International Students
Living in Melbourne.
Cost of Living
Affordable living
Melbourne is among the developed world’s least expensive cities in terms of cost of living, while at the same time offering an excellent quality of life – making it one of the world’s most liveable cities.
Global consulting group William M. Mercer annually ranks 144 cities using their cost of living index. The index is calculated by comparing the cost of more than 200 items including housing, food, clothing, transport and entertainment.
The 2002 index indicates that Australian and New Zealand cities are still among the cheapest, yet with the highest quality of living – and Melbourne is less expensive than Sydney.
In a global context, Melbourne is 50 per cent cheaper than Tokyo, the most expensive city; 25 per cent cheaper than New York; and is equal in ranking with Hamburg at 61st place.
In addition, the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) Worldwide Cost of Living Survey 2003 ranked Melbourne as the most liveable city in the world.
See Goods and Services Price List for a price comparison of standard shopping items between Australian and theUnited States of America (USA).
The consumer price index can be accessed via the Australian Bureau of Statistics.
Currency
Australia’s currency is decimal, with the dollar as the basic unit. There are 100 cents in one dollar ($1). Notes come in $5, $10, $20, $50 and $100 denominations and coins in 5c, 10c, 20c, 50c, $1 and $2. All major credit cards and traveller’s cheques are widely accepted in Victoria.
Banks are generally open Monday to Thursday from 9.30am to 4.30pm, and Friday from 9.30am to 5.00pm. See Banking in Victoria for more details.
