Education System

Education in Australia is primarily the responsibility of the states and territories. Each state or territory government provides funding and regulates the public and private schools within its governing area. The federal government helps fund the public universities, but was not involved in setting university curriculum. As of 2012, the Australian National Curriculum, under development and trial for several years, has already been adopted by some schools and will become mandatory soon. Generally, education in Australia follows the three-tier model which includes primary education (primary schools), followed by secondary education (secondary schools/high schools) and tertiary education (Universities, TAFE colleges and Vocation Education and Training providers/VET providers).

The Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) 2006 evaluation ranked the Australian education system as sixth for reading, eighth for science and thirteenth for mathematics, on a worldwide scale including 56 countries. The PISA 2009 evaluation ranked the Australian education system as sixth for reading, seventh for science and ninth for mathematics, an improvement relative to the 2006 rankings.

In 2012, education firm Pearson ranked Australian education as thirteenth in the world

The Education Index, published with the UN’s Human Development Index in 2008, based on data from 2006, lists Australia as 0.993, amongst the highest in the world, tied for first with Denmark and Finland.

Education in Australia is compulsory between the ages of five and fifteen to seventeen, depending on the state or territory, and date of birth. Post-compulsory education is regulated within the Australian Qualifications Framework, a unified system of national qualifications in schools, vocational education and training (TAFE) and the higher education sector (university).

The academic year in Australia varies between states and institutions, but generally runs from late January/early February until mid-December for primary and secondary schools, with slight variations in the inter-term holidays. and TAFE colleges, and from late February until mid-November for universities with seasonal holidays and breaks for each educational institute.

Education Cost

Education in Australia has financial benefits

• Undergraduate degrees are generally three years in Australia as compared to four years in U.S. and other countries
• There are many One-year Masters’ degrees including MBA . Thus you can save on living costs and tuition fees.

Undergraduate

Postgraduate

MBA

Length of MBA program varies considerably between institutions, depending on the mode of study, but ranges from approximately nine to 15 months full time. The fees in the table below are shown as the approximate annual cost of the full-time MBA program.

Annual Living Expenses in Australia – Approx. A $ 18,610 per year

Scholarship Programs in Australia

There are many scholarships, grants, and bursaries which can help support you financially with your studies in Australia. They are offered by the Australian Government, education institutions, and a number of other public and private organisations. You can use the search tool available on every page of this site to find scholarships, along with contact details for the institution providing the scholarship.

All applications and enquiries for scholarships are made through the scholarship provider.

Here is information about some of the major scholarships programs available for international students:

Australia Awards :

The Australia Awards aim to promote knowledge, education links, and enduring ties between Australia and our neighbours through Australia’s extensive scholarship programs. The program brings together scholarships offered by the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFAT), the Department of Education and the Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR)

International Postgraduate Research Scholarships :

The International Postgraduate Research Scholarships (IPRS) program focuses on improving the quality of Australian research. If you already have a graduate qualification, an IPRS scholarship lets you study in Australia with some of the best researchers in your field.

Australia APEC Women in Research Fellowship :

The Australia APEC Women in Research Fellowships are open to high-achieving female researchers from APEC economies for research opportunities in partnership with Australian education and research institutions. The fellowships aim to support women’s economic empowerment in the APEC region and raise the profile of female role models in science, technology, engineering and mathematics.

Who can apply for a scholarship?

All scholarships listed on our website are available to international students. Many are available to students of all nationalities, however all scholarships conditions are set by the institution or organisation offering the scholarship and applications have to be done directly with the scholarship provider. To find out if you are eligible to receive a scholarship you must contact the organisation offering the scholarship.