Yes, you can work on the Student Visa. Here's what you'll actually earn, how tax and the compulsory pension fund (Superannuation) work, and how to find your first job.
If you've started looking for work before booking the flight, you're not the first. It's one of the questions we get most: how does working in Australia actually work? This guide walks you through all of it: what your visa allows, what you'll really earn, where students usually find work, how tax works, and the payslips, which catch a lot of people off guard.
What working in Australia as a student is like
Working in Australia as an international student is organised around your studies, not the other way round. You're on the Student Visa (or the Work and Holiday, which we cover in our dedicated visa guide), and that lets you work part-time while you study, and full-time during your school's official breaks. Most students work in hospitality, retail, services or food delivery: sectors that hire all year round and don't ask for much experience to start.
Australia's minimum wage is among the highest in the world: currently $26.44 AUD an hour, reviewed every July by the Fair Work Commission. Working 20 to 24 hours a week, most students cover rent and food in most cities on their wage alone. The most useful questions are the practical ones: how you find work, how you actually get paid, what the government keeps, and what's left for you.
What your visa allows
How many hours you can work depends on which visa you hold. The two main routes:
The Student Visa. You can work 48 hours per fortnight while classes are on, around 24 hours a week on average. During official school breaks, you can work without a cap. The limit resets every fortnight, not weekly, so you can spread the hours however you like within the period. Going over it puts your visa at risk.
The Work and Holiday. No hourly cap from day one, though you can't work more than six months for the same employer. This visa is designed for working and travelling more than for studying.
A detail that surprises a lot of people: even though the Student Visa allows you to work, your work rights only switch on when your course starts. If you arrive two weeks before term starts, you can't legally take a job during those two weeks. Plan your arrival date around your course start date.
The 80% class attendance requirement is the other thing to watch. Some schools tolerate the odd missed class, but dropping below 80% can lead to your visa being cancelled. Work has to fit around your studies.
What you'll earn (and what the government takes)
The reference wage is the federal minimum: $26.44 AUD an hour (as of July 2026). That's before tax. On top of that comes casual loading (an extra that casual workers get instead of paid leave), usually 25% more on the base rate. In practice, a casual hospitality job at minimum wage lands closer to $33 AUD an hour.
Casual loading. Casual workers in Australia get no paid holiday or sick days. In exchange, they're paid a higher hourly rate. If your contract says "casual", check the loading is included: that's the trade.
Penalty rates. Sundays, public holidays and (in some sectors) evenings and weekends pay more: sometimes 25%, 50% or even 150% extra on the base rate. Students who take Sunday shifts in hospitality often earn quite a bit more per hour than on weekdays. Worth knowing when you organise your timetable.
The tax file number (Tax File Number, TFN). Before you can be paid properly, you need a TFN. You apply online with the Australian Tax Office as soon as you arrive; it's free and takes a couple of weeks. Without a TFN, your employer has to withhold tax at the highest rate, so the sooner you have it, the better. We help you sort it out, along with opening your bank account, in your first days in Australia.
The Australian Business Number (ABN). If you work for yourself, especially in food delivery (Uber Eats, DoorDash, Deliveroo) or as a freelancer, you need an ABN as well as the TFN. The difference is simple: the TFN is for employees; the ABN is for self-employed work. It's free, you apply online, and you have it the same day. Without an ABN, delivery platforms can't pay you as a contractor. If you need one, we help you sort that out too.
The tax-free threshold (Student Visa). Australia has a tax-free threshold of $18,200 AUD a year. If you earn less than that in a tax year (July to June in Australia), you pay no income tax. Most students working 20 to 24 hours a week come in under it or just over, which means your tax return can give you back almost everything withheld. We help you work out whether you need to file when the time comes. The Work and Holiday runs on a different tax system, with a flat rate from the first dollar.
The compulsory pension fund (superannuation). Australian employers are required by law to pay an extra 12% of your wage into this fund, on top of your hourly rate. This applies whether you're on the Student Visa or the Work and Holiday. That money is yours, not theirs. When you leave Australia for good, you can claim it back, and most students walk away with a few thousand dollars on the way out. It's one of the most underrated parts of working in Australia.
What you're actually left with. With the $26.44 AUD minimum, casual loading lifting it to about $33 AUD, and 22 hours a week, you're looking at roughly $725 AUD gross a week. After tax (usually low or zero if you're under the threshold), that's almost all take-home. In most cities, it covers rent and food with room to spare. In the most expensive ones, it runs tighter and some starting savings help.
Where students actually work
Hospitality and retail dominate. The most common jobs for international students:
Cafés, restaurants and bars. Waiter, runner, barista, kitchen hand, dishwasher and bartender. These jobs hire all year round, often by walking in with a CV or through signs on the door. Your level of English matters less than attitude and being reliable.
Retail and shops. Checkout, stockroom and shop floor in supermarkets, clothing stores and electronics stores. The big chains (Woolworths, Coles and Kmart) hire constantly. Applying online is the norm.
Food delivery. Uber Eats, DoorDash, Deliveroo and Menulog take on students without a formal interview. You need a bike (or a scooter) and an ABN. It's paid per delivery, so what you earn depends on the city, the time of day and luck.
Catering. In the big cities (Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Gold Coast) catering is a busy sector: events, weddings, conferences and corporate parties. They usually hire shift by shift and pay higher rates on weekends and special events.
Housekeeping and hotel reception. Steady work in tourist cities. Pays standard hospitality rates with bonuses in high season.
Customer service and admin. Once your English is solid, call centres, ticketing and admin jobs open up. They usually pay better than hospitality but are harder to land in your first months.
How to actually find work. Three routes work better than the rest:
- In person. Print 20 CVs, walk into cafés and shops on a Tuesday morning, ask for the manager. The Australian job market rewards showing up in person. That's how most first jobs are found.
- Online. Seek, Indeed and Jora are the main job sites. International student Facebook and WhatsApp groups in your city often post openings before they reach the job boards.
- Word of mouth. News travels fast in hospitality. Tell your classmates, your flatmate, your welcomer: the tips come from people, not platforms.
What an Australian CV looks like. CVs in Australia are usually one or two pages, no photo, no date of birth. Include your visa status (for example, "Student Visa with work rights"), your English level if you have a certificate, and any previous hospitality or retail experience. No personal profile needed; open with experience and dates.
How Australian Way helps you find work
Seventeen years. More than 12,000 students. Three countries. The job search is one of the first things we work through with you when you land.
We don't promise specific jobs; no agency can. What we do, time after time, is help you arrive ready to find one.
We start with the free 15-minute call. Country, city, course, timing, and the part many agencies skip: what your work plan looks like. Some students arrive with savings; others need income within two weeks. The plan adapts to your situation.
We help you understand the seasonal patterns of your destination city. On the tourist coasts, hospitality takes off in summer (December to February). In the big cities, morning café shifts open up often. In the more service-driven cities, retail hires steadily all year. We've walked enough students through each city to know the rhythm.
When you land, your welcomer is there through your first week: to go over your CV, point out the neighbourhoods to start with, and connect you with students who've been through the same search recently. The first job is the hardest one; the second takes far less.
In your first days we help you get your TFN and open your bank account. Both are required to be paid properly, and both are easier than the government website makes them look.
Frequently asked questions
Can I start working as soon as I land? Your work rights switch on when your course starts, not when you land. If you arrive a week before term begins, that week is for getting your TFN and opening a bank account, not for taking a job.
Do I need English to find work? For kitchen jobs or back-of-house work, basic English is enough. For waiting tables, retail or anything customer-facing, intermediate English helps. Food delivery has the lowest English bar of all: most platforms run fine with translation apps.
What's a TFN and how do I get one? The Tax File Number is Australia's tax ID; your employer needs it to pay you properly. You apply online with the Australian Tax Office (ato.gov.au) as soon as you arrive in Australia. It's free, takes about two weeks, and you need an Australian address. Without a TFN, your employer has to withhold tax at the highest rate.
What's super, and do I get it back when I leave? Superannuation is a compulsory pension contribution: your employer pays an extra 12% of your wage into the fund. When you leave Australia for good, you can claim it back as the Departing Australia Superannuation Payment (DASP). Most students walk away with a few thousand dollars on the way out.
What if my employer pays me below the minimum? It still happens, especially in hospitality. The Fair Work Ombudsman investigates underpayment for free: go to fairwork.gov.au. International students have the same rights as Australians, and the government investigates anonymously. If it happens to you, document everything and report it.
How do I open an Australian bank account? We help you open an account with Commonwealth Bank, completely free. You can start the process online before you travel or walk into a branch in your first days after landing. Bring your passport, your visa and your address in Australia.
Do I pay tax? Do I get anything back? If you earn less than the tax-free threshold ($18,200 AUD a year), you owe no income tax. But your employer has probably withheld some anyway. File your tax return between July and October each year to get it back. Many students recover almost everything withheld.
How long does the first job take? The honest answer: one to four weeks if you're actively looking. Hospitality in tourist cities comes through faster; admin and customer service in less touristy cities takes longer. If you've gone two months without leads, your CV or your search strategy needs adjusting. We help with both.
Can I work in my field if I'm already a professional back home? Sometimes, with limits. Engineering, IT, finance, healthcare and the trades all have recognition processes in Australia. As a student capped at 48 hours a fortnight, professional work is harder to fit inside the hours limit. Most students do hospitality or retail while they study, and move into their field later, chaining more advanced VET courses that renew the visa.
Can I work on Sundays? Yes, and Sundays usually pay 50% to 75% more per hour than weekdays. Many students arrange their week to stack their work on Sundays, public holidays and evenings to get the most out of the 48-hour cap.
What's the cheapest city to live and work in? Adelaide and Perth usually come out cheapest. Brisbane and Gold Coast sit in the middle band. The biggest cities are the most expensive, and work is usually easier to find where the cost of living is also higher (tourist demand pushes both), so the trade-off is real.
Ready to start?
A 15-minute call. We talk through the country, the city, the course, the visa and what your first three months of work look like. By the time you hang up, you'll have your work plan clear.
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