What does life actually cost?
A realistic look at weekly expenses for students in Australia.
Estimated weekly costs — Melbourne
Rent
$350
/week
Groceries
$80
/week
Transport
$22
/week
Utilities
$28
/week
Phone
$9
/week
Fun
$30
/week
Total estimated
$519
/week
Compare suburbs
Weekly rent and transport costs by suburb in Melbourne.
CBD / Southbank
$420/wk
💸 Above average🚌 Transport: $10/wk
Urban, walkable, and vibrant. You're surrounded by restaurants, bars, and culture — but it costs. Share apartments are common here, and smaller rooms in apartment towers are the norm.
Best for: Students who want a social life at their doorstep and don't mind paying a premium. Good for those at RMIT, Melbourne Business School, or who study at city-campus institutions.
Carlton / Fitzroy
$340/wk
⚖️ Average🚌 Transport: $15/wk
Melbourne's student and bohemian heartland. Carlton is directly north of the University of Melbourne with cheap Vietnamese and Italian restaurants, second-hand bookshops, and excellent café culture. Fitzroy is immediately east and is Melbourne's most vibrant arts precinct.
Best for: University of Melbourne students and those who love cafés, galleries, and walking distance to the CBD. Strong sense of community.
Footscray
$250/wk
✅ Great value🚌 Transport: $18/wk
Melbourne's most diverse and cheapest inner suburb, 4km west of the CBD. Strong Vietnamese, Somali, South Sudanese, and Pacific Islander communities. Famous for cheap and excellent Vietnamese food on Hopkins and Barkly Streets. Rapidly gentrifying but still genuinely affordable.
Best for: Students on a tight budget who want to be close to the city. Incredible food diversity and a warm community feel. Victoria University has a Footscray campus here.
Clayton
$230/wk
✅ Great value🚌 Transport: $25/wk
Home to Monash University's main campus. A quiet, predominantly Asian suburb with excellent Chinese and Malaysian food, multiple Asian grocery stores, and a strong student population. Not as exciting as inner suburbs but very practical and affordable.
Best for: Monash University students — being on the doorstep of campus saves significant commute time and money. Large Chinese student community.
Box Hill
$270/wk
✅ Great value🚌 Transport: $20/wk
Melbourne's largest and most established Chinese community hub, 14km east of the CBD. Box Hill Centro shopping centre and the surrounding streets have wall-to-wall Chinese, Hong Kong, Korean, and Japanese restaurants, bubble tea shops, and supermarkets. A genuine Cantonese and Mandarin-speaking community.
Best for: Chinese and East Asian international students who want a strong community connection and excellent Asian food. Deakin University's Burwood campus is nearby.
Budget Calculator
📍 Melbourne
Plug in your numbers to see if it adds up.
These are estimates based on city averages. Your actual spending may vary.
Student discounts & free services
Save money with these student perks available across Australia.
10–50% off at major retailers. Apple devices often get 7–10% off plus free AirPods promotions.
UNiDAYS
The world's largest student discount platform. Offers discounts at hundreds of brands including ASOS, Nike, Apple, Dell, Samsung, Levi's, and many more. You verify your student status once and get access to all deals.
Learn moreFree membership. Individual discounts range from 5–50% depending on the retailer.
Student Edge
Australia's largest student membership program, with 1,000+ discounts for Australian students. Covers food, entertainment, travel, software, and more. Particularly strong for Australian-specific deals.
Learn more$30/year card fee. Discounts at 150,000+ locations worldwide including museums, hostels, and transport.
ISIC Card (International Student Identity Card)
The globally recognised student ID card, accepted in over 130 countries. Provides discounts on travel, accommodation, museums, and software internationally. Especially useful if you travel during semester breaks.
Learn moreApproximately 50% off all metropolitan and regional public transport in Victoria.
Myki Concession Card (Melbourne)
Victorian international students are eligible for concession-priced Myki travel, which is approximately half the adult fare. This applies to trams, trains, and buses in Melbourne and regional Victoria.
Learn moreApproximately 50% off all Opal-network travel including the Sydney Trains network and ferry services.
Opal Concession (Sydney)
NSW full-time international students can apply for a concession Opal card, giving half-price travel on trains, buses, ferries, and light rail across Greater Sydney and the Hunter region.
Learn moreApproximately 50% off all TransLink travel across South East Queensland zones.
Go Card Concession (Brisbane/SEQ)
Queensland international students can apply for a concession Go card for use across South East Queensland's TransLink network, including Brisbane trains, buses, and ferries.
Learn moreFree entry to the permanent collection (usually open daily 10am–5pm). Special exhibitions from ~$26 full price, ~$20 concession.
NGV International — Free General Admission
The National Gallery of Victoria (NGV) offers free general admission to its permanent collection at NGV International in St Kilda Road, Melbourne. One of the world's great art museums with major works from ancient to contemporary. Major ticketed exhibitions are separate.
Learn moreConcession entry approximately $15 (vs $27 adult price). Many school holidays programs are free.
Melbourne Museum — Free Entry for Victorian Students
Melbourne Museum offers free entry for all Victorian school students and concession prices for university students. The museum houses Australia's largest dinosaur skeleton, a living rainforest gallery, and the Melbourne Story permanent exhibition.
Learn moreFree entry to the permanent collection. Concession prices for ticketed exhibitions, approximately 20% off adult prices.
Art Gallery of NSW — Free General Admission
Sydney's Art Gallery of NSW (now in two buildings: the original Domain building and the new SANAA-designed North Building) offers free admission to its permanent collection. One of Australia's most important art collections spanning Australian, Asian, Pacific, and European art.
Learn moreApproximately $7.99/month vs $12.99/month standard price — saving around $60/year.
Spotify Student Plan
Spotify's student plan gives you Premium at roughly half price. Ad-free listening, offline downloads, unlimited skips. Includes Hulu in some countries but not currently in Australia — you just get Spotify Premium.
Learn moreApproximately $7.99/month vs $12.99/month standard — saving around $60/year.
Apple Music Student Plan
Apple Music's student plan gives full access to over 100 million songs, spatial audio, lossless audio, and Apple Music TV — all at half the standard price.
Learn moreApproximately $21.99/month for students vs $87.99/month full price — saving over $800/year.
Adobe Creative Cloud Student & Teacher Edition
Full access to all Adobe Creative Cloud apps — Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign, Premiere Pro, After Effects, Lightroom, and 20+ more. Includes 100GB cloud storage. Essential for design, media, and architecture students.
Learn moreFree (normally $159/year for Microsoft 365 Personal). This is one of the best free benefits you get as a student.
Microsoft 365 Education (Free)
Microsoft offers free access to Word, Excel, PowerPoint, OneNote, Teams, and 1TB of OneDrive storage for students at eligible institutions. Available through your university account — you may already have access and not know it.
Learn moreApproximately $100–$250/semester vs $720–$1200/year at commercial gyms. Some universities include pool and group class access.
University Gym Memberships (Melbourne)
Almost every Australian university operates a gym or sports centre on campus. Student memberships are dramatically cheaper than commercial gyms — often $100–$200 for the whole semester, compared to $60–$100/month at commercial gyms.
Learn moreMonash Law Clinics provides free legal advice and assistance to the Victorian community across a range of legal issues. It is also a teaching clinic.
Free Student Legal Services
Every major Australian university has a free legal advice service for enrolled students, run by the student union or student services. These services handle tenancy disputes, employment issues, visa questions, consumer disputes, and more — completely free.
Learn moreSaves $60–$72/year in account fees. Look for accounts with no international transaction fees if you receive money from overseas.
Student Bank Accounts (No Monthly Fees)
Major Australian banks offer fee-free everyday bank accounts for international students. Commonwealth Bank's Smart Access, ANZ Access Advantage, NAB Classic Banking, and Westpac Choice all waive the $5–$6/month maintenance fee for full-time students.
Learn moreEquivalent to thousands of dollars in journal subscriptions, software training (LinkedIn Learning alone is $400+/year), and streaming services.
University Library Digital Resources
Your university library subscription is one of the most underrated benefits of being a student. You get free access to databases worth thousands of dollars: JSTOR, Springer, Elsevier, LinkedIn Learning, Lynda.com, Kanopy (streaming films), PressReader (newspapers worldwide), and more.
Learn moreRent data based on average weekly room prices in share houses as listed on Flatmates.com.au and Domain.com.au, as of early 2026. Transport costs based on Myki concession fares. Utility estimates based on average 4-person household bills divided per person.