An international single student living in Sydney requires approximately AU$14,000-$18,000 for living expenses each year (this figure does not include tuition fees).

Remember that your cost of living in Sydney will vary according to your lifestyle. For example, eating out at restaurants all the time will increase your living costs a lot, as will driving a car (you will have to pay for petrol, registration, maintenance and insurance, as well as the car itself). However, there are many ways to save money in Sydney, and still be able to make the most of your time living there.

Click here to see some money-saving tips for living in Sydney

• Housing
• Telephone
• Internet
• Health Cover
• Food and Groceries
• Car Costs
• Public Transport
• Entertainment and Recreation
• Course Related Expenses
• Other Expenses
• Shopping Tips

Housing

One of the most important decisions to make is where to live. The cost of housing varies according to the type of accommodation and location you want. We suggest you visit our accommodation section to learn more about the options we offer.

It is also important to consider the cost of electricity, gas and water. Some accommodation options include these expenses in the monthly rent. Generally, when you live in an apartment, you only pay for gas and electricity. In a house, you will pay for water as well.

Telephone

Expenses related to phone communications depend on your desire of using a phone at home, mobile phone or both. If you want to have a phone at home you will need to pay a monthly line rental fee. This fee can be shared between all the members of the house.

With mobile phones it is recommended that you look for a plan or pre-paid card that best suits your needs. To call overseas, students usually find it much cheaper to use pre-paid cards (available for purchase at most convenience stores and newsagents)

There are several options for internet users living in Sydney. You can choose between dial-up or broadband service, and high or low usage. It is important to check if your broadband service is on a fixed plan or not.

You can also use the computer labs at SIBT for free.

Overseas Student Health Cover (OSHC) is a requirement of entry into Australia for all international students and accompanying dependants. This means that you MUST have your OSHC for the full duration of your stay in Australia.

Students are free to choose their own health cover provider but SIBT’s preferred provider is OSHC Worldcare.

For more information on OSHC please click here.

Food and Groceries

The cost of food and groceries depends on your shopping preferences. We recommend you to visit the shopping section on this page to get information on main items.

Car Costs

If you want to get a car in Australia you need to consider the cost of buying the car as well as the cost to maintain it and purchase petrol. The average weekly cost of having a car is $50. This includes petrol, compulsory car insurance, registration and maintenance.

For information on this category please visit www.carsguide.com.au

Public Transport

The cost of public transport depends on how far away you live from Macquarie University and how often you use it. The average cost per week on public transport is $17.

We recommend considering this cost when you decided where to live.

For information please visit Sydney Transport Infoline website.

Entertainment and Recreation Estimated Cost

Course Related Expenses

You need to consider that during the duration of your program you will make additional expenses like stationary, photocopies, purchase a computer, textbooks, newspapers, and paying library fines.

Other Expenses

Every now and then you will incur other expenses like hair cuts, postal charges and gifts.

Shopping Tips

There is a wide range of shopping facilities in Sydney that offer a large variety of goods at a range of prices. Prices are often competitive and it can pay you to shop around to find the 'best buys'. Senior students often have the best advice on where to find the best bargains!

Supermarkets stock a good variety of variety of foods and other items at competitive prices, but not necessarily the cheapest. Fruit and vegetables are a lot cheaper when in season and it is often cheaper to purchase goods in larger quantities. Most supermarkets carry their own 'home brands' which are always cheaper.