Australia Student Visa Fees in 2026: The Real Subclass 500 Total

Australia raised its student visa application charge sharply in recent years, and it now stands among the most expensive in the world. That single fee gets all the attention. It should not. Between application and arrival, a Bangladeshi student pays for the visa, health cover, a medical exam, biometrics, and an English test, and must separately show a year of living funds. Five payments plus one big bank statement. Let us put honest numbers on each.

The Subclass 500 application charge

The base application charge was AUD 1,600 after the July 2024 increase and has been raised again since; recent announcements put it at AUD 2,000, which is roughly ৳1.5L. Verify the current figure on the Department of Home Affairs fee estimator before you pay, because this fee has changed three times in four years and it is not refundable on refusal. Not partially. Not at all. That non-refundability is why the rest of your file needs to be right before you lodge.

OSHC: the second-biggest line

Overseas Student Health Cover is mandatory for the full length of your visa, purchased before you apply. For a two-year master's, single cover runs roughly AUD 1,300 to 2,400 depending on the insurer (Allianz Care, Bupa, Medibank, ahm, and NIB are the approved providers), so budget around ৳1L to ৳1.8L upfront. Comparison sites like OSHC Australia let you see all five quotes at once. Cheapest is usually fine; universities accept any approved provider.

The smaller fees that add up

• Medical examination at the Dhaka panel clinic (IOM or approved): roughly ৳8,000 to ৳12,000
• Biometrics collection at the Australian Visa Application Centre: about ৳4,000 to ৳6,000
• IELTS or PTE Academic: ৳22,500 to ৳25,000, with PTE often the faster booking in Dhaka
• Document attestation and translation where needed: ৳3,000 to ৳8,000

The money you show but do not spend

On top of the fees, the Genuine Student assessment expects evidence of funds: first-year tuition plus AUD 29,710 in living costs plus about AUD 2,500 for travel (the living figure is indexed and moves; verify it on the Home Affairs site). For a typical file that means showing roughly ৳45L to ৳55L in acceptable sources: your own or parental funds, or an education loan from a recognised bank. The money is not spent, but it must sit there, documented, when you lodge.

Where students waste money

Two places. First, lodging a weak file and losing the AUD 2,000 charge to a refusal; the Genuine Student statement deserves a week of your effort, not an evening. Second, buying OSHC through an agent who quietly adds a margin instead of purchasing directly from the insurer, which takes ten minutes online. The visa system is designed for direct applicants. Use it that way.