Cost of living while at College
Studying at Moore College can be costly and so students need to think carefully about the expenses, and plan for how they will fund their education before they apply. This is even more important for overseas students (whether single or a family).
General information
Things to be aware of:
- Scholarships are available; however, they are competitive and will not cover all your expenses.
- The Student Support Fund has been established to help students raise funds while they’re at College.
- If you are an overseas student, you should not assume that you can simply work in Australia while you are here. To do so requires a specific visa that will allow you to work, and these usually limit the number of hours you may be employed. Visas must be secured before you leave your home country, and work visas take longer to secure.
- If you are travelling with a spouse and/or family, they will also need visas and proof that they can support themselves, or be supported financially.
- Australia is a country with a high standard of living and hence relatively high expenses for accommodation, food, travel, education, medical and incidental expenses.
Single student costs example
By way of example, a single Moore College student could expect annual costs as follows:
- Full time undergraduate tuition fees: $21,600 (local students) or $25,900 (international students)
- Accommodation: $15,000-$20,000
- Groceries: $5,000-$10,000
- Public transport (bus, train, etc.): $500-$2000
- Car related costs (registration, insurance, petrol): $3,000-$5,000
- Clothing: $500-$1,000
- Health insurance: $500-$1,000
- Utilities (phone, internet, gas, water and electricity): $1,000-$2,000
- Incidentals (entertainment, stationery, sports, toiletries, etc.): $500-$2000
- Additional education expenses (conferences, books, etc.): $500-$1,000
The above suggests expenses of between around $48,000 AUD and around $70,000 AUD per year. This includes the time while College is in session and while College is out of session. Note that not all of these costs will be incurred by all students.
Married student costs example
A family of 2 adults (with one Moore College student) and two preschool aged children could expect annual costs as follows:
- Full-time undergraduate tuition fees: $21,600 (local students) or $25,900(international students)
- Accommodation: $20,000-$25,000
- Food:$10,000-$15,000
- Public transport (bus, train, etc.): $500-$2000
- Car related costs (registration, insurance, petrol): $3,000-$5,000
- Clothing:$1,000-$2,000
- Health insurance: $500-$5,000
- Utilities (phone, internet, gas, water and electricity): $1,000-$2,000
- Incidentals (entertainment, stationery, sports, toiletries, etc.): $500-$2000
- Additional education expenses (conferences, books, etc.) $500-$1,000
The above suggests expenses of between around $58,000 AUD and around $85,000 AUD per year. This includes the time while College is in session and while College is out of session. Note that not all of these costs will be incurred by all students.
If you’re an international student with school age children, you would need to consider additional costs (e.g. primary school age children need to pay fees of $13,000 per year, per child).
Other helpful links
The following are some helpful websites that might assist you:
- Helpful summary of Australian Government Support that’s available for students.
- The following budget planner can be used to estimate your income and expenses.
- General information for international students on fees and accommodation.
- Please also review the following website for visa conditions if you are planning to work whilst studying in order to generate income.
- Some of this information from Sydney University could be of assistance to you in managing your budget whilst at College.
- Students with a Centrelink Health Care Card can apply for Saver Plus. This provides $500 towards educational costs such as laptops, tablets and textbooks in a matched savings program.
If you’d like more information, please contact the Moore College Foundation on +61 (0)2 9577 9900 or foundation@moore.edu.au.
Student Support Fund (SSF)
Quicklinks
Donate to the Student Support Fund
Apply for the Student Support Fund
Current Student Support Fund Members
Background
Finding the funds to attend College full-time is challenging. Many need to obtain varied forms of support to make it possible. Some students may have already built a financial support base before coming to College, others perhaps not.
The College is committed to providing financial support to our students that will support them to continue in their studies. The Student Support Fund is a way to provide this type of additional support, particularly for living expenses. The Student Support Fund is administered with the security of the Moore College accounts system. The College encourages all students to be part of the Student Support Fund. The Moore College Foundation has a key role in providing encouragement to seek funds with appropriate supervision and support. Funds raised for the Student Support Fund are raised by the College for the support of our students, with students acting as agents of the College gathering support for the fund.
The fund was created to help students to be financially supported during their time at College instead of relying just on scholarships, paid work, FEE-Help, other government assistance, etc. As well as helping students to gain support, we’re aware that many full-time ministry roles require some element of fundraising. So, our students are learning helpful skills for a lifetime of ministry.
Eligibility
All Moore College students currently enrolled in an on campus accredited Moore College course are eligible to be part of the Student Support Fund.
Future students can register for the Student Support Fund once they have been accepted into their Moore College course. However, no scholarship payments will be made to them until after the census date for their first term at College each year.
All funds raised are pooled and distributed to the selected students in accordance with the relevant guidelines determined by the College. Students have no personal entitlement in respect of funds raised for the Student Support Fund, and payments will be made out of the Student Support Fund in the form of scholarships at the discretion of the College. Depending on the availability of funds in the Student Support Fund and the circumstances of a student, the College may, at its own discretion, change the amount of financial support from time to time. The College will retain all funds donated and received into the Student Support Fund if any future student does not commence studying at College after enrolling, or if any current student ceases studying at College.
If necessary, students should seek independent advice as to whether the scholarships may have any impact on their personal taxable income or government support.
Applications
Eligible students can apply using the form. For any questions, please contact the Moore College Foundation on +61 (0)2 9577 9900 or foundation@moore.edu.au.
Scholarships
The Moore College Foundation assesses applications to decide the level of funding to be granted from the Student Support Fund, as well as any special conditions. Students are required to fundraise on behalf of the College as a condition of being eligible to obtain scholarships from the fund. The Foundation Department decides and communicates fundraising targets and payment amounts in consultation with the respective student.
The Foundation is responsible for specifying the amounts to be given to the respective students as scholarships. It also reserves the right to withdraw or reduce funding where students don’t reach fundraising targets, don’t follow guidance provided, if financial circumstances change, or if the Student Support Fund does not have sufficient funds to continue supporting the students. In determining this, the Foundation first reviews whether sufficient funds have been raised to continue providing scholarships from the fund to students. Exceeding the fundraising targets by students does not necessarily increase scholarship amounts from the fund in any particular semester. Any increase of the scholarship amounts will depend on the financial circumstances of students, at the discretion of the College. An important principle of the fund is that it is not simply a collection of individual bank accounts, rather it is a fund that is created to raise enough funds for the College to provide financial support to existing and future students.
Reviews
The Foundation will review the fundraising performances of all students at least once per quarter, and will work with those who are behind schedule to help them to achieve their fundraising targets.
For advice on how to fundraise for the Student Support Fund, please see the following page on Raising Support.
Tax Deductible Status
As a higher education provider, Moore Theological College Council is a deductible gift recipient. As such, all donations to the College are tax deductible. This includes all donations to the Student Support Fund, which is an internal account of the College.
In order to be entitled to tax deductibility, donations are made to the College’s Student Support Fund, not for the exclusive use of an individual student. Hence, to achieve tax deductible status, donors must understand that they are contributing to the Student Support Fund, rather than donating a specific amount to individual students. Donations to the Student Support Fund are pooled; students then apply to access these funds; further fundraising may be a condition of being granted funds; and provision of financial support is at the discretion of the College.
Eligible Expenses
Student Support Fund scholarships are to be used for living and educational expenses such as: tuition fees, food, utilities, accommodation, books and travel. These must be included in student budgets when they apply for membership of the Student Support Fund. Please note that we do not deem tuition fees as an eligible expense for students with access to a FEE-HELP loan for tuition fees, except in extraordinary circumstances or if there’s an established agreement.
Student Support Fund scholarship grant distributions will be made after the census date of each semester. Half of a student’s grant will be paid after census date of semester 1 and the remaining half will be paid after census date of semester 2. There may be other arrangements in some exceptional circumstances and students should contact the Moore College Foundation to discuss this on +61 (0)2 9577 9900 or foundation@moore.edu.au.
Donor Contributions & Receipts
Donors can make contributions to the Student Support Fund through the College’s website, via an individual student’s support webpage, or by direct deposit or cheque to the College bank account, including the name of the student they would prefer their donation be directed. Individual student webpages and reference are used to track the respective student’s fundraising efforts. As mentioned above, donors must understand that they are contributing to the Student Support Fund of the College, rather than donating to individual students.
Receipts are issued to donors by the Moore College Foundation Department. Contact details and donations details are stored by Moore College and shared with the student who raised the funds.
Scholarships
Quicklinks
Scholarships information
Moore College provides a number of scholarships to eligible students enrolled in or intending to enrol in a Moore Theological College course of three major types:
- undergraduate courses
- postgraduate courses
- online Diploma in Biblical Theology course (overseas students only)
There are endowed scholarships in a range of areas subject to specific conditions and requirements of each award.
You can browse some examples of the scholarship awards on the Scholarship Awards page.
Scholarships are only awarded to persons who fulfil the requirements for admission to a program of study at the College. Students and prospective students are encouraged to apply for scholarships at any time, even before there’s been an outcome on their enrolment application. However, the Scholarships Committee cannot make a decision until enrolment has been offered and accepted. We encourage prospective students to apply for scholarships as part of the enrolment process to enable faster outcomes and to ensure students can have confidence in being able to afford study with us. Scholarships are generally meant to cover part of the costs of completing a qualification.
Scholarships are awarded based on the advice of the Scholarships Committee of the Moore College Foundation. This committee oversees all aspects of scholarships including applications, notifications, and the responsibility to ensure the wishes of donors are met. Unless specifically indicated otherwise in the terms, scholarships are awarded on the basis of financial need, merit and/or the applicant’s mission/ministry potential.
Applications for undergraduate and postgraduate scholarship support are assessed a minimum of four times per year. Out of phase applications may be considered on a case by case basis. In 2021, scholarships will be considered at committee meetings in January, April, July, October and December. The deadlines for submission of applications ahead of these meetings will be: Mon 18 January, Mon 19 April, Mon 12 July, Mon 27 September and Mon 22 November.
Please submit your application and it will be forwarded to the Scholarships Committee of the Moore College Foundation. For any scholarship related enquiries, please contact the Foundation on +61 (0)2 9577 9900 or Foundation@moore.edu.au.
If successful in obtaining a scholarship, conditions include:
- willingness to participate in promotional activities for the College and the fund
- submission of reports to the Scholarships Committee to demonstrate satisfactory progress
- the expectation that you will contact us if your circumstances change
For guidance on completing the section on annual income and expenses, please see Cost of College information.
Generally, scholarships are paid after the census date when the enrolled student commences study in the manner indicated in their scholarship application. Generally, when the scholarship recipient is an international student in arrears, the scholarship will be paid to the College towards fees when the fees become payable. Scholarships are not normally paid ahead of the year for which it has been awarded.
Unless otherwise stated, most scholarships are awarded for one year only, and scholarship recipients are required to submit another application if they wish to apply for a scholarship the following year.