FAQ’s for Students

First read the Pre-enrolment information on this website. Complete an application form and send it to the college
Email: admin@mercurycolleges.nsw.edu.au Postal Address: Level 1, 245 Castlereagh Street, Sydney NSW 2000 Australia

We provide computers in classrooms, free wifi and there are kitchens on each floor.

Yes, Mercury Colleges has agreements with some Australian universities and colleges that offer bachelor degrees.

These agreements give you advanced standing for particular subjects after you have successfully completed a course for example, Mercury’s Diploma of Leadership and Management.

Please contact us if you have any questions about this.

Your student visa allows you to work 40 hours a fortnight. Many of our students find a job in restaurants or hotels. Many others are working as cleaners and in convenience stores. Professional work is much harder to get because your student visa only allows you to work 40 hours a fortnight. Australia has rules about how much you must be paid. If you are not being paid correctly, contact the NSW Ombudsman.

Please go to www.immi.gov.au/students/students/working_while_studying/index.htm to learn about working conditions.

If you are on a student visa, you must come to class 20 hours per week and complete online study outside of class.

No. Mercury College does not have accommodation but we can help you find accommodation. A Student House and Homestay are available.

Yes. All you have to do is to fill out our credit card payment form. However, please remember that there is a surcharge of 2%.

Yes, if your course runs for more than 10 months. It costs between $AUD350 – $450 to extend.

All of the vocational education and training (VET) courses are 52 weeks per year including term breaks with the exception of:

BSB41515 Certificate IV in Project Management which is 26 weeks duration and;

CHC52015 Diploma of Community Services which is 104 weeks in duration including term breaks.

Yes for VET courses. No for English courses.

No. You can apply for RPL (Recognition of Prior Learning) if it is based on your work experience and for Course Credit if it is based on studies completed at another Australian RTO. A student visa might be shortened if RPL or course credit shortens a course. To get a course credit, you need to have exactly the same course and/or unit codes that Mercury has on its scope.

Sydney and Hurstville timetables offer classes in the mornings and evenings

Adelaide Campus offfer English classes between 9.00am to 2.30pm and VET coures are morning and afternoon, there are no evening courses.

Please see Student Services on your arrival.

To study BSB30115 Certificate III in Business you need an IELTS score of 5.0 overall, no less than 4.5 in each band or equivalent.

To study all of the other VET courses, you need and IELTS score of 5.5.

You don’t need to sit the IELTS exam if you have studied a Mercury Colleges English course and finished as an intermediate, or if you have an English certificate at upperiIntermediate level from another English language college. Also, your English can be tested by the Academic Manager at the College.

The length of visa will depend on the total length of the course.

Yes. To get a student visa you must complete a visa application form, lodge it & pay the visa application charge. For more information about student visas please visit www.immi.gov.au/

It depends on your country. Go to www.immi.gov/e_visa/index.htm for more information.

If you have any other questions please email us at info@mercurycolleges.nsw.edu.au

The codes on your visa tell us what you can and can’t do. To learn more, go to www.immi.gov.au/media/fact-sheets/50students.htm.

You can study for up to 3 months full-time or part-time.

Depending on the passport that you hold, you can apply for a tourist visa online. Go to www.eta.immi.gov.au to learn more.

No, if your visa says ‘No Further Stay’.

You must apply for a new visa before the old one expires. Please apply many weeks before your visa expires to allow for processing time.

Yes. Everyone must pay tuition fees. Private colleges get no money from the government.

On this website, go to Enrolment/Academic Calendar.

Yes and No.

The Business courses have four terms every year with ten weeks in each term. There are holidays between terms for three weeks. It is troubling to have holidays during term. How can you finish the course if you do not come to class? The reason for the holiday must be a reason that makes it not a holiday – for example the death of a parent.

You can only take a holiday during an English course, if you tell us when you are enrolling – not after. There are no refunds for time off.

On your first day at our college at Orientation, we will give you a student ID card. You can use your student card to get student discounts for some cinemas, theatres, museums, aquariums, art galleries etc. but not public transport.

Yes. We will give you with a letter. The letter says that you are a Mercury student. It will have your name, address in Sydney, date of birth, and course dates. You will need to take this letter and your passport to the bank.

There is a medical centre across the street from the College. Google Sydney medical centres to find more. If you want a doctor speaking your own language, you can contact your country’s consulate. They can help you. For more information go to www.dfat.gov.au/embassies.html.

No, only Australian students get discounts on Sydney transport.

Students usually need $A1500 – $A2000 each month to cover accommodation, transport, food, medicine and entertainment. This does not include air travel, insurance or tuition fees.

Summer (December – February), Autumn (March – May), Winter (June – August) and Spring (September – November).  For the current weather conditions in Australia, go to  the Bureau of Meterology website http://www.bom.gov.au/nsw/forecasts/sydney.shtml

Yes, you can. Our wifi is free.

The College is air-conditioned and most classrooms have computers.

Our teachers are Australian, American, British, Canadian, South African, Irish or New Zealanders, all speaking English perfectly.

You can pay fees by:

• Direct Deposit
• Telegraphic Transfer
• Credit Card – Visa, Mastercard, or Bankcard
• Bank draft or bank cheque.

Yes. As soon as you pay your tuition fees they are held in a trust account until you start the course.

Yes. But not if you are on a student visa.

If your course is 2 months or more, most visas allow international students to bring their family to Australia. Your family is your husband or wife and your children. They are called “your dependents”.

If you want to bring your dependents with you to Australia, there are specific arrangements for your family visas and living arrangements. Go to www.immi.gov.au/students/students/bringing_family/index.htm for more information.

Your children have to go to an Australian school and you must pay their tuition fees.

If you are on a student visa, you must have health insurance and pay the Overseas Student Health Cover (OHSC) when you pay your College fees. The College then pays the insurance company for you.  Go to www.health.gov.au/internet/wcms/publishing.nsf/content/health-privatehealth-providers-oscover.htm for more information.

Yes you can. Go to www.immi.gov.au for more information.

It depends on your visa.

First give us your Mercury application form completed. Then we will give a Letter of Offer. Then pay the fees. We then give you Confirmation of Enrolment (CoE). Take this CoE to the Australian embassy and apply for a student visa. For more information go to www.immi.gov.au.

• from South America (Chile, Argentina, Peru, Colombia, Venezuela & Brazil);
• from North America (Mexico);
• from the Middle East (Jordan);
• from South Asia (India, Pakistan, Nepal & Bangladesh);
• from East Asia (Japan, Korea, China, Taiwan, Vietnam, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia and the Philippines); and
• from Europe (Belarus, Russia, Ukraine, Poland, Estonia, Lithuania, Hungary, Greece, Slovakia, Italy, Spain and the Czech Republic).

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