In-Demand Courses in Australia for Indian Students: Shortage List and Pay (2026)

In-Demand Courses in Australia for Indian Students
In-Demand Courses in Australia for Indian Students

On the 2025 Occupation Shortage List, the in-demand courses in Australia for Indian students are nursing, physiotherapy, occupational therapy, civil and electrical engineering, cyber security, teaching, construction management, and the electrician and carpentry trades. The table gives each job’s official rating, its permanent residence (PR) route and its median pay. The sections add 2027 fees.

Key Takeaways

  • BTech CS or IT: choose a cyber security master’s over general IT if a shortage rating matters.
  • BTech civil or electrical: choose a Master of Professional Engineering approved by Engineers Australia. Monash charges A$59,740 (about ₹40.2 lakh) a year.
  • Class 12 science, aiming for nursing: plan for PTE 63 overall, with 76 in Speaking and at least 58 to 60 in the other skills.
  • Any bachelor’s, aiming to teach school: plan for Academic IELTS 8.0 in Speaking and Listening and 7.0 in Reading and Writing.
  • Tight budget, hands-on: a Certificate III in Carpentry at TAFE Queensland, a government trade college, costs A$28,800 (about ₹19.4 lakh) in total.
  • Software, data science, accounting and management consulting jobs are No Shortage in 2025.
Table of Contents
In-Demand Courses in Australia: 2025 Shortage and No Shortage Ratings Scroll here ↓ IT, Cyber Security and Data Science Courses in Australia Scroll here ↓ Nursing, Physiotherapy and Teaching Courses: The English Score You Need Scroll here ↓ Engineering, Construction and Accounting Courses Scroll here ↓ Trade and Hospitality Courses at TAFE Scroll here ↓ Most In-Demand Courses in Australia for PR: What the Lists Decide Scroll here ↓ Frequently Asked Questions Scroll here ↓

In-Demand Courses in Australia: 2025 Shortage and No Shortage Ratings

Nine of the 15 degree-level jobs below are rated Shortage on the 2025 Occupation Shortage List from Jobs and Skills Australia, the federal jobs agency. Six are rated No Shortage, including software, data science and accounting. Shortage means employers struggle to fill jobs; it doesn't always mean a job is easier to get.

The TAFE trades below (carpentry, electrician, regional cookery) make 12.

OccupationCourse to study2025 national shortage ratingOn the main skilled list (lets you try for PR without a sponsor)?Median full-time pay in Australia (job group median, before tax; a guide, not a starting salary)
Registered Nurse (Aged Care)Master of Nursing PracticeShortageYesA$2,192 a week (about ₹76.7 lakh a year)
PhysiotherapistMaster of PhysiotherapyShortageYesA$1,888 a week (about ₹66.0 lakh a year)
Occupational TherapistMaster of Occupational TherapyShortageYesA$1,913 a week (about ₹66.9 lakh a year)
Civil EngineerMaster of Professional Engineering (Civil)ShortageYesA$2,217 a week (about ₹77.5 lakh a year)
Electrical EngineerMaster of Professional Engineering (Electrical)ShortageYesA$2,553 a week (about ₹89.3 lakh a year)
Construction Project ManagerMaster of Construction ManagementShortageYesA$3,751 a week (about ₹1.31 crore a year)
Cyber Security EngineerMaster of CybersecurityShortageYes*A$2,461 a week (about ₹86.1 lakh a year)
Secondary School TeacherMaster of Teaching (Secondary)ShortageYesA$2,322 a week (about ₹81.2 lakh a year)
Early Childhood TeacherMaster of Teaching (Early Childhood)ShortageYesA$1,906 a week (about ₹66.7 lakh a year)
Software EngineerMaster of Information TechnologyNo ShortageYesA$2,537 a week (about ₹88.7 lakh a year)
Data ScientistMaster of Data ScienceNo ShortageNoA$2,072 a week (about ₹72.5 lakh a year)
ICT Business AnalystMaster of Business AnalyticsNo ShortageYesA$2,697 a week (about ₹94.3 lakh a year)
Mechanical EngineerMaster of Professional Engineering (Mechanical)No ShortageYesA$2,614 a week (about ₹91.4 lakh a year)
Accountant (General)Master of Professional AccountingNo ShortageYesA$2,003 a week (about ₹70.1 lakh a year)
Social WorkerMaster of Social WorkNo ShortageYesA$2,172 a week (about ₹76.0 lakh a year)

INR figures use the live Google-published rate captured on 2026-10-08: A$1 ≈ ₹67.26. Rates fluctuate intraday; figures are indicative. Yearly INR = weekly pay x 52.

If PR matters, read the rating and skilled list columns first. For salary, compare pay with the all-jobs median of A$1,852 a week. Our study in Australia guide covers the rest.

IT, Cyber Security and Data Science Courses in Australia

Software engineering is no longer a shortage job.

It was rated Shortage in 2023 and 2024, then No Shortage in 2025. Of the IT jobs in the table, only cyber security engineer is rated Shortage nationally:

  • Cyber security engineer: in Shortage in every state; for PR without a sponsor, apply under its older list name, ICT Security Specialist. Cyber security analyst is No Shortage across Australia, and short only in Queensland, South Australia and the Canberra region.
  • Data science: not on the main skilled list. A state can still nominate it for PR under a catch-all job code, and employers can sponsor it.
  • Business analytics: ICT Business Analyst is No Shortage, though it pays the most of the IT jobs here.

For 2027, a year at Monash costs A$57,540 for the Master of Information Technology and A$60,040 for the Master of Cybersecurity. RMIT’s Master of Information Technology costs A$47,040 a year. Pick cyber security for the shortage rating, or RMIT’s IT master’s for the lower fee.

Nursing, Physiotherapy and Teaching Courses: The English Score You Need

For tests taken from 23 April 2026, nurses and physios need PTE 63 overall to register in Australia, with at least 76 in Speaking, 60 in Writing, 59 in Reading and 58 in Listening; both boards set the same scores.

On IELTS Academic, taken at a test centre, you need 7 in each skill, except 6.5 in Writing. The nursing English rule applies even if you study nursing in Australia.

In our sessions, students and parents misjudge this English score more than any other step.

Book PTE practice before you pay a deposit. Our entry requirements guide lists the documents.

Teachers face their own English rule for their skills check, the official check that a degree fits the job. The national teaching body waives the test only after at least 4 full years of university study in Australia, Canada, Ireland, New Zealand, the UK or the US. Indian study doesn’t count, and a 2-year Australian master’s gives only two. So plan for Academic IELTS 7.0 in Reading and Writing and 8.0 in Speaking and Listening, on one test report. Early childhood teachers go to a separate childcare body for that check.

If you’re torn between health and IT, health care is commonly named among the fields with the strongest job growth ahead. One downside: physios and occupational therapists earn close to the all-jobs median pay in Australia.

Engineering, Construction and Accounting Courses

Civil and electrical engineering jobs are rated Shortage. Mechanical engineering is not, except in South Australia, Western Australia and the Northern Territory, where it is short.

Engineers Australia, the engineering body, checks your degree, so pick one it approves, such as the Monash Master of Professional Engineering. It costs A$59,740 a year for 2027, over 2 or 3 years. Our master’s in Australia guide compares others.

  • Construction management: Construction Project Manager is in Shortage and has the highest median pay in the table.
  • Accounting: general accountants are No Shortage. The Monash Master of Professional Accounting costs A$62,140 a year for 2 years.
  • MBA: a common MBA job, Management Consultant, is No Shortage.

Of these courses, accounting costs the most and isn’t in shortage. Choose it only if you want to be an accountant. Our cost of studying in Australia guide adds living costs.

Trade and Hospitality Courses at TAFE

Say you’ve finished Class 12, want hands-on work and have a tight budget. Then trades at a TAFE (a government-run trade college) fit: of the in-demand courses in Australia for Indian students, they cost less in total than one year of any master’s above:

  • Carpentry: the TAFE Queensland Certificate III in Carpentry costs A$28,800 in total for 2 years. Carpenters are in national Shortage, with median pay of A$1,760 a week.
  • Commercial cookery: TAFE Queensland’s Certificate IV in Kitchen Management costs A$33,300 in total for 18 months. Chefs are short in regional areas across Australia, and everywhere in the Northern Territory and the Canberra region. Median pay is A$1,423 a week.
  • Electrician: a national Shortage job paying A$2,191 a week, but hard to enrol in as an overseas student. It’s not on TAFE Queensland’s price list for overseas students. Swinburne offers it to local students only, and TAFE SA needs a training contract with an employer. One private Sydney college lists it at A$32,000, cut to A$26,000 at its current offer, on its own course page.

A trade course can lead to an 18-month work visa after study. Your diploma or trade qualification must fit a job on a skilled occupation list. You must also have applied for an official skills check in that job. Carpentry is the best bet: it has the lowest fee of the public-college courses here, and it takes overseas students. Compare a bachelor’s in our guide to studying in Australia after 12th.

Most In-Demand Courses in Australia for PR: What the Lists Decide

No course guarantees permanent residence (PR) in Australia. If your job is on the main skilled list, you can try for PR without a sponsor, but only after an official invitation to apply. If it is not, a state government may nominate you for a PR visa if your job is on its list, or an employer may sponsor you.

After a master’s, Indian graduates can stay and work for 3 years on the post-study work visa (subclass 485), under an India-Australia trade deal.

Whichever of the in-demand courses in Australia for Indian students you pick, your exact job title matters more for PR than its name. Check yours on the government’s skilled occupation list. After a degree (not a trade course), you can add work years if you study in a smaller city and live there for at least 2 years on your first post-study visa:

  • Perth, Adelaide, Gold Coast, Sunshine Coast, Canberra, Newcastle, Wollongong or Geelong: 1 extra year on a second post-study work visa.
  • Hobart: can get 2 extra years, under an exception for Tasmania.
  • Any other regional town (see the designated regional areas): 2 extra years.
  • Sydney, Melbourne or Brisbane (study or live there): no extra years.

If PR is the goal, choose a regional campus and live there too. Our post-study work visa guide explains the rules.

From our counselling desk: In our sessions in Hyderabad and Tirupati, families who chose well matched aptitude to a field first. Engineering and IT students who took the work placements built into their degree found graduate jobs fastest.

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Frequently Asked Questions

The best courses in Australia for Indian students match a field you enjoy to a job rated Shortage. Nursing, civil engineering, cyber security, teaching and the trades fit. If two fields interest you equally, pick the one rated Shortage. If only one does, study that one.

On the 2025 list, nurses (aged care), civil engineers, secondary teachers and electricians are in Shortage in every state and territory. Across 2021 to 2025, 139 job types were in shortage every year, and 51% of those were technician and trade jobs. So trade jobs make up the biggest share of long-running shortages.

Not directly. A diploma or trade qualification linked to a skilled-list job can lead to an 18-month work visa after study, if you’ve applied for a skills check. PR needs a separate skilled visa later, and no diploma promises that you’ll be invited to apply.

Not as a shortage job. Software engineering was rated Shortage in 2023 and 2024, then fell to No Shortage in 2025. It’s still on the main skilled list, so you can try for PR without a sponsor, but only after an official skills check and an invitation to apply.

You need to show your first year’s tuition, A$2,000 (about ₹1.3 lakh) for travel and A$29,710 (about ₹20.0 lakh) for 12 months of living costs. Or show parents’ or partner’s income of at least A$87,856 (about ₹59.1 lakh) in the 12 months before you apply. The visa costs from A$2,500 (about ₹1.7 lakh). Our student visa guide lists the documents.

Pick by aptitude first, then job title, then fee. Ardent Overseas has guided Indian students on overseas admissions since 2014, from offices in Hyderabad and Tirupati, and has processed more than 12,000 visas. Our study in Australia consultants in Hyderabad check each shortlist against the shortage ratings, skilled list and English scores above before you pay a deposit. Other fields are in our guide to courses in Australia.

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