Work-hour rules for international students have changed more than once in recent years and can change again. Verify the current limit against Department of Home Affairs guidance before you rely on it.
How Much You Can Work While Studying in Australia
International students in Australia can currently work up to 48 hours per fortnight during term time, with no limit during scheduled course breaks.
That is the rule. The more useful discussion is what it actually pays for, and why your visa application cannot depend on it.
Free, in rupees.
The rule
What the 48-hour fortnight means in practice
It is a fortnightly limit, not a weekly one, so you can work more in one week and less in the next as long as the two-week total stays inside 48 hours.
Breaching it is a visa condition breach, with real consequences including cancellation. Employers in student-heavy industries generally understand the limit, but the responsibility is yours, not theirs.
Keep your own record of hours. Do not rely on an employer's roster to prove compliance.
Calendar
Term time versus scheduled breaks
Two things students get wrong: a week with no classes is not automatically a scheduled break, and if your course finishes and you are waiting for results, your conditions may still apply. Check your university's published calendar rather than assuming.
Work itself
Common student jobs, and realistic pay
Hospitality, retail, food delivery, warehouse work, and on-campus roles such as library or student services positions.
On-campus jobs are usually the best of these: they understand the hour limits, they are close to your classes, and they occasionally connect to your field.
Australia has a statutory minimum wage and student jobs are generally covered by it. Cash-in-hand work below the minimum wage is common in some sectors and worth avoiding, because it is unenforceable, undocumented, and can complicate your compliance record.
The visa file
Why you cannot build your finances on this
Here is the part that matters for your application.
Your visa requires you to prove financial capacity without counting part-time earnings. You must show around AUD 29,710 in living funds for year one, plus tuition, regardless of what you plan to earn.
This is not a technicality or a formality that can be argued around. An application that relies on future part-time income to close a funding gap does not meet the requirement, and gaps in funding are the second most common reason applications are refused. See the financial requirements guide.
Do the arithmetic yourself. At 48 hours a fortnight, term-time earnings cover part of your living costs, not your tuition, and not the funds you have to prove in advance.
Treat work as a supplement that makes your life more comfortable. Anyone encouraging you to treat it as your funding plan is setting you up for a refusal, or worse, for arriving underfunded.
Living funds have to be proven without counting what you hope to earn.
The profile
A note on the students who get caught by this
The profile that concerns case officers most is the applicant whose plan is essentially to arrive and work, with study as the mechanism.
It shows up in a specific pattern: a low-cost course with no connection to the applicant's background, funds barely at the threshold, and a career answer that does not survive a follow-up question.
If that resembles your situation, the honest thing is to say so now rather than discover it at the decision stage. See the Genuine Student guide and the refusal reasons guide.
After study
Work rights after you graduate
This is where the picture changes substantially. The 485 post-study work visa allows full-time work for two to four years, with an age cap of 35 and a fee of around AUD 5,750.
Post-study work rights, not term-time earnings, are the financially significant part of studying in Australia.
Common questions
01How many hours can international students work in Australia?
Currently up to 48 hours per fortnight during term time, and unlimited during scheduled course breaks.
02Can I work full time during holidays?
Yes, during scheduled breaks in your university's academic calendar.
03Does part-time work count toward my visa financial requirement?
No. You must prove your funds without it.
04What happens if I work more than the limit?
It is a breach of your visa conditions and can lead to cancellation. Keep your own record of hours.
05Can my spouse work if they come with me?
Dependant work rights vary by your course level and current policy. Verify before planning around it.
06Can I work on campus?
Yes, and on-campus roles are often the most compatible with your study schedule and hour limits.
07Is cash-in-hand work a problem?
It is usually below minimum wage, unenforceable, and undocumented. Not worth the exposure.
Build a budget that does not depend on working
Then check whether the funds you have would satisfy the visa: visa chance checker, free, four minutes.
Read next: PR and work rights after study and financial requirements.