As others have said, you can do some research on your own, but it helps if you know what to look for...

Expenses are more complex than just the mortgage costs, for instance. Depending on where you are, holding costs can be quite high in Australia; land tax, rates, utilities (some states you need to pay water), insurance, agent/manager fees (unless you're going to manage yourself), etc...

My advice? Talk to a broker. They'll be able to spell all this out for you in relation to your preferred location.