About half of international students “skip meals” as living costs bite in Australia
The third annual State of Student Healthcare (SOSH) report (2025), prepared by Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) on behalf of Allianz Partners Australia, found a stark mismatch in expectations, with 85% of international students saying living costs in Australia are far more expensive than expected.
With 61% of students citing living costs as a key source of stress, 62% report not maintaining a balanced diet – among them, 81% avoid buying fruit and vegetables due to cost, 75% frequently eat takeaway food, and 82% skip meals to save money.
The survey also points to a close link between eating habits and overall wellbeing, with nearly half (49%) of students reporting high wellbeing saying they maintain a balanced diet, compared with 31% of those with moderate wellbeing and just 17% of those with low wellbeing.
Though concerns remain that the Middle East conflict could hit farm output and push up food prices this year, Australia is no stranger to rising costs above the long-term average, with experts saying such pressures are now “ingrained” in the economy.
Just last week, households across Australia were warned that weekly grocery bills could rise further if the federal government does not reduce taxes on the trucking industry.
The broader cost-of-living crisis, with annual living costs rising 2.3% to 4.2% last year, is reflected in the finding that more than a quarter of students (27%) have considered withdrawing from their course and returning home. This is despite 59% intending to remain in Australia after their studies.
To cope with unexpectedly high costs, 70% of students said they had cut back on everyday spending, while nearly half relied on family support or personal savings, with only 12% able to meet their commitments without adjusting their spending.
Financial pressures also varied by location, with international students in Western Australia (92%) and New South Wales (89%) most likely to say living costs were higher than expected, compared with lower shares in the Australian Capital Territory (75%) and Queensland (78%). Metropolitan students (87%) were also more likely than their regional counterparts (76%) to report higher-than-expected cost pressures.
According to the SOSH report, accommodation emerged as the biggest financial shock for students, with 77% saying it was more expensive than expected before arriving in Australia.
This was followed by other essential expenses, including healthcare and medical costs (66%), utility bills (62%) and groceries (60%), while more than half of the cohort also found hobbies, entertainment and public transport to be costlier than anticipated.
Though Australia has a universal healthcare system, rising out-of-pocket costs for specialist visits, GP consultations and medications have created affordability pressures, with international students also feeling the strain, as 82% expressed major concerns about healthcare affordability.
The concerns around healthcare affordability come as 12% of students reported living with a chronic medical condition, with prevalence highest among students from mainland China (22%), Bangladesh (21%), the US (19%) and those identifying as LGBTQIA+ (22%).
More than one-third of students report active struggles with their mental health, with anxiety, sleep difficulties, concentration problems and depression widespread and often intensifying over time.
While nearly one-third have a formal diagnosis, a significant treatment gap persists, with 38% of those diagnosed saying they have never received support due to cost, stigma and uncertainty around navigating the system.
Despite these struggles, only 17% of students strongly agreed they understood the local healthcare system, while 58% correctly identified the optimal care pathway in practical scenarios and 66% said structured pre-arrival healthcare education would have improved their experience.
What the data consistently shows is that student outcomes do not exist in isolation. Financial security, social connection and English language confidence all interact to shape the student experience
Miranda Fennell, Allianz Partners Australia
The data also highlights wider adjustment challenges, with 62% of students reporting difficulty making friends with Australians, while 58% said they faced little or no difficulty forming friendships with other international students.
Chinese students, along with those from Nepal and Bhutan, reported the greatest difficulty in building local friendships, while students from the US, Canada and the Philippines reported the least, underscoring the role of English language proficiency and cultural familiarity in social integration.
Around 62% of those with lower English confidence struggled to secure a job, while language or cultural barriers were cited by 62% of this group, compared with just 12% of confident speakers, suggesting professional settings pose a greater challenge than day-to-day communication.
Employment challenges also remain pronounced, with 45% citing limited professional networks and 42% competition with local candidates as key barriers.
“What the data consistently shows is that student outcomes do not exist in isolation,” stated Miranda Fennell, executive head of health, Allianz Partners Australia.
“Financial security, social connection and English language confidence all interact to shape the student experience. The goal of SOSH is not just to measure the experience, but to help improve it.”
The report’s deep dive into international student life in Australia coincides with high study visa refusal rates and a decline in enrolments, with new student numbers falling 15% year on year, according to Australia’s Department of Education.
While higher education has remained relatively steady in international student numbers, ELICOS has taken a sharp hit, with enrolments falling 35%, prompting experts to suggest that measures introduced over quality and integrity concerns, including raising the cost of a study visa to AUD$2,000, are going “too far”.
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