Printable Master Checklist for Planning Your Study Journey in Australia

This is the condensed, chronological master checklist for your entire study journey – print it, work through it stage by stage, and follow the link under each stage when you need the full detail. Six stages, from before you leave home to after you’ve finished studying.

Stage 1: Before arrival

• Receive your Confirmation of Enrolment (CoE) and lodge your student visa application.
• Arrange Overseas Student Health Cover (OSHC) for your visa period.
• Organise and verify your financial evidence.
• Book flights and arrange initial accommodation for at least your first few weeks.
• Prepare digital and physical copies of every key document: passport, CoE, offer letter, financial evidence, and visa grant.

Full detail: the complete step-by-step visa journey guide.

Stage 2: Your first week

• Open an Australian bank account.
• Apply for a Tax File Number (TFN) if you plan to work.
• Get a local SIM card and set up mobile data.
• Confirm your accommodation and understand your lease or agreement terms.
• Locate your institution’s international student support office.

Full detail: the first week checklist.

Stage 3: During study

• Track your visa work-hour limits and course attendance requirements.
• Keep every academic, financial and immigration document organised as you go, not just at the end.
• Watch for course progress requirements each study period.
• If your plans change, understand the real process for changing course or provider before acting.

Full detail: changing course or provider without damaging your visa and the practical forms and evidence checklist, if needed.

Stage 4: Your final six months

• Decide your broad post-study direction and sit any required English test early.
• Gather transcripts, references and any skills assessment evidence well ahead of time.
• Lock in the specific visa or course application that matches your direction.
• Lodge your next application before your current visa expires – the one genuinely hard deadline in the whole journey.

Full detail: the last six months planning checklist.

Stage 5: End of course

• Verify your final results are recorded correctly.
• Set up verifiable digital transcript access (My eQuals) while your enrolment is still active.
• Ask for references before you leave, while your work is still fresh in people’s minds.
• Clear library, account and administrative loose ends with your institution.

Full detail: the end-of-course checklist.

Stage 6: After study

• Confirm your eligibility for the Temporary Graduate (485) visa if that is your direction.
• Weigh further study, skilled migration pathways, or returning home against your actual circumstances, not assumptions.
• If using your qualification overseas, sort out authentication (apostille) and recognition requirements for your specific destination country.

Full detail: the complete after-study options overview and the Temporary Graduate visa guide.

Bottom line

Six stages, one continuous journey: before arrival, first week, during study, the final six months, end of course, and after study. Use this page as your printable master overview, and follow the linked guide under each stage for the specific rules, forms and current figures – they change more often than a static checklist can keep up with on its own.

This guide to your study journey is part of our complete Moving to Australia checklist – see the full four-phase roadmap for everything else you need to sort before and after you land.