Australia raises student visa savings floor to AUD 29,710

Australia's new AUD 29,710 student funds floor

Australia raised the minimum savings most student visa applicants must show to AUD 29,710 for 12 months of living costs, up from AUD 24,505. The threshold applies to applications lodged on or after May 10, 2024, covering the Student (subclass 500) and Student Guardian (subclass 590) visas.

The 21% jump pegs the requirement to 75% of Australia's national minimum wage. It followed an earlier bump in October 2023, when the floor moved from AUD 21,041 to AUD 24,505. Applications filed before May 10, 2024 are still assessed under the older AUD 24,505 figure.

Who feels the squeeze

The change hits international students directly, but it also raises the bar for expats, long-stay travelers and remote workers who use a student visa to stay in Australia beyond what a tourist stamp allows.

Applicants bringing family face steeper totals because dependant minimums also climbed:

• Spouse or de facto partner: AUD 10,394 (up from AUD 8,574)
• Each dependent child: AUD 4,449 (up from AUD 3,670)
• Annual school costs per school-age child: AUD 13,502 (up from AUD 9,661)
• Sponsor income, no family unit: AUD 87,856
• Sponsor income, with family unit: AUD 102,500

Tourists, Working Holiday Makers and other visitor categories aren't covered by this benchmark and follow separate financial tests.

What applicants need to show

Proof of funds for a subclass 500 or 590 visa must cover three buckets: living costs of at least AUD 29,710 for the primary applicant, first-year tuition minus any prepaid amounts shown on the Confirmation of Enrolment and travel costs of roughly AUD 2,000 from offshore or AUD 1,000 onshore.

Combined, a single student typically needs to demonstrate accessible funds of AUD 50,000 to AUD 80,000, depending on the course and city. Home Affairs accepts bank statements with three to six months of history, education loan sanction letters from recognized lenders, government-backed loans, scholarship letters and sponsor income documents such as tax assessments and payslips. Unexplained large deposits tend to draw scrutiny.

Read our full Australia guide for the complete picture on visa updates and long-stay options.