Life in Sydney

Living in Sydney, Australia

Australia is made up of eight states and territories. People from all parts of the world travel to live in or visit Australia. The country is surrounded by water offering beautiful beaches and amazing natural attractions like the Great Barrier Reef, many National Parks, deserts, tropical forests, canyons, mountains, and more. Some of Australia’s most popular recreational activities are surfing and skiing. Sydney was one of the first cities established in Australia. It’s also the largest and most popular. This cosmopolitan city boasts the famous Sydney Opera House and Harbour Bridge. There are also numerous world class restaurants and shopping areas. Students joining us will always have something to do whilst in Sydney.

Estimated Cost of Living

Living expenses can include accommodation, transportation, food, clothes, books and entertainment. You will need approximately AUD $20,000 to cover the whole year of study in Sydney (excluding tuition fees). Rent is fairly high in Sydney but this depends on whether you choose to share with friends and which suburb you choose to live in. Transport is easy to access as all trains, buses, ferry and light rails lead to the CBD.

Students should have at least AUD $2,000 upon arrival to cover your initial expenses. These figures do not include large household items such as a refrigerator or a car. For more information, visit www.studyinaustralia.gov.au.

Oversea Student Health Cover

The Australian government requires that all international students have Overseas Student Health Cover (OSHC). OSHC offers you access to a world-class health care system. This is great for the quality of treatment for anyone injured or sick in Australia; however, it can become quite costly. Having OSHC can assist in mitigating these costs. BUPA is a popular insurance company with international students.

Find Work While You Study

International students are allowed to work for 40 hours per fortnight whilst studying full time. There are numerous casual and part-time jobs available for students in cafes, restaurants, or retail businesses. Working offers you the right to minimum wage as well as superannuation. For more information, visit www.fairwork.gov.au.

Transport In Sydney

Whether it’s getting to our sydney campus or traveling around the greater sydney, there’s plenty to do by exploring Sydney, you count with an extensive network of transport by using trains, bus, ferry or light rail.

Opal is the electronic ticketing system used on public transport in NSW.

Opal cards are a quick and convenient way of paying for your travel. They can be purchased at most train stations, bus interchanges, some post offices, news agencies, convenience stores, supermarkets and other locations. You can find the retailers on the map (opens an external site) or order them online through Opal (opens an external site).

When using an Opal card, you need to tap on and tap off at the start and end of each trip and the fare is calculated automatically. When using an Opal Card, if you complete eight paid journeys (from Monday to Sunday), your fares for the rest of the week will be half-price. Travel rewards also apply, with a daily cap on adult fares of $15.40 per day or $61.60 per week. Travel rewards do not apply to single trip opal tickets. Travel on Sundays and pay a maximum of A$2.60 for your journey on trains, buses and ferries. For more information visit the Opal website (opens an external site).

Opal does not currently offer reduced fares for international students.

Living

Study in Australia
This is the official Australian Government website for international students. Search for courses, institutions and scholarships, read about studying and living in Australia, watch stories from other students, and learn about Australian education. This website is managed by the Australian Trade and Investment Commission (Austrade).

What’s on in Sydney
Discover the best events that Sydney has to offer. What’s On website is a service for local business and community groups provided by the City of Sydney, the local government authority for central Sydney and surrounds. It is curated by City of Sydney staff.

Transport in NSW
transportnsw.info provide you with the information you need to plan an efficient and successful trip on public transport in NSW anytime, anywhere on the website, apps, mobile website or Twitter. If you prefer you can phone 131 500 for trip planning information and automated information about service changes and trackwork.

Share Accommodation
Gumtree is a local classified ads and community site, designed to connect people who were either planning to move, or had just arrived, and needed help getting started with accommodation. Gumtree is now loved by its ever growing community all around the world.

Apartment Rental
Domain Group is one of Australia’s leading multi-platform property industry destinations. We provide residential, commercial and rural property marketing solutions and search tools, plus information for buyers, investors, sellers, renters and agents Australia wide.

Working

Gumtree Job Board
Gumtree is a local noticeboard that now spans 76 cities across 11 countries that connects not just new people arriving to a city but also the locals. It is the biggest websites for local community classifieds including Stuff for sale, Cars, flatshare, flat rentals and jobs.

Seek.com.au
Seek is an employment marketplaces that focused on facilitating the matching between jobseekers and employment opportunities, and helping hirers find candidates for advertised roles. There are over 375 million visits to our sites every month and have over 3 million job opportunities available at any given time.

GoVolunteer
GoVolunteer has a large range of volunteer roles including one off, short term and long term opportunities and many volunteer involving organisations can be flexible with times. They also make it easy for you to find a volunteer role that suits your interests, motivation, availability and location.

Australian Taxation Office
The Australian Taxation Office (ATO) is the principal revenue collection agency of the Australian government. On ATO website you can access a range of information about tax and super. All information are available for individual, business and not for profit company.

Department of Fair Trading
NSW Fair Trading safeguards the rights of all consumers and advises business and traders on fair and ethical practice. They provide services directly to individuals and businesses to create a fair, safe and equitable marketplace.

Goverment

Department of Home Affairs (DHA)

Department of Home Affairs is responsible for immigration and customs border policy. On this website, you can find out more information about different types of visa, entering, living, working and leaving Australia.

Department of Education and Training
The Department of Education and Training is responsible for national policies and programmes that help Australians access quality and affordable early child care and childhood education, school education, higher education, vocational education and training, international education and research.

Australian Education International
The Department of Education and Training works with the education sector, other government agencies and ministries to ensure Australia is recognised as a regional and world leader in education and a partner of choice for international collaboration. The department provides leadership and coordination across government, delivering programs and policies, to support mobility and the global exchange of knowledge.

Overseas Student Ombudsman
In Australia, there is a Commonwealth Ombudsman as well as State and Territory ombudsman.The Commonwealth Ombudsman deals with complaints about Commonwealth Government departments and agencies, and is also the Ombudsman for overseas students, private health insurance, Immigration and others.

Study in Australia
This is the official Australian Government website for international students. Use this site to search for courses, institutions and scholarships, read about studying and living in Australia, watch stories from other students, and much more

Things to do in Sydney