Studying a chartered accountant in Australia is rewarding. It consists of rigorous education and the application of skills in the workplace. To study CA in Australia, one has to go through various eligibility criteria and make sure they are eligible. This is the first and foremost step. Once they are sure about their eligibility, they can go on to apply for a good CA provisional membership. Once they get the membership successfully, they are eligible to enrol in various CA programs and commence their studies.
Australia has several world-class universities for accounting, and these provide quality education and excellent accommodation and housing facilities. Students can apply to these colleges and universities to pursue CA in Australia. These institutes also offer various scholarship programs for which students can apply if eligible.
Table of Contents
- Why Pursue CA in Australia?
- CA Roles & Responsibilities in Australia
- Types of CA Courses in Australia
- Top Universities in Australia for CA Courses
- How to become a Chartered Accountant?
- Eligibility Criteria for CA in Australia
- Application Process to Study CA in Australia
- Cost of studying CA in Australia
- CA Jobs & Salary in Australia
- Top Recruiters
Why Pursue CA in Australia?
Australia is one of the top places to study CA in the world. It also has fantastic job opportunities for Accountants. Due to the high demand for CA job opportunities, students can get even more study opportunities.
It provides incredible study opportunities along with a competitive edge. Students can also qualify for several scholarship programmes, which can recoup up to 100% of their tuition.
Types of CA Courses in Australia
Unlike most countries, Australia has specially designated courses for Accounting. Students get to choose from many courses like a bachelor of arts or even a bachelor of business in accounting. Similarly, for a master's degree, students pick from several choices. After finishing a bachelor's degree, students can pursue a certificate diploma course or a CPA.
A student can choose from two entry routes to pursue CA in Australia, which are as follows:
- CA Foundation: Students willing to pursue a CA course after the 12th can choose to do it via the CA Foundation exam. Students prefer this route.
- CA IPCC: The students pursuing CA after graduation can choose to join the course at the CA IPCC level. To get accepted, students with a degree in commerce must have 55% marks, while other students must have at least 60% marks.
CA Roles & Responsibilities in Australia
In Australia, a CA manages and reports all the financial information of an organisation. In smaller companies, all the accounting responsibilities are handled by one person, while in more prominent companies, various departments are responsible for different accounting duties.
Some of the primary duties and responsibilities of an accountant are:
- Keeping check of bank statements and filing in general ledger entries
- Keeping check of employee expenses
- Keeping an eye on incoming and outgoing payments
- Creating a company's financial report
- Analyzing collected documents to determine the financial health of the company
- Analyzing financial data to determine a company's profit or loss statement.
- Examining software programs organise data.
- Creating financial reports that display the company's profit, equity, and cash flow.
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Top Universities in Australia for CA Courses
According to the latest QS world ranking, Australia has six universities under the top 50 best universities in the world. These universities provide unique study and internship opportunities and excellent accommodation and campus facilities.
Given below is a list of all the top accounting Australian universities and colleges, along with their QS Ranking:
|
University |
QS Ranking 2024 |
|
The University of New South Wales (UNSW Sydney) |
19 |
|
The University of Melbourne |
14 |
|
The University of Sydney |
=19 |
|
The Australian National University (ANU) |
34 |
|
Monash University |
42 |
|
The University of Queensland (UQ) |
43 |
|
Macquarie University |
=130 |
|
The University of Adelaide |
89 |
|
The University of Western Australia (UWA) |
72 |
|
University of Technology Sydney (UTS) |
90 |
|
Deakin University |
233 |
|
Queensland University of Technology (QUT) |
189 |
|
RMIT University |
140 |
|
University South Australia (UniSA) |
326 |
How to Become a Chartered Accountant in Australia?
The course of becoming a chartered accountant can be pretty rigorous and all-consuming. But, with the right amount of motivation and hard work, anyone can nail it.
One needs to follow four steps to become a chartered accountant. These are:
- Meet up with the eligibility criteria: One needs to look up the eligibility criteria for various CA programs and make sure they fulfil the requirements to enrol in the program.
- Acquire provisional level membership of Chartered Accountants of Australia and New Zealand: This is an essential step to enrol in any CA program in Australia or New Zealand. One needs to get a provisional membership of CA ANZ.
- Complete CA course and practical experience: Once they have acquired the provisional membership of CA ANZ, they can move on to apply for any course that they find suitable for themselves.
- Apply for full membership of Chartered Accountants of Australia and New Zealand: Finally, on completion of academic and practical components of the CA program, one can fill in to get the entire membership. If approved, they are officially a chartered accountant.
Eligibility Criteria for CA in Australia
In Australia, different colleges and universities have varied eligibility criteria. Each college or university has its marks cut off and requirements.
Given below are some standard eligibility criteria followed by most colleges and universities:
- Students must hold a CA ANZ accredited degree or qualification that the CA ANZ has assessed.
- If the students do not own a CA ANZ accredited degree; they must have an AU or NZ Bachelor's degree or equivalent.
- Students must have an IELTS score of a minimum of 6.5 with no score less than 6.0 in all four components, or they must have passed CA ANZ complete migration skills assessments.
- Students must have a minimum of 1-year full-time approval to study in English.
- Students must have three years of paid or voluntary employment in an English-speaking country.
- Australian universities accept English language skills tests like IELTS, TOEFL iBT, PTE, and CAE.
Application Process to Study CA in Australia
The application process to study CA in Australia is a rather complicated one. One needs to fill up various applications and go through some check-ups to get selected and further pursue CA in Australia.
Students need to follow four steps when applying to study CA in Australia:
- Ensure they meet all the requirements to access the CA Program and CA ANZ provisional membership.
- They must apply to get a provisional membership in CA ANZ before enrolling in any CA program.
- Once the students have successfully acquired the provisional membership for CA ANZ, they must apply for the CA program and pursue further studies.
- After the student has finished their CA program and three years of Mentored practical experience, they can apply for full CA ANZ membership.
Cost of Studying CA in Australia
The cost of pursuing an undergraduate degree in accounting at most Australian universities can range from $30,000 to $150,000. Should you choose to further your education, enrolling in a two-year master's program in accounting could set you back between $40,000 and more than $100,000.
CA Jobs & Salary in Australia
A chartered accountant in Australia can expect to make an average salary of AUD 81,000. As a newbie, they can expect a salary of AUD 43,700, which can go up to AUD 122,000 with experience and time.
The following are some of the top jobs that a chartered accountant can pursue, together with their average salaries:
|
Job Position |
Average Salary (AUD) |
|
Accountant |
$65,413 |
|
Senior Accountant |
$74,393 |
|
Finance Manager |
$116,854 |
|
Chartered Accountant |
$71,816 |
|
Chief Financial Officer |
$169,620 |
|
Financial Controller |
$129,001 |
|
Tax Accountant |
$62,798 |
Top Recruiters for CA Degree
Getting a CA job in Australia can get very tedious and tiring, but recruiting agencies can make this process easier. A candidate can get their ideal job in an excellent company, mainly in a competitive job market.
Candidates can even be fortunate enough to get a placement in some of the top companies in Australia.
Given below is a list of all the top recruitment agencies that one can join:
- ALRA
- Intro Recruitment Solutions
- AIR Recruitment
- Curamoir Healthcare Recruitment
- Building Partners Recruitment
- Selkirk group
- The nudge groups
- Construction-Recruitment
- AOS Recruitment
- Bridgeside recruitment
- Hinchen Resource
- Vroom Vroom Recruitment
- Aptus Personnel
- Mobilize Labour Solutions
- JJP Talent Solutions
Still unclear about anything? Well, not to worry. Contact AECC and get your queries answered today! AECC is one of the world's leading educational consultancies with versatile expert professionals ready to help you with any queries you may have. Contact us so we can be of assistance to you in your journey to achieving your dream.
