12 LPA to $110K AUD. Did Moving to Australia Actually Pay Off?

I moved from India to Australia in 2024. I was earning 12 LPA as a Software Developer when I left. Today I earn $110-120K AUD as a Voice AI Engineer in Melbourne.

Those are the two numbers that fit on a reel. This post runs the part they leave out: the upfront cost, the two years of income given up, the real Melbourne savings, and the break-even point where the move finally pays off compared to staying.

The number that actually matters is the one in the middle. The cost. The years. The counterfactual. Most comparison posts stop at "my salary is 7x bigger now" and never run the rest.

This is the math I finally sat down and ran on my own decision.

Why this matters

The salary jump is the easy number to celebrate and the worst one to plan around. Skip the break-even math and you can spend 40 lakhs and two years of lost income chasing a payoff that only really lands if PR does. Run the numbers first and you go in knowing roughly which year you turn the corner, instead of finding out the hard way once the money and the time are already gone.

Who this is for

This is for you if:

• You are a developer or graduate weighing a move from India to Australia.
• You have seen the salary-jump posts and want the cost and break-even side too.
• You are budgeting a Master's in Melbourne and want a realistic savings picture.
• You are on, or heading for, the 485 visa and counting on PR to make the maths work.

The headline numbers

India, end of 2023: 12 LPA. Roughly 1 lakh INR per month, before tax.

Melbourne, today: $110-120K AUD per year. Roughly $9,200 AUD per month, before tax.

On paper, that is a 7-8x gross salary jump. On paper.

What the headline does not show

Three things eat that headline number before it means anything.

1. The upfront cost of getting here

The Master's, the visa, the relocation, and two years of living in Melbourne while I was a student cost me around 40 lakhs INR.

That is on the lean end of what a 2-year Master's in Melbourne actually costs. Full-freight Group of 8 tracks run closer to ₹60-90 lakhs once tuition and living are combined. Mine landed at 40 because of cheaper housing, careful budgeting, and a non-Go8 course. Your number will be higher if you go full Go8 or solo-lease in the CBD.

That money is not "paid later". It comes out of your savings and your family's backing before you ever see an AU paycheque.

2. The two years you give up

I moved in 2024. I did not start earning a full-time AU salary until late 2025. That is roughly two years of India salary I did not take, while my peers back home kept earning and compounding raises.

Assume 15% year-on-year growth (optimistic but not unreasonable for a mid-level Indian SWE). Two years of 12 LPA growing at 15% is roughly 27 lakhs INR in gross income I did not earn in India.

So the real opportunity cost of the move is not 40 lakhs. It is closer to 65-70 lakhs INR once you count the gap.

3. Melbourne is not cheap

$9,200 AUD gross looks massive from India. The lived version is smaller.

• Tax and Medicare levy: around $2,100-2,400 per month, depending on where you land in the $110-120K band and whether you hold private hospital cover
• Rent in Melbourne: $1,800-2,000
• Food and transport: $800-1,000
• Phone, internet, insurance, everything else: $500-700

A realistic savings band for this salary in Melbourne lands somewhere around $2,500-$3,200 per month after normal living costs. Good. Not life-changing.

The break-even math

Here is the version I finally did.

Scenario A (I stay in India, 12 LPA growing at 15% a year): over three years, I would have earned around 41-42 lakhs INR gross, taken home roughly 32 lakhs after tax, and realistically saved 12-15 lakhs after rent, food, and normal life.

Scenario B (I move to Australia in 2024): spent 40 lakhs to get here, earned nothing meaningful for two years, then started saving around $3,000 AUD (roughly 1.7 lakhs INR) a month from late 2025 once the full-time role kicked in.

To catch up with the India-version-of-me, I have to earn back the 40 lakhs I spent plus the 12-15 lakhs India-me would have saved. That is roughly 52-55 lakhs INR to break even.

At $3,000 AUD a month in actual savings, that is 30-32 months of full-time AU work after graduation.

My break-even point lands somewhere in mid-to-late 2027. About three years after moving. About two years after starting the full-time role.

That is the honest math.

What the math does not capture

Numbers are not the whole picture.

The AU salary compounds differently. My next raise is a percentage of $120K, not 12 LPA. PR opens up sponsored roles and higher bands that do not exist for me in India. International experience on a resume is priced in AUD, not INR.

The risk is also real. I am on the 485 Graduate visa and working toward PR. If PR does not land inside my visa window, the math flips hard. If a downturn hits and I lose the role before PR, the 40 lakhs is sunk cost with no local floor to catch me. These are my personal numbers and my situation. Everybody's visa path and salary path is different. For anything visa-specific, a Registered Migration Agent is the only person who can give you a real answer.

This is not a "moving to Australia is great" post. It is not an "it is a scam" post either. It is the actual math I ran on my own decision after the fact.

What you can do about it

You are not buying a salary jump. In my case, it is more like a 3-year arbitrage with a break-even point somewhere in year 3 or 4, and an upside that really only shows up if PR lands.

Before you book the ticket, write your own numbers down:

• What is the realistic AU salary band for your role, not the LinkedIn dream number?
• What does 3 years of Indian salary growth look like if you stay?
• What is the true cost of your specific course, in your specific city?
• How long does it realistically take to go from student to full-time role in your field?
• What happens to your numbers if PR does not land?

If the numbers still hold up after you write them down, the bet may make sense for you. If they do not, that is a signal to pause and get proper migration and financial advice before committing.

These are my personal numbers and lived experience. They are not migration, tax, or financial advice. Visa rules, salary bands, and costs change. Always verify with a Registered Migration Agent and a qualified financial adviser before making a decision this big.