Study in Australia: 3 Pathways That Actually Fit Your Situation
Not sure which route to take? That’s the exact problem we help you solve. Thousands of Indonesians want to study in Australia every year. Most stall not because they’re ineligible, but because no one has shown them which of the three study pathways actually fits their background, budget, and goals. This page cuts through that confusion. Three Pathways to Australia. One That’s Right for You. VET: 2-Year Vocational Program VET is the most affordable and time-efficient entry point into the Australian education system. Completing two years of vocational study qualifies you for post-study work rights through the Subclass 485 Temporary Graduate Visa, and keeps the door open to permanent residency. If budget and speed matter to you, this is where to start. Important: Most VET courses are 6 to 12 months long individually. To meet the 2-year minimum study requirement for the Subclass 485, you will typically need to combine two or three qualifications — for example, a Certificate III followed by a Certificate IV, or a Certificate IV leading into a Diploma. RACC maps out this combination for you based on your target occupation, so there is no gap in your study timeline. Common course combinations and their approximate international student fees: Course Combination Total Duration Tuition Fee Total(2 Years) in AUD Tuition Fee(Per Year) in AUD Cert III in Commercial Cookery + Cert IV in Kitchen Management + Diploma of Hospitality Management 2 years 18,000 – 26,000 ~9,000 – 13,000 Cert III + Diploma of Early Childhood Education and Care 2 years 20,000 – 24,000 ~10,000 – 12,000 Cert III + Cert IV in Community Services 2 years 18,000 – 26,000 ~9,000 – 13,000 Advanced Diploma of Information Technology 2 years 20,000 – 24,000 ~10,000 – 12,000 Diploma of Nursing (standalone, 2 years) 2 years 34,000 – 40,000 ~17,000 – 20,000 PR Pathway: After completing your 2-year VET combination and gaining work experience on the Subclass 485, you can transition to permanent residency through Subclass 189, Subclass 190, or Subclass 491. Occupations such as Cook, Early Childhood Educator, Community Services Worker, and Enrolled Nurse are listed on Australia’s skilled occupation list, making VET a genuine long-term investment, not just a short-term study option. Bachelor: Undergraduate at 50+ Australian Universities Study a full undergraduate degree at more than 50 partner universities across Australia. You can work up to 48 hours per fortnight on a Subclass 500 Student Visa while studying, which helps offset living costs. A Bachelor’s degree broadens your professional options and opens access to more skilled migration pathways after graduation. Fees vary significantly by institution. The Group of Eight universities are at the premium end; private higher education providers and regional universities offer the same AQF-accredited qualification at considerably lower cost. Below is the real fee range based on the 2025 CRICOS Course Database: Course Duration Tuition Fee(Per Year) in AUD Range Bachelor of Nursing 3 years ~32,000 – 35,000 High tuition fee from AUD 32,000/year (One of the most in-demand occupations) Bachelor of Accounting 3 years ~15,500 – 28,000 Affordable from AUD 15,500/year Bachelor of Information Technology 3 years ~17,000 – 28,000 Affordable from AUD 17,000/year Bachelor of Social Work 4 years ~20,000 – 30,000 Affordable from AUD 20,000/year Bachelor of Engineering Technology 3 years ~22,000 – 35,000 Varies by discipline PR Pathway: All five fields above appear on Australia’s Core Skills Occupation List (CSOL), supporting applications for Subclass 189 (independent skilled migration), Subclass 190 (state-nominated), and Subclass 491 (regional). Graduates typically apply for the Subclass 485 Temporary Graduate Visa first to gain local work experience before transitioning to PR. Master: For Professionals Ready to Level Up Already working in your field? A Master’s in Australia is a direct investment in career trajectory. It signals international credentials to employers, boosts your points score for skilled migration, and opens occupations that a diploma alone cannot access. This pathway suits working adults who want a meaningful career step-change, not just another qualification on paper. As with Bachelor’s degrees, Master’s fees vary widely. Many accredited private higher education providers deliver the same AQF Level 9 qualification as major universities at a significantly lower cost. Based on the 2025 CRICOS Course Database: Course Duration Fee per Year (AUD) Range Master of Business Administration (MBA) 2 years ~14,700 – 30,000 Affordable from AUD 14,700/year Master of Professional Accounting (MPA) 2 years ~17,250 – 25,000 Affordable from AUD 17,250/year Master of Information Technology 2 years ~19,600 – 28,000 Affordable from AUD 19,600/year Master of Nursing 2 years ~33,000 – 35,000 High tuition fee from AUD 33,000/year (One of the most in-demand occupations) Master of Engineering 2 years ~22,000 – 38,000 Varies by discipline and university PR Pathway: A Master’s degree awards additional points in Australia’s points-tested migration system. Combined with Australian work experience on the Subclass 485 post-study work visa, a Master’s degree holder in an in-demand occupation carries one of the strongest profiles for Subclass 189 permanent residency. The higher your qualification level, the more competitive your points score. Why Picking the Wrong Path Costs More Than Time Choosing the wrong study pathway can mean a visa refusal, tuition fees lost, and starting over from scratch. Your education history, budget, career target, and long-term visa goals all point to a specific route. Getting that analysis right before you apply is the entire point of consulting first. 5,700+ Indonesians Made It. Here’s How They Started. They didn’t figure it out on their own. They consulted. RACC Indonesia has guided more than 5,700 students into Australian study programs over the last 10 years. Our consultants are MARA-registered migration agents operating from Australia, with direct access to the immigration system. 4.8-star Google rating. 20+ years in the industry. RACC Indonesia Applying Alone Other Agents MARA-registered Yes N/A Often no Consultant based in Australia Yes N/A Rarely Personalised pathway mapping Yes No Varies Track record with Indonesian students 5,700+ alumni N/A Unverifiable First consultation fee Free N/A Varies Book Your Free Consultation Tell us your situation. Our consultants will map out the pathway that
Subclass 186 Visa: 6 Things to Know Before You Apply for Employer Sponsored PR (2026)
The Subclass 186 visa, formally known as the Employer Nomination Scheme (ENS), is one of Australia’s most direct routes to permanent residency without a points test. The pathway is employer-driven: an Australian employer nominates you for a skilled position, and your PR application follows. Before you pursue this route, understanding how employer sponsorship leads to PR in Australia is essential. Most applicants focus entirely on their own eligibility and overlook the employer side, which is where a large share of refusals happen. These are the six things that will change how you approach this visa. Last updated: April 2026 1. The Subclass 186 Visa Grants Permanent Residency The Subclass 186 is not a temporary work visa. Once granted, you can live and work in Australia indefinitely, access Medicare, sponsor eligible family members, and eventually apply for Australian citizenship after meeting the residency requirement. That is a significant difference from the Subclass 482 (Skills in Demand) visa, which has an expiry date and ties your right to stay to a specific employer. The Subclass 186 removes both of those limitations permanently. For a fuller picture of what to expect before and after the grant, the guide on employer sponsored PR: benefits and challenges is worth reading first. Because this visa leads directly to PR, the Department of Home Affairs (DHA) applies rigorous scrutiny to both sides of the application: your documents and your employer’s. 2. You Need an Employer to Sponsor and Nominate You You cannot apply for the Subclass 186 visa on your own. An Australian employer must sponsor and nominate you for a specific skilled position before you can lodge your own visa application. This requires three things from the employer: The nomination must be approved before your visa application can be lodged. Without it, there is nothing to apply for. If you are still looking for the right sponsor, read our guide on how to find an employer who can sponsor you in Australia. Thinking about the Subclass 186 visa? Book a paid consultation with RACC Indonesia to assess your eligibility and your employer’s readiness before you invest in an application. 3. There Are Two Main Application Streams Which stream you qualify for depends on your current visa status and your work history in Australia. Most applicants fall into one of two categories, and the requirements are very different between them. Temporary Residence Transition (TRT) Stream The TRT stream is for skilled workers currently holding a Skills in Demand (Subclass 482) visa or a Subclass 457 visa who have worked for their nominating employer for at least two years in their sponsored occupation. If you are already in Australia with the same employer and your role matches the nominated position, this is your likely pathway. A separate skills assessment is not required under TRT, as your qualifications were already evaluated during your prior visa application. Direct Entry (DE) Stream The Direct Entry (DE) stream applies to skilled workers who have not previously worked in Australia on a Subclass 482 or 457 visa, or who have worked for a different employer. The DE stream carries stricter requirements: a positive skills assessment from the relevant authority and at least three years of full-time relevant work experience, per the Employer Nomination Scheme (Subclass 186) visa requirements on immi.homeaffairs.gov.au. For a deeper breakdown of TRT vs Direct Entry: which stream is right for you, RACC’s dedicated comparison guide covers each pathway in full. 4. Skills and Work Experience Requirements Apply For Direct Entry applicants, a formal skills assessment is mandatory before you can apply. Which authority assesses you depends on your occupation: VETASSESS covers a wide range of professional and technical roles, AHPRA assesses healthcare professionals including nurses and pharmacists, and Engineers Australia assesses engineering occupations. Your nominated occupation must also align with the relevant ANZSCO code specified in your employer’s nomination. The minimum experience requirement for DE applicants is three years of full-time relevant work. Part-time hours and voluntary work do not count. TRT stream applicants are exempt from the separate skills assessment, but their employment history on the prior visa must clearly match the nominated occupation or DHA will question the nomination. 5. English Proficiency is a Hard Requirement Most Subclass 186 applicants must demonstrate at least competent English before their application is approved. The standard benchmark is 6.0 in each band of the IELTS, or an equivalent result in an accepted test: 50 in each communicative skill for PTE Academic, or Grade B in each component for OET, per DHA’s published requirements for the ENS visa. For a full breakdown of test options and which scores DHA accepts, the guide on English test requirements for Australian skilled migration has everything you need. Exemptions apply for passport holders from the United Kingdom, United States, Canada, New Zealand, and Ireland. TRT stream applicants who demonstrated competent English for their Subclass 482 or 457 visa may also rely on that prior evidence, provided DHA accepted it at the time. 6. A Weak Nomination Can Sink Your Application This is the part most applicants underestimate. Spending months gathering your own documents while leaving the nomination in your employer’s hands without any oversight is one of the most common reasons Subclass 186 applications fail. For a nomination to be approved by DHA, the employer must demonstrate that: A nomination with inconsistencies between the role description and the company’s actual business activity, or one where the salary does not reflect market benchmarks, will be refused regardless of how strong your own documents are. If your employer has never prepared a nomination before, that is a significant risk. It is not a form to be filled in casually. How RACC Indonesia Can Help You The Subclass 186 visa involves two parallel applications: your employer’s nomination and your own visa application. A problem in either can result in refusal, even when the other side is well prepared. Most applicants only find this out after a decision has been made. RACC Indonesia’s consultants are MARA-registered migration agents
