Accommodation
Living in Australia
Living CostsMelbourne and Canberra offers a range of accommodation options for international students including: hostels, serviced apartments, furnished or unfurnished houses or flats/apartments. International students often organize temporary accommodation for their arrival and then find rental accommodation in a share house or independently.
Generally, accommodation becomes more expensive the closer it is to the CBD. You would therefore need to consider the combined cost of rent and transport when choosing accommodation. Also keep in mind, that the majority of rental accommodation close to the CBD is apartments and flats. Houses for rent are more common in the inner suburbs.
The following table provides an estimate of costs ($AUD) based on two people sharing an unfurnished two bedroom house, apartment/flat:*
| Establishment Costs | Cost per week | Cost per year |
| Bond (refundable security deposit) | $600.00 (1 month’s rent) | |
| Furniture, connection of utilities, etc. | $1000.00 | |
| Overseas student health cover | $300.00 | |
| Ongoing Costs | ||
| Rent (per person) | $150.00 | $7800.00 |
| Essential Food & Drink | $70.00 | $3640.00 |
| Personal Costs (Entertainment, etc) | $70.00 | $3640.00 |
| Public Transport | $30.00 | $1560.00 |
| Telephone | $10.00 | $520.00 |
| Utilities | $15.00 | $780.00 |
| Approximate personal costs per year | $19855.00 | |
* Please note: these prices are to be used as a guide only. AIE claims no responsibility for variation in actual prices .
