Australian student visa costs 2026 — the full breakdown from visa fee to financial evidence

“How much does an Australian student visa actually cost?” — it is the first question most Vietnamese families ask, and usually the one answered least completely. Most answers stop at the visa fee, while the biggest number sits somewhere else entirely: the funds you must prove you can access before you even lodge.

The short answer up front: the subclass 500 application charge is AUD 2,500 (the rate from 1 July 2026), on top of demonstrating at least AUD 29,710 in living costs for the primary applicant, plus the first 12 months of tuition, plus OSHC and a series of smaller document costs. Add a spouse and children, and the numbers compound faster than you might expect.

This article lists every item — with a summary table for two scenarios: applying alone and applying with family — so you can run the maths before deciding to lodge.

The visa fee: AUD 2,500 — the highest in the world, and non-refundable

From 1 July 2026, the application charge for a Student visa (subclass 500) is AUD 2,500 for the primary applicant — following the roughly 25% increase applied to most visas from 1 July 2026. To be blunt: this is the highest student visa fee in the world among the major study destinations — well above the US, UK and Canada.

Two things to understand about this charge:

• Fees are indexed each 1 July — AUD 2,500 is the current rate; check the official fee schedule before you lodge. ELICOS and non-award courses sit slightly lower (around AUD 2,050). The 500 fee has now risen three times in a row: 1,600 → 2,000 (July 2025) → 2,500 (July 2026).
• It is not refunded if your application is refused. A refusal means AUD 2,500 gone, and reapplying means paying again from scratch.

Accompanying family members (spouse, children) pay additional charges under the official fee schedule — check current rates on the Department of Home Affairs website before totalling.

Financial evidence — the biggest number, but not a “cost”

An important distinction: financial evidence is money you must show you can genuinely access, not money paid to the Department. For Vietnamese families, though, it is still the biggest hurdle, because the source of funds has to be documented and lawful.

The required amounts (applying since May 2024, indexed periodically):

On top of that: the first 12 months of tuition (varies by course and provider) and airfares. Which sources of funds are accepted and which are treated as risky — we cover that separately in our guide to financial evidence for the student visa.

OSHC — compulsory health cover for the entire visa period

OSHC (Overseas Student Health Cover) is mandatory for the full length of your visa under condition 8501. There is no single fixed price — it depends on the provider, the course length and the cover type (single / couple / family) — but it must be paid before the visa is granted, usually upfront for the whole study period.

Note: family cover (spouse + children) costs substantially more than single cover. If you plan to bring family, get a family-cover quote from the start rather than budgeting off the single rate.

The document costs people forget

These items are smaller but add up, and all of them are incurred before you know the outcome:

• Health examinations at an approved panel clinic — charged per person on the application.
• Certified translations of all Vietnamese documents (household registration, birth certificates, bank statements, business records…).
• Police clearances where requested.
• English testing (IELTS/PTE) — and possibly re-sitting if your first result falls short.
• Professional fees if you use an agent — only a Registered Migration Agent (MARA) or an Australian lawyer may lawfully charge for immigration advice.

Summary table: applying alone vs with family

The table below combines what you pay and what you must demonstrate (2026–27 rates, indicative — check the current schedule):

A family application easily reaches one-and-a-half to two times the cost of a single application — before counting actual living expenses after arrival.

No refund on refusal — why preparation matters more than ever

When the visa fee was a few hundred dollars, “just lodge and see” was an expensive but tolerable strategy. At AUD 2,500 non-refundable — plus health checks, translations and OSHC already paid — every refusal is a significant loss, and the refusal itself must be declared in every future application.

Two assessments decide the outcome of most Vietnamese applications:

1. Genuine Student (GS) — whether your study purpose holds up. See our detailed analysis of the Genuine Student requirement.
2. Finances — whether the funds are lawful, documented and genuinely accessible.

Both are things you can prepare before lodging — and neither is fixed by rushing a fresh application after a refusal.

Summary

The cost of an Australian student visa in 2026 is not just the AUD 2,500 fee — that is the visible part of a larger equation including financial evidence (from AUD 29,710 for a single applicant), first-year tuition, OSHC and document costs. Run the full numbers first and lodge once, properly — far cheaper than lodging in a hurry and being refused. If you want your finances and application plan reviewed before lodging, book a free assessment with VisaAffairs.

References

• Student visa (subclass 500) — Department of Home Affairs — official conditions, fees and financial capacity requirements.
• Fees and charges for visas — Department of Home Affairs — current fee schedule, updated each 1 July.
• Register of Migration Agents — OMARA — check an agent is registered before paying for advice.

This article is general information current at publication. Australian migration rules change regularly — check the date and contact VisaAffairs before relying on it for your own case. Book a consultation for advice on your specific circumstances.