Working While You Study in Australia
Visa rules, real job options, current wage rates, and the tax and super basics — everything Indian students need before taking a part-time job in 2026.
Part-time work is one of the biggest practical questions Indian students ask before they even land in Australia — not just "can I work?" but "how many hours, what kind of job, and how much will it actually put back in my pocket?" This guide walks through the visa rules, realistic job options, current 2026 wage rates, tax and superannuation basics, and a job-search plan you can start before you board the flight.
Can international students work in Australia?
Yes. International students holding a Student Visa (Subclass 500) can work part-time once their course has started, subject to Condition 8105 on the visa. Here's exactly how the limit works:
- During academic sessions: a maximum of 48 hours per fortnight (roughly 24 hours a week on average). This is measured as a rolling 14-day total, not a fixed weekly cap — you can't work 10 hours one week and 40 the next on the assumption each week is "under" some limit.
- The 48-hour cap applies across every job combined, not per employer. If you hold two casual roles, the hours from both are added together.
- During semester breaks and official holidays: students can work unlimited hours.
- Master's by Research and PhD students: once the research component has commenced, there is no cap on working hours at any point.
- Compulsory placements: hours spent on a mandatory internship or work-integrated-learning component don't count toward the 48-hour limit.
- You cannot start working until your course has actually commenced, even if you've already arrived in the country.
Breaching Condition 8105 is treated seriously and can put your visa at risk, so it's worth tracking your hours — a spreadsheet or a shared note with your employer works fine — rather than relying on memory once you're juggling two jobs and a class schedule.
"What actually counts as a fortnight — does an internship or unpaid work count toward my 48 hours?"
A fortnight is a rolling 14-day period, not your employer's fixed pay cycle, so hours are checked on a sliding window. Unpaid volunteer work generally doesn't count, but paid work of any kind — including commission-based or freelance income — does.
For a full walkthrough of visa conditions beyond work rights, see the Australian Student Visa: Step-by-Step Guide.
Popular part-time jobs for international students
Finding a job that fits within the legal work hours and your academic schedule is crucial. Here are the categories most Indian students in Australia actually work in.
1. On-campus jobs
- Research Assistant (RA) & Teaching Assistant (TA) — offered mainly to postgraduate students, and often pays above casual retail/hospitality rates.
- Library Assistant — helping manage library resources and assisting students.
- Administrative roles — clerical support within university departments.
- Cafeteria & bookstore staff — jobs at university cafes and bookstores.
- Campus ambassador / orientation support — paid roles helping new-student orientation and international student services — a good fit if you want your hours to also build a local reference and network.
2. Hospitality & retail
- Barista or café assistant — common in coffee shops and restaurants.
- Retail assistant — jobs in supermarkets and fashion stores.
- Waitstaff & bartending — flexible hours at restaurants and pubs. Bar and gaming-related roles usually require a Responsible Service of Alcohol (RSA) certificate, completed online in a few hours before you start job-hunting in this sector.
- Delivery services — platforms like UberEats and DoorDash offer flexible, gig-style work. Some platforms require an Australian Business Number (ABN) as a contractor, which changes how tax and superannuation apply — factor this in before committing serious hours.
- Warehouse & logistics — casual picking/packing shifts, often advertised through agencies and paying award rates above the national minimum.
3. Tutoring & freelancing
- Private tutoring — teaching school or college students subjects like Maths and English.
- Online freelancing — platforms like Upwork and Fiverr for content writing, design, and programming. If your clients are overseas, this income is still assessable in Australia if you're a tax resident, so keep records.
- Language instruction — teaching English or regional languages to locals.
Minimum wage & work conditions (2026)
- National Minimum Wage: AUD 26.44 per hour (AUD 1,004.90 for a 38-hour week), effective 1 July 2026 per the Fair Work Commission's Annual Wage Review.
- Casual loading: casual employees on the national minimum must receive at least AUD 33.05 per hour, which bakes in a 25% loading in place of paid leave entitlements.
- Award rates: most hospitality, retail, and warehouse jobs sit under a Modern Award, which can set a higher minimum than the national floor — check your payslip against your award, not just the headline minimum wage.
- Penalty rates: extra pay on evenings, weekends, and public holidays, on top of your base rate.
- Fair Work laws: protection against workplace exploitation and discrimination applies to international students exactly as it does to citizens and permanent residents (Fair Work Ombudsman).
- Underpayment is a serious offence: since 1 January 2025, intentional wage underpayment by an employer is a criminal offence in Australia — a "cash in hand" job well below award rates is a red flag, not a favour.
How much can you realistically earn?
Working the full 48 hours per fortnight at the national minimum wage works out to a base figure before tax — and most students earn more than this, since hospitality, retail, and warehouse award rates typically sit above the national minimum, with penalty rates adding further on top. Try your own numbers below.
Fortnightly earnings estimate
⚠ Above 48 hours/fortnight while your course is in session breaches Condition 8105 on a Subclass 500 visa.
Figures are illustrative only, based on the rate you enter — actual take-home pay depends on tax withheld and your specific award. For a full picture in ₹, use the IMFS Part-Time Earnings Calculator or the Study Abroad Cost Calculator to see how part-time earnings offset your total cost of studying in Australia.
How to find a part-time job
Finding a job requires planning and persistence. Here's where to start.
1. Popular job portals
2. Networking & university career services
- Universities provide career counselling, resume-building assistance, and job listings through their careers portal — usually the fastest route to on-campus roles.
- Networking with seniors, professors, and local businesses can lead to job referrals, especially in regional campus towns where roles rarely make it to national job boards.
3. Social media & job boards
- LinkedIn is great for job hunting and networking.
- Facebook groups and university forums often list part-time job openings before they hit mainstream portals.
"If my goal is permanent residency, does the part-time job I take now matter for that later?"
Not directly — part-time work under Condition 8105 doesn't itself build PR points — but the sector you gain experience in can matter once you move to post-study work visas and skilled migration pathways after graduation.
If PR is the end goal, it's worth comparing how Australia's work-to-PR pipeline stacks up against other destinations before committing years of study: see Australia vs Canada for Indian Students 2026.
Tax & superannuation (2026)
- Tax File Number (TFN): required for legal employment. Apply via the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) once you arrive — without one, your employer must withhold tax at the top rate.
- Tax-free threshold: most full-time international students in Australia for six months or more are treated as Australian tax residents, meaning the first AUD 18,200 earned in a financial year is tax-free. Only claim the threshold with one employer if you hold more than one job, or you risk under-withholding and a tax bill at year end.
- 2026–27 resident tax rates: nil to $18,200, then 15% from $18,201–$45,000, 30% from $45,001–$135,000, and higher brackets above that, plus a 2% Medicare levy for most taxpayers.
- Superannuation: there is no minimum monthly earnings threshold for super — removed in July 2022 — so casual and part-time student employees are entitled to super regardless of how little they earn in a month, as long as they're 18+ (or under 18 and working more than 30 hours/week). The compulsory Superannuation Guarantee rate is 12% of ordinary earnings as of 1 July 2025, and from 1 July 2026, employers must pay it at the same time as your wages under the new "Payday Super" rules.
- Claiming your super back: when you permanently leave Australia after your studies, you can claim your accumulated super as a Departing Australia Superannuation Payment (DASP) through the ATO — file it once your visa has ceased to be in effect.
Balancing work and study
- Time management: use a shared calendar to schedule work and study, and log your hours against the 48-hour cap in real time rather than reconstructing them at the end of the fortnight.
- Prioritise studies: a visa cancellation risk from overworking is a far bigger cost than a missed shift.
- Know your rights: working beyond visa limits may lead to visa cancellation, even if the extra hours were at your employer's request.
Should you prioritise part-time work, or minimise it?
Your right answer depends on your specific profile — not just on how many hours the visa allows.
Work close to the 48-hour cap if you are:
- Cost-conscious and want income to reduce reliance on family funds for daily expenses
- Studying a course with lighter contact hours, leaving real time for shift work
- Comfortable with hospitality, retail, or warehouse-style shift schedules
- Looking to build a local reference and work history ahead of post-study visas
- Not the right fit if: your course has heavy lab, clinical, or placement hours with little buffer for fatigue
Minimise part-time work if you are:
- Focused on a highly competitive program where grades affect scholarship renewal or PR-relevant outcomes
- Already financially covered for living costs and don't need the income to get by
- Enrolled in a Master's by research or PhD, where unrestricted hours make it tempting to overcommit early
- New to Australia and still adjusting to workload, climate, and independent living
- Not the right fit if: you genuinely need the income to cover rent and essentials each fortnight
Frequently asked questions
Can I work full-time once I finish my Australian degree?
Does part-time income count toward the funds I need to show for my visa?
Do I need a separate work permit on top of my student visa?
What happens if I accidentally work more than 48 hours in a fortnight?
Conclusion
Working part-time while studying in Australia provides financial support and valuable experience — but it comes with clear limits. Stay within the 48-hour fortnightly cap under Condition 8105, get paid at least the current award or national minimum rate, set up your TFN early, and check your payslip for the superannuation you're now entitled to regardless of how few hours you work.
Every student's course load, budget, and visa timeline is different. If you'd like help working out a realistic weekly schedule alongside your specific program:
Book a free counselling session
