD 5,000 sits mid-range in the university's own figures. AUD 5,000 sits close to the middle of the University of Sydney ranges, whose upper ends add up to AUD 7,550 a month for the five main categories. Comfort depends mostly on rent, which ranges from AUD 980 to AUD 3,500.

The upper ends of the same University of Sydney (n.d.) ranges are AUD 3,500 for accommodation, AUD 2,500 for food, AUD 800 for transport, AUD 100 for a phone and AUD 650 for lifestyle, which together add up to AUD 7,550 a month. A student who rents a private studio close to campus can spend most of AUD 5,000 on rent and food alone. A student in a shared house in Newtown or Redfern, suburbs the university names as close to campus, where a room in a shared house is usually cheaper than a studio, can live well within it.

The University of Sydney page still quotes the older visa amount of AUD 24,505, so rely on the current instrument for the visa figure, and note that its ranges come from the Study Australia cost of living calculator. Sydney is also one city. The ranges above say nothing about Adelaide, Hobart or Brisbane, where rent is a different market. Use the cost of living calculator that the University of Sydney (n.d.) links to, or the living costs page of your own university, and replace the Sydney rent with a real listing from the suburb you would live in.

Direct answer: For a London Student visa you must show £1,529 a month for up to 9 months, which is £13,761. Imperial College London estimates a student spends £424 to £441 a week in 2026, or £16,392 to £17,042 over 9 months.

GOV.UK (n.d.) sets two rates: £1,529 a month for courses in London and £1,171 a month for courses outside London, each for up to 9 months, so a London course needs £13,761 for the full 9 months. London means the City of London and the 32 London boroughs. The money must be held for at least 28 days in a row, and the end of that period must fall within 31 days of the date you apply. Extra money is required for each family member you bring.

Imperial College London (2026) breaks its weekly estimate into rent of £250 in College-run halls or £267 in the private sector, food of £66, a zone 1 to 2 travelcard of £31, and personal and leisure spending of £76, and Imperial puts the total at £424 to £441 a week, or £16,392 to £17,042 over 9 months. Over 12 months in private housing the total reaches £22,722. Imperial also warns that international students may need up to £1,500 for start-up costs such as deposits and flights, and that its estimates exclude flights and insurance.

Direct answer: The sources do not settle it, because they use different currencies, periods and methods. What they do show is that the Australian visa asks for a full 12 months of living costs, while the UK visa asks for at most 9 months, so an Australian application usually evidences a larger share of the year.

A fair comparison has to convert currencies on the day you budget, and exchange rates move. The structural difference is more stable. GOV.UK (n.d.) caps the requirement at 9 months for courses of that length or longer, while the Australian instrument expresses the student amount as an annual figure (Commonwealth of Australia, 2024). In both countries the visa figure sits below the average or middle budgets that the universities themselves publish, so the gap between "allowed in" and "able to live well" exists in both places.

Rent drives most of the difference between two students in the same city. In the Imperial (2026) table, accommodation is about 60 percent of the weekly total. In the Sydney ranges, accommodation is the widest single range. Comparing the rent you would really pay, in the suburb or borough you would really live in, tells you more than comparing two national averages.

Direct answer: Start from the visa amount, then build a real budget from your university's own living cost page, adding one-off costs such as a bond, flights and study materials. Keep evidence of funds ready early, because both visas check money before you travel.

A practical sequence, using only the sources above:

1. Write down the visa amount for your country and family size from the official instrument or GOV.UK page.
2. Open your university's living cost page and copy its ranges for rent, food, transport and personal costs.
3. Replace the rent range with three real listings near campus.
4. Add one-off costs: up to £1,500 for start-up costs in London (Imperial College London, 2026), or at least AUD 500 per semester for study materials in Sydney (University of Sydney, n.d.).
5. Compare the total with the visa amount, and plan for the larger of the two.

If funds come from family, check the timing rules early. Our guide to UK Clearing for international students explains how the 28-day funds rule interacts with a late offer, and our guide to applying for a PhD in Australia covers how a scholarship stipend changes what you must show.

Direct answer: A MAAS adviser helps you plan the order of your application steps and read the official requirements, while you make every decision and write every document yourself. MAAS gives advice and process support, and visa decisions always belong to the government.

MAAS's study abroad and SOP consulting service is advisory coaching on programme choice, application timing and statement planning, and it does not write statements for students or promise an admission or visa result. You can see the advisers on our experts page, and a free 20-minute discovery call is a low-pressure way to talk through your budget and timeline. You can book one here.