STUDENT SUPPORT

Getting ready to arrive and while you are here

Working

SECTION LINKS

Information available on this page:

  • Permission to Work
  • Working While Studying
  • Finding Work
  • Wages and Conditions at Work: Minimum Wage, Taxes & Superannuation

 

Permission to Work

Checklist
  • Check the details of your visa with DIAC

If you were granted a student visa after 26 April 2008, you should automatically have been granted Permission to Work – however, we still recommend you check the details of your Visa.
If you received your student visa before this date, you will need to apply to the Department of Immigration & Citizenship (DIAC), for permission to work.
For further information please visit the Department of Immigration and Citizenship website.

 

Working While Studying

Checklist
  • Work a maximum of 20 hours per week when your course is “in session”

Please note that you are not permitted to start work until you have started your course of study.
You can work a maximum of 20 hours per week when your course is “in session”, and unlimited hours when you are on a semester or module break.
The Department of Immigration and Citizenship (DIAC) considers your course to be ‘in session’:

  • for the duration of the advertised semesters (including periods when exams are being held)
  • if you have completed your studies and your Confirmation of Enrolment is still in effect
  • if you are undertaking another course, during a break from your main course and the points will be credited to your main course

(Source: Department of Immigration and Citizenship)
For a full list of student visa conditions please visit: www.immi.gov.au/students/index.htm

 

Finding Work

Please download the following fact sheet for information about different ways to find a job in Australia.

 

Wages and Conditions at Work: Minimum Wage, Taxes & Superannuation

Checklist
  • Check your wage is above the minimum wage
  • Apply for a Tax File Number (TFN)
  • Check if you are eligible to receive superannuation

Your new employer may require you to sign a legal document (a “contract” or “agreement”) that explains your minimum rights and conditions. This might be a “collective” agreement (an agreement for all employees working for the same employer); or an “individual” agreement (an agreement set just for you).

Whatever the agreement you may be asked to sign, your employer may pay you more than the minimum wage, but your employer cannot pay you less than the minimum wage.

Ensure that you are happy with terms of the employment agreement before you sign.

For more information about the minimum wage, taxes and superannuation please download the following fact sheet.