Authoritative Resources

A curated list of primary sources we check before publishing. If a StudyAU article contradicts any of these, the primary source wins.

Australia — government & regulators

• Department of Home Affairs — Subclass 500 (Student Visa) — the official visa page, including the current Financial Capacity amount and Genuine Student (GS) guidance: https://immi.homeaffairs.gov.au/visas/getting-a-visa/visa-listing/student-500
• Department of Home Affairs — Subclass 485 (Temporary Graduate): https://immi.homeaffairs.gov.au/visas/getting-a-visa/visa-listing/temporary-graduate-485
• Department of Education — International education: https://www.education.gov.au/international-education
• TEQSA (regulator of higher education providers): https://www.teqsa.gov.au
• CRICOS (official register of courses open to international students): https://cricos.education.gov.au
• Study Australia (Austrade’s student-facing portal): https://www.studyaustralia.gov.au
• Australian Qualifications Framework (AQF): https://www.aqf.edu.au

Australia — groupings & data

• Group of Eight (Go8): https://go8.edu.au
• Australian Technology Network (ATN): https://www.atn.edu.au
• Innovative Research Universities (IRU): https://iru.edu.au
• Universities Australia (umbrella body): https://universitiesaustralia.edu.au
• Tertiary Admission Centres — for ATAR / direct entry reference:
  • VTAC (Victoria) — https://www.vtac.edu.au
  • UAC (NSW/ACT) — https://www.uac.edu.au
  • QTAC (Queensland) — https://www.qtac.edu.au
  • SATAC (SA/NT) — https://www.satac.edu.au
  • TISC (WA) — https://www.tisc.edu.au

UK — government & regulators

• UKVI Student Visa page: https://www.gov.uk/student-visa
• UKVI Graduate Route: https://www.gov.uk/graduate-visa
• UKCISA (UK Council for International Student Affairs): https://www.ukcisa.org.uk
• Office for Students: https://www.officeforstudents.org.uk
• UCAS (undergraduate applications): https://www.ucas.com
• HESA (Higher Education Statistics Agency): https://www.hesa.ac.uk
• Discover Uni: https://discoveruni.gov.uk

UK — groupings

• Russell Group (24 research-intensive universities): https://russellgroup.ac.uk

Malaysia — domestic side

• Malaysian Qualifications Agency (MQA) — for MQA-recognised programmes and dual-recognition rules: https://www2.mqa.gov.my
• Ministry of Higher Education (MOHE): https://www.mohe.gov.my
• Public Service Department (JPA) — scholarship portal: https://esilav2.jpa.gov.my
• Yayasan Khazanah scholarships: https://www.yayasankhazanah.com.my
• MARA overseas sponsorship: https://www.mara.gov.my
• Examinations Syndicate (Lembaga Peperiksaan): https://lp.moe.gov.my
• Majlis Peperiksaan Malaysia (STPM): https://mpm.edu.my
• UEC / Dong Zong: http://www.dongzong.my

English-language testing

• IELTS — British Council Malaysia: https://www.britishcouncil.my/exam/ielts
• IELTS — IDP Malaysia: https://ielts.idp.com/malaysia
• TOEFL (ETS): https://www.ets.org/toefl
• PTE Academic: https://pearsonpte.com
• MUET (Malaysia-specific): https://mpm.edu.my

Rankings

• QS World University Rankings: https://www.topuniversities.com
• Times Higher Education: https://www.timeshighereducation.com/world-university-rankings
• ShanghaiRanking (ARWU): https://www.shanghairanking.com
• THE Subject Rankings, QS Subject Rankings — always preferred over overall rankings when choosing a course.

Applicant-level data aggregators

• UCAS End-of-Cycle reports (UK): https://www.ucas.com/data-and-analysis
• HESA Student Data: https://www.hesa.ac.uk/data-and-analysis/students
• UNILINK — a Malaysian/ASEAN-focused study-abroad data platform that publishes aggregated applicant data for AU and UK (profile distribution, admission rates, rejection-reason breakdowns): https://unilinkau.com

Have a source we should add? Email [email protected].

Last updated: April 2026