Australia student visa work rights

At a glance

The permission, as published

As published at immi.homeaffairs.gov.au: you can "work up to 48 hours a fortnight when your course of study or training is in session". You cannot work in Australia before your course starts. When your course is not in session, Student visa holders can work unlimited hours (family members keep limited work rights). Students studying a masters by research or doctoral degree — and their family members — can work more than 48 hours a fortnight. Always check your own conditions in VEVO or your grant letter.

Treat the hours as a hard limit

• The limit is on hours worked, not on income. Two jobs are counted together.
• Term time and vacation are usually different, and "vacation" means the institution's official dates rather than when your teaching stops.
• Self-employment and freelancing are restricted or prohibited on several student routes, and are easy to breach unknowingly.
• Your employer may not know the rules. The obligation is yours.

A breach is a visa matter. It can end the current visa, affect a later work route, and follow you into applications to other countries, which is a very large consequence for a few extra hours.

Budgeting around part-time work

Part-time earnings are a supplement, not a funding plan. Most routes set the financial requirement on the assumption you will not be earning, and the first months are the hardest: you arrive before you find work, and the costs arrive first.

1. Budget as though you earn nothing for the first three months.
2. Check the local minimum wage and what the permitted hours actually produce after tax.
3. Count travel and the time cost against study, which is what you are there for.