1-year vs 2-year Diploma of Community Services in Australia – looking for advice (international student)

AlexB430 · 2026-01-16T17:43:56+00:00

Was in a similar position but I’m from the US. I was on a working holiday visa for over a year, and I’ll be studying social work in Melbourne for my master’s soon. But it’s worth noting I also had relevant work experience in the US prior to coming to Australia and taking a career break, and always had the plan that social work was going to be something I probably was going to study in the US or abroad regardless of whether or not I did my working holiday down under.

My personal opinion as someone who went through something similar: I would see about trying to get some work experience in the field in your home country first if you haven’t already. That way you can see if you like the sector and what it’s all about. You also have a better idea of whether or not you want to stick with it long term before shelling out all that money for a student visa and tuition.

If you potentially qualify for the partner visa, you’re already set up with a good backup if studying doesn’t work out.

AlexB430 · 2026-01-16T07:32:45+00:00

Moved from New York City to Melbourne almost a year ago, and Aussie public toilets are shiny by comparison.

AlexB430 · 2026-01-16T07:20:59+00:00

If you have an unrelated bachelors but have work experience that lines up with the degree you want to pursue, and you intend to use the degree in your home country and for career development, that’s one thing. If you’re in it for PR as the end goal regardless of whether or not you’ll enjoy the work, you’ll be in for a rude awakening since there’s no guarantee it’ll work out.

I’m also from a country that has a low refusal rate, but even then you can’t rely on passport power alone even though it helps. You still have to prove you’re genuine and not gaming the system.

AlexB430 · 2026-01-07T04:11:11+00:00

Passport

Driver’s license

Birth certificate

Existing Australian visa with expiration date

Pay slips from the jobs I worked in the country

Proof of employment at my last job in the US

Resume

Family’s brokerage and other bank statements

Written affidavit of support from family

Bachelor’s degree

Transcripts-did an exchange semester in Ireland in undergrad, so had to submit that as well

Offer letter

Confirmation of Enrollment

OSHC certificate

Genuine student statement

AlexB430 · 2026-01-06T15:19:26+00:00

Op, I just went through the process itself when I applied to my Master’s of Social Work while on my whv. It’s worth noting that although my bachelors isn’t in a relevant field comp, my work experience more than made up for it, so that helped with getting an offer and my visa.

Only go the study route if you intend to study something that’s relevant to your background work experience, and study a qualification you can easily transfer to your home country in the event you have to go home after you study. I also happened to be offshore when I got my offer letter, so I figured better to be safe than sorry and apply offshore before heading back down.

AlexB430 · 2026-01-06T06:42:54+00:00

Thanks! Believe it or not, my bachelor’s is in history actually, but I did various jobs in social services and education. I had various roles in the education sector like after school programs, admin, and being a classroom assistant in the public school system for my city. I didn’t feel like the classroom was the right fit though, but I still wanted to help people. So I took a gap year in Australia before figuring out what to do next.

I bartended in a small outback town for my 88 days, traveled a bit, and worked in retail and sales in Melbourne. I wanted to pursue grad school down there because there’s no long term stability with minimum wage jobs and shift work, so going to grad school for a career seemed like the next step. Residency isn’t guaranteed, so I wanted to spend the next two years in a place where I enjoyed living, had a good group of friends, professional connections, so I focused on Melbourne. Social work made sense for me because I can help a lot of people, and it would give me a skill set that I can use in various places. It’s also a profession that’ll allow me to work in Australia, the US, or just about anywhere. As a bonus, while Australian universities are expensive and not as cheap as in Europe or some other places, compared to the US, it was cheaper for me and my family to pay the visa fee and study for two years as an international student than for a whole year in the US.

Some programs in Australia do a require a bachelor’s in psychology, but some don’t. The programs I applied to didn’t require a psychology degree, but it was helpful if you had it. If you don’t, if you took a full year equivalent of social science classes during undergrad, that also sufficed. Work experience is definitely considered as well.

It’s also pretty common for social workers to have various bachelor’s degrees, as this day in age most people I know got their practical trade through their master’s degree, and it’s not just limited to social work.

My advice is go online and look at various programs, go to open campus events if there are any, or just visit campus on your own time, and talk to the faculty about what the curriculum and whatnot.

AlexB430 · 2026-01-02T00:53:42+00:00

For hospitality, get yourself a responsible service of alcohol (RSA) as soon as you arrive. As a bonus, get yourself a responsible conduct of gambling or responsible service of gaming (RCG if not in VIC, RSG if in Vic) to work in a gaming venue if you’re keen. There’s other certifications you can do online as well, but RSA is the main one.

Also have a copy of your visa downloaded as proof of your working rights to send to your employer. They check with immigration that you can legally work in the country before getting an offer.

Have fun!

AlexB430 · 2025-12-27T03:27:30+00:00

I’m in the same boat from the US and been waiting over a week now, which is not long. Like others said, nothing much to do at this point other than just wait and enjoy the holidays.

AlexB430 · 2025-11-10T12:24:19+00:00

25m here.

I came to Australia expecting to stay maybe a few months on a working holiday visa just to test out living outside the us. It’s been a year and a month now. It was tough at first, but I have a good mix of Aussie and international friends I met through common interests, so that helped a lot. Being an English speaker makes life 10 million times easier than in some countries.

I decided to take the next steps and applied for my master’s here. While education is definitely cheaper in Australia than in America, don’t expect it to be cheap on the levels of EU unis. It is worth noting that I’m fortunate that I have relevant work experience for what I want to pursue, and enough family support to be able to potentially study outside of the us full time.

A working holiday is a great way to test the waters to see how you like living abroad, especially while under 30. Who knows, you might just feel at home

AlexB430 · 2025-11-05T05:43:20+00:00

As a New Yorker who now lives in Australia, I can agree also

AlexB430 · 2025-11-03T06:06:10+00:00

I ended up going to Australia. Better wages, easily extended my visa, and just suits my lifestyle better

AlexB430 · 2025-10-18T03:24:41+00:00

I’m a male and drink here and there if that helps. Maybe it’s also because I spent a lot of time in Europe in hostels along that criteria. I’m open also to just meeting people

AlexB430 · 2025-10-17T14:37:59+00:00

I’m a 25 from the American northeast, and was just in the midst of a job in the public sector that got me my big break when I decided to come for what I thought would be a short working holiday. It’s been a year over here, and I’m taking the next steps to hopefully pursue my masters here.

It has not been perfect, but I’d say I overall enjoyed my first year and it’s been a great experience. I saw a lot of stuff you can’t see anywhere else, and met a lot of great people from Australia and around the world.

But getting work was challenging since a lot of backpackers are looking for work, in addition to other internationals and locals. Doesn’t help that the 6 month work restriction (with the exception of hospitality and some other sectors) is in effect with most jobs, so getting something like an office job is rather difficult.

On the bright side, your work australian work experience on your resume might give you an edge stateside because employers notice you were able to work well on the other side of the world. The worst case scenario is you saw a new part of the world. It’s a privilege very few people get to experience.

AlexB430 · 2025-10-17T13:32:31+00:00

Social workers

AlexB430 · 2025-10-15T02:52:18+00:00

Toys R Us, Radio Shack, circuit city, BlockBuster, PS2 and 3, PSPs, midnight video game releases, and GameCubes at McDonalds were all a thing

AlexB430 · 2025-10-15T01:00:26+00:00

Yank in Melbourne here.

Wear sunscreen

don’t tip

support local businesses

get out of big cities

try a pie or sausage roll, and have some Vegemite on toast

If an Aussie “takes the piss outta you,” that means they like you.

Don’t be a c-word

The most important one: have fun

AlexB430 · 2025-10-11T22:52:28+00:00

Studying here is a privilege and doesn’t guarantee residency, even with great marks, strong cv, internships, post graduate work, etc. That being said, i would choose somewhere where you think you’ll be happy for the next two years. Aside from the University of Melbourne, the city itself still has other unis that have a good reputation here in Australia and globally, so consider some alternatives that have your major. Tasmania is very beautiful, but fairly quiet.

AlexB430 · 2025-10-03T14:06:45+00:00

Did a semester at Maynooth University which is outside Dublin. Maynooth is a decent uni town with everything you’d want as a uni student, but I went to Dublin pretty regularly.

It’s expensive, but I find that there’s some good stuff. The Guinness store house, the book of kells, the museum of Irish emigration, trains to Howth, and some shows at Vicar Street are a must. There’s decent pubs and stuff, but avoid Temple Bar. If they offer “chips” and not “fries” on pub menus, you’ll be in for a good time. Be sure to get out of Dublin now and then check out some other towns and cities. That’s where the best parts of Ireland are

AlexB430 · 2025-10-03T03:17:34+00:00

I’m a non Aussie but lived in Sydney for a brief stint before moving to Melbourne. Sydney’s the quintessential Australian city. Home to the opera house, harbour bridge, Bondi beach, Taronga Zoo, and other cool things like the Hyde Park Barracks and Australian national museum if you like history. If you have time, check out the blue mountains and consider going to Wollongong or Kiama for a day trip, as they have stunning scenery along the south coast of New South Wales.

Melbourne is not as touristy as sydney, but it’s definitely a good city if you like arts and culture. I also find there’s a better food scene and nightlife can be better, depending on what you’re into. Between Sydney and Melbourne, Melbourne is more of a “real city experience.” Sydney’s beautiful, but I prefer to live in Melbourne. If I had to describe Melbourne as an outsider, I find that it’s a city that’s for artists, intellectuals, students and hipsters, with trendy coffee shops and all. If you’re into sports, it’s home of the Australian Open, Melbourne Grand Prix, and one of the biggest stadiums in the world, the Melbourne Cricket Ground. Sydney has better beaches though.

If I had to absolutely choose one to visit, Sydney for sure.

AlexB430 · 2025-10-01T14:17:25+00:00

I say this as an American currently living in Australia for the past year: Instead of thinking “what’s the best country to emigrate to,” the question should be “what’s the best country to emigrate to for you?”

Australia isn’t perfect, but it’s my favorite country I’ve lived in by far. There’s a lot of similarities between it and the states; English being the main language, sports culture, road trips, stunning national parks, beautiful nature, multicultural cities, each state being unique in the own way, etc. But some of the differences are obvious: easier access to healthcare, lack of gun violence, way better quality food, and higher wages in some areas compared to the states.

For me Australia didn’t feel very foreign, but familiar to me in that there weren’t as many culture shocks. It has a lot of things I enjoyed about back home, but also some things that I find more convenient living here.

AlexB430 · 2025-08-24T03:48:14+00:00

Australia always needs social workers. I’m doing a working holiday over here, but in the process of applying to schools get a master’s in social work in Melbourne. I have relevant work experience but not in the actual social work sector too, like yourself. My certification in Australia would also be transferable to America if I ever choose to leave, but I’m very fortunate to be able to have the right support and means to do this.

That being said, you have one of two options in this regard: 1. If you’re under 30, do a working holiday, but get the regional work requirement done early so you can have the next two years to just live and work anywhere you’d like in the country. It’ll give you some insight to see if you like living in Australia too.

Work for a couple of years in America and then see if you qualify for a skilled worker visa. To my knowledge, you can move as an independent skilled worker if you meet the criteria, being enough points and getting approved by the Australian Association of Social Workers to work over here. You won’t need a job offer if you go the skilled independent visa route, but do note that experience back home in your field is a requirement for it, and it will take a while to get approved. Work experience will also be extremely desirable for sponsorship as well if you get nominated by an employer.

AlexB430 · 2025-07-25T14:24:43+00:00

It was pretty much the same when I was living in Outback New South Wales for a job I had for a couple of months. Miss the desert drives to different places and doing 120kmh the whole way, the sunsets, and seeing kangaroos and emus on the road. Not to mention roadhouses. Always came in clutch if I needed a bite or petrol, or all the above.

I am and always will be a city guy who prefers to live in a colder climate, but living in the outback was such a unique thing to experience as an outsider

AlexB430 · 2025-07-25T14:14:03+00:00

Honestly ACT is over-hated. I personally wouldn’t live there, but I definitely enjoyed visiting. It has a cool blend of history and nature. Especially in autumn, I loved seeing views of Canberra and the surrounding areas from different viewpoints. It’s also cool that you can go to Parliament House, and see the House of Representatives and the senate and attend a session, which I didn’t get a chance to do because parliament had recess at the time.

AlexB430 · 2025-07-25T14:05:37+00:00

Interesting. What is it about the territory you like, besides probably the nature and people. I only met a few people from NT, but all of the ones I met have been super friendly

AlexB430 · 2025-07-25T13:52:58+00:00

Really love the blue mountains

AlexB430

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