Study in Australia
Group of Eight excellence and flexible work rights
Australia is home to the prestigious Group of Eight, a warm climate and a thriving Vietnamese student community. Flexible part-time work and the 485 visa let you stay and work after graduation.
Advantages of studying in Australia
Group of Eight
Eight world-class research universities ranked globally.
Work while studying
Part-time work rights during term with good wages.
Visa 485
Stay and work 2โ4 years after graduation depending on degree.
Quality of life
Melbourne and Sydney rank among the world's most livable cities.
CRICOS, the AQF, the subclass 500 visa and what follows
Everything sits inside one framework
Australia runs a national qualifications framework (AQF) numbered from vocational certificates up to doctorate. Every programme carries an AQF level, so comparing two programmes in two different states is genuinely possible - unlike the US.
The Group of Eight are the oldest research-intensive universities; the Australian Technology Network leans applied and industry-connected. Neither group is better for every field.
Alongside universities sit TAFE institutes and other vocational providers: shorter, hands-on programmes, many with credit pathways into university degrees.
Check first: does the programme have a CRICOS code? Only providers and courses registered on CRICOS may enrol international students, and the register is public.
Quality regulators: TEQSA for higher education, ASQA for vocational education and training.
Questions worth asking that rarely get answered
What AQF level is this programme, and what post-study visa length does that level attract? A research master's and a coursework master's share the word 'master' but not the same subclass 485 duration.
Will the university grant credit for study already completed in Vietnam, and how much? One semester of credit saves both tuition and living costs for that semester.
Does the field require professional registration in Australia after graduation? Nursing, accounting, engineering and teaching each have their own bodies and conditions - check BEFORE enrolling, not after.
Which OSHC provider, and does the cover run to the exact end date required? Health cover is a visa condition; a gap of a single day is a problem.
Is first-year accommodation guaranteed? In Sydney and Melbourne this is the most expensive question to skip.
Subclass 500 and the Genuine Student requirement
The Australian student visa is subclass 500, issued by the Department of Home Affairs. Core conditions: a Confirmation of Enrolment (CoE) for a CRICOS-registered course, OSHC health cover, English proficiency and sufficient funds.
Since March 2024 the Genuine Temporary Entrant test has been replaced by the Genuine Student (GS) requirement: instead of a free-form statement, applicants answer a fixed set of questions about their circumstances, why this course, and how it fits their career plan.
GS answers must line up with the rest of the file. Applying for a bachelor's degree in Australia after a master's in Vietnam is not disqualifying - but it must be explainable, and the explanation should be consistent from the start.
Holding a subclass 500 does not entitle you to stay once you stop studying: if the CoE ends, the visa is affected.
Costs and housing
International tuition varies substantially by field; medicine, dentistry and veterinary science sit at the top, humanities and business usually lower.
The financial capacity threshold is published by the Department of Home Affairs and revised periodically - take the figure current at the time you lodge, not one from an older article.
Living costs in Sydney and Melbourne run well above Adelaide, Hobart or Darwin. Some states also run their own support schemes for international students outside the largest cities.
OSHC is compulsory and paid upfront for the full visa period - budget for it at the outset rather than treating it as an extra.
Current visa fees, financial thresholds and average tuition are in the cost calculator with verification dates - see /en/tools/cost/.
Work rights and the subclass 485 visa
Subclass 500 holders may work during term up to a cap counted per fortnight, and without limit during scheduled breaks. That cap CHANGED in mid-2023 - figures in older articles no longer hold.
Work in the aged care sector has carried its own arrangements at various points; if that is your plan, check the rule currently in force.
The Temporary Graduate visa (subclass 485) allows you to stay and work: length follows the qualification, commonly two years for a bachelor's or coursework master's and three for a research master's or doctorate.
Subclass 485 carries an age limit at the time of application and its own English requirement - the two conditions most often overlooked. Check them when you choose the programme, not when you are about to graduate.
Where to study in Australia
The list covers both the Group of Eight and universities in smaller states, where living costs are lower and several states run their own support schemes for international students outside the major cities.
Why study in Australia?
Australia is the English-speaking destination closest to Vietnam in both time zone and flight time, and it runs one of the most verifiable systems anywhere: CRICOS codes are public, AQF levels are comparable, regulators are named. A parent can check almost everything an institution claims - which is not easily true elsewhere.
The second strength is the subclass 485 visa: staying on to work after graduation without an employer sponsor, for a period set by your qualification. But it carries an age limit and its own English requirement, and those two conditions are exactly where people find out too late.
The choice of state matters more than most families expect. For the same field, the living-cost gap between Sydney and Adelaide over three years can exceed the tuition gap between two universities.
VNIS verifies the CRICOS code, the AQF level, the financial threshold in force and the subclass 485 conditions for the exact programme you choose - including the easily missed ones like age and English at the time of the 485 application.
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