English Courses at Inforum Gold Coast, Australia
Inforum Education is a boutique English school in Southport, on Australia's Gold Coast. One campus, small classes, a heritage building with a garden and barista coffee, and the beach a few minutes away.
1. Tell us your goal
2. We help you find the right program
3. We handle the paperwork
4. Ready to StartTL;DR: Quick summary
Inforum Education is a private English school on Short Street in Southport, on Australia's Gold Coast. Simon Craft opened it in 2007 and it has stayed a single campus ever since, which is the whole idea: you are one of about a hundred students, not one of a thousand. It is registered to teach international students in Australia, has won its category at the ST Star Awards three years running, and is one of the schools we recommend among the English courses on the Gold Coast.
Courses run from General English through IELTS and Cambridge exam preparation to High School Preparation, plus a Demi Pair option that cuts your living costs. Free workshops sit on top of every course, including the Super Work Ready sessions that get students job-ready in Australia.
Inforum has won the ST Star Award for English Language School, Southern Hemisphere, in 2023, 2024 and 2025, and is a finalist again in 2026.
- Six General English levels, elementary to advanced
- Classes average 8 to 16 students
- General English starts any Monday, 1 to 50 weeks
- Over 10,000 students have studied here since 2007
ViveCampus
ViveCampus is a leading education abroad agency with over 17 years of experience and more than 5,000 happy students worldwide. We handle the whole enrolment process with Inforum for you, we guide you through every step, and our help is free for you.
Why do students choose Inforum in 2026?
Inforum is not the biggest school on the Gold Coast, and students pick it for reasons that have little to do with size. These are the ones our advisors hear most.
One campus, one team, roughly a hundred students at a time. The Managing Director still teaches, the Accommodation Manager visits every host family herself, and reception knows your name in the first week. That is difficult to buy in a school with fourteen floors, and it is why students who arrive alone stop feeling alone quickly.
A restored heritage building with wide verandas, a beach-themed student lounge, a garden and a barista coffee machine the students actually use. Most people finish class and stay another hour. It looks nothing like a language school, which is the point.
The tram stop is fifty metres from the front door and the beach is a few minutes down the line. Students swim before class, surf after it, and study on a veranda in between. On the Gold Coast that is a normal Tuesday, not a holiday.
Classes average 8 to 16 students and Cambridge classes are capped at 15, so speaking time is not something you compete for. Inforum also runs a strict English-only policy across the building: a yellow card is a warning, a red card is a day out of class. Uncomfortable for a week, and the reason you start thinking in English by the third.
Up to 6 hours a week of free workshops on top of your course, and the Super Work Ready set is built for students who want to work here: barista training on the campus machine, the RSA certificate you need to serve alcohol, waitperson skills, an Australian-style resume and your Tax File Number. Most schools charge for this or do not offer it at all.
Inforum follows the CEFR levels and uses real Cambridge exams for every end-of-term test, rather than a paper the school wrote itself. You always know where you stand against an international standard, and you walk into the real exam having already sat its format.
Inforum has won Study Travel Magazine's ST Star Award for English Language School, Southern Hemisphere, in 2023, 2024 and 2025, and was shortlisted in 2015, 2016 and 2017. It is also a Department of Home Affairs Level 1 accredited college, the lowest immigration risk rating a provider can hold.
Source: Inforum Education Australia
Study English where other people come on holiday
The Gold Coast has 57 kilometres of beach, about 300 days of sunshine a year and World Heritage rainforest forty minutes inland. Inforum sits in Southport, the civic centre rather than the tourist strip, so you get the city that works as well as the coast everyone photographs.
That location does real work for you. Rent is lower here than in Surfers Paradise, part-time jobs are easier to find in a working city, and the light rail outside the door runs the length of the coast. Australia Fair shopping centre is a two-minute walk, and the library, the banks and the hospital are all inside five.
What English courses does Inforum offer?
Inforum follows the CEFR levels, the international standard, and places you with a free level test before you arrive. Every course below runs on the same campus with the same teachers, so you can move between them as your goal changes.
20 hours of class a week plus up to 6 hours of free workshops, so up to 26 if you want them. Six levels from Elementary to Advanced, A1 through C1, in six-week blocks with a progress test every three weeks and one-to-one time with your teacher. Start any Monday, stay from 1 to 50 weeks. CRICOS 076336C.
For the band score a university or a visa application asks for. 20 hours a week of IELTS core skills and exam technique, with mock tests under real conditions and one-to-one feedback on exactly where you are losing marks. 12 to 24 weeks, starting any Monday. CRICOS 062400D.
A certificate that never expires and that employers recognise worldwide. 22 hours a week for 12 weeks, 10 weeks on the January course, capped at 15 students. You start from Upper Intermediate A, around IELTS 5.0. Fixed dates tied to the exam calendar, and they fill early. CRICOS 062399C.
The level Australian universities and employers take seriously. Same 12-week shape and the same cap of 15, one step up: you start from around IELTS 6.0 or a B2 First pass. Taught by people who prepare students for this exam every year and know where the marks are won. CRICOS 076509J.
For students aged 14 to 18 going into an Australian high school. 25 hours a week of English plus mathematics, science, literature and presentation skills, with regular academic reports for the family at home. Places are limited and there is an interview first. CRICOS 115632A.
A short holiday programme in the Australian summer and winter breaks, two to four weeks long. English in the morning, the Gold Coast in the afternoon. Fixed dates each year, in January and again from late July.
Live with an Australian family, help with the children and light house duties for 15 hours a week, and study English the rest of the time. A private room and two meals a day, which cuts your living costs sharply and puts you in English from breakfast onwards. 12 weeks, Pre-Intermediate and above, on a Student or Working Holiday visa.
The most common courses for international students are General English and IELTS Exam Preparation
Source: ViveCampus
What should you know before applying to Inforum?
These notes come from our advisors, from the school's own materials and from students who have already gone. They are the things people wish they had known before they booked.
Costs, Dates, Application Process and other Considerations
Application Process - Start with Inforum's free placement test, which you take from home and get back within 24 business hours. It gives you your level and a realistic number of weeks to reach your goal. Then complete the contact form and one of our advisors will send you the exact steps for your country: which documents you need, how long each stage takes, and how the Australian student visa application works. We prepare and submit it for you.
Dates of the Program - General English, IELTS and High School Preparation start any Monday of the year, or the Tuesday when the Monday is a public holiday. Cambridge B2 First and C1 Advanced run on fixed dates tied to the exam calendar, usually January, March and September. The Young Learners Program runs in January and from late July.
Length of the Program - General English and High School Preparation run from 1 to 50 weeks, IELTS from 12 to 24, Cambridge courses 12 weeks and 10 for the January intake, and Demi Pair 12 weeks. Each General English level takes about six weeks, so it is worth counting in levels rather than in a round number of weeks.
Costs - What you pay depends on the course, how many weeks you book and the time of year, and longer bookings bring the weekly rate down. Complete the contact form at the end of the page and we will send you a full quote, with tuition, enrolment, materials and the promotion running that month, before you commit to anything. Want to sketch a budget first? Our study abroad budget calculator puts course fees, accommodation and everyday costs in one place.
Health Insurance - Overseas Student Health Cover (OSHC) is compulsory for student visa holders in Australia and has to cover the full length of the visa. Inforum arranges it alongside your enrolment so the dates line up, and works with Bupa. On a Working Holiday or visitor visa OSHC is not required, but travel insurance still is in practice.
Minimum Age - Inforum's adult courses take students from 16. Younger students have their own routes: High School Preparation is built for 14 to 18, and the Young Learners Program runs in the January and July holidays. We confirm the exact rule for your course and dates before the enrolment is sent.
Minimum English Level - None for General English. Complete beginners start at Elementary, there is no entrance exam and no certificate to send. The free placement test you take from home decides your class. The Cambridge and IELTS courses do have an entry level, around Upper Intermediate, and we check that with you before applying so you are never placed in a course that is wrong for you.
Visa Regulations - Which visa you need depends on how long you study. Courses under 12 weeks can often be done on a visitor visa or an eTA, and a Working Holiday visa allows up to four months of study. Longer full-time study needs a student visa (subclass 500), which requires at least 20 hours of class a week. Australia is one of our specialities: we prepare and submit the application, and translations are done by the ViveCampus team at no extra cost.
Working While You Study: - A student visa currently allows up to 48 hours of paid work per fortnight while your course runs, and no limit during scheduled breaks. Work rights are reviewed by the Australian government from time to time, so we check the figure for your start date before you fly. This is where Inforum's Super Work Ready workshops earn their place: barista training, the RSA certificate, waitperson skills, an Australian-style resume and your Tax File Number.
Accommodation - Three routes. Homestay with an Australian family, chosen personally by the school's Accommodation Manager rather than assigned from a list, with a private room and the meal plan you pick: none, breakfast and dinner, all three meals, or all three plus transport. A student residence for more independence. Or a share house from the campus noticeboard once you know the city. Homestay is usually the easiest first landing, and places fill fastest around popular start dates, so check availability with us early.
Extra Curricular Activities - Inforum runs a weekly activity programme that is a large part of why students stay longer than they planned: surfing lessons, kangaroo walks, local markets, Aussie barbecues, an eco tour in Springbrook National Park and day trips to Tangalooma Island. Students also get the Gold Coast Student Hub, a free service for international students in the city, on top of the school's own programme.
Airport Pickup - Airport transfers can be added to your booking from either Gold Coast airport, about an hour away, or Brisbane, a little further. It is worth it for a first arrival. After a long flight, in a new country, being met by name is worth more than the fee.
First day of classes - Orientation, a level placement test, a tour of the campus and your timetable. Bring your passport and your insurance details. You will meet the student committee the same morning, and they are the ones who tell you where to eat and which beach to go to first.
Keep in mind that the biggest expense is usually not the course itself, but the living costs. So, before choosing the cheapest school, consider all factors carefully
Source: ViveCampus
Great Location on the Gold Coast, Australia
Gold Coast is the reason a lot of students pick Queensland over Sydney or Melbourne, and Southport is one of its best-connected corners. Inforum sits with the tram at the door, the beach a few minutes down the line, and the Australia Fair shopping centre, the cafés and the restaurants all within a short walk.
Address: 13-15 Short Street, Southport, QLD 4215, Australia
About the Gold Coast
The Gold Coast is Australia's sixth largest city and its number one beach destination: 57 kilometres of coastline, about 300 days of sunshine a year, and World Heritage rainforest forty minutes inland. It is also one of the fastest growing cities in the country, and it is heading for a bigger stage, with events of the Brisbane 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games scheduled here. For a student that means a city getting more international every year, with the jobs and the transport that come with it. Southport, where Inforum is, is the civic heart: the hospital, the library, the courts and the light rail all meet here, so rent is lower than Surfers Paradise and part-time work is easier to find. Surfers Paradise itself is eleven minutes away on the tram.
Weather on the Gold Coast
The Gold Coast is subtropical, which is the short explanation for why so much of life here happens outside. Summer, from December to February, is warm and humid: highs around 29°C, nights near 20°C, and sun strong enough that sunscreen is not optional. Autumn, from March to May, is the stretch most students like best, easing from about 28°C down to 24°C by day and 19°C to 14°C at night. Winter, from June to August, is mild and dry rather than cold, roughly 20°C to 22°C in the day and 9°C to 11°C at night, and plenty of people still swim. Spring, from September to November, climbs back from 24°C to 28°C with nights between 12°C and 18°C. It does not snow, it rarely stays grey for long, and you will use the beach in every month of the year.
The Gold Coast in images
Class finishes and the beach is a few stops down the tram line. The theme parks are up the highway, the Broadwater sits on Southport's doorstep for kayaking and ferries, and the national parks behind the city fill a weekend on their own. The Gold Coast is built for being outdoors, and student life here follows it.
Source: Experience Gold Coast
What do students say about studying at Inforum?
Reading what other international students actually experienced is worth more than any brochure, including ours. It is normal to feel nervous about moving to the other side of the world, and these two felt it too.
My experience at Inforum was amazing! I loved studying in modern Gold Coast, especially the beach vibe. I’ll miss my wonderful classmates and great teachers so much. I highly recommend this program to all my friends in Brazil!
Inforum became like a second home to me. I’m so grateful to ViveCampus for recommending it. The teachers here helped me feel more confident speaking English in only six months, and I met friends I know I will keep forever. I will really miss our classes, and the coffee every morning :p
We publish testimonials only with the student's permission.
Source: ViveCampus
Inforum in images
How ViveCampus can help you
A ViveCampus advisor helps you find the right program for you according your goals, needs and budget.
Our advice is completely free, and the process is 100% transparent. You make all payments directly to Inforum.
When you apply through ViveCampus, you receive support from both the school and our team. We will assist you throughout the application process, the visa, the accommodation and the arrival.
You will also receive an international student card with thousands of discounts, along with other benefits that your educational consultant will explain.
Steps you should follow
1. Tell us your goal A short conversation about your needs, level, budget, dates and what you are looking for.
2. We clarify your doubts We answer all your questions about costs and requirements.
3. We handle the paperwork Application, letter of acceptance and the documents your visa or permit needs.
4. Ready to Start Accommodation confirmed, payments processed, and someone to call if anything goes wrong.
Frequently Asked Questions
These are the questions students ask our advisors most often before booking an English course at Inforum, covering entry documents, costs, class sizes, work rights and what the first week actually looks like.
Do I need a visa to study at Inforum?
It depends how long you stay. A course under 12 weeks can often be done on a visitor visa or an eTA, and a Working Holiday visa allows up to four months of study. Beyond that you need a student visa (subclass 500), which requires at least 20 hours of class a week, and that is also the visa that lets you work. Australia is one of our specialities: we prepare and submit the application for you, and any translations your file needs are done by our team at no extra cost.
How much does Inforum cost?
It depends on the course, the number of weeks and the time of year, and longer bookings lower the weekly rate. Complete the contact form and we will send you a full quote, tuition, enrolment and materials, with the best discount available for your dates. You can also work out a rough total yourself with our budget calculator for studying abroad. Our advice costs you nothing.
Is there a minimum English level to start?
For General English, no. Complete beginners start at Elementary and there is no entrance exam. You take a free placement test before you arrive, the result comes back within 24 business hours, and it also tells you roughly how many weeks you need to reach your goal. The Cambridge and IELTS courses do have an entry level, around Upper Intermediate, and we check that with you before applying so you are never placed in a course that is wrong for you.
How big are the classes?
General English and IELTS classes average 8 to 16 students, and Cambridge classes are capped at 15. That is small by Australian standards and it is the whole design of the school. In a class of ten you speak every day, which is simply not true in a class of twenty.
What is the English-only policy, and is it serious?
It is serious, and it is one of the reasons students improve quickly here. English is expected everywhere in the building, not only in class. A yellow card is a warning and a red card is a day out of class. Most students find it uncomfortable for about a week and are grateful for it afterwards, and it is why the school works so hard on its nationality mix.
When can I start at Inforum?
General English, IELTS and High School Preparation start any Monday of the year, or the Tuesday when the Monday is a public holiday. Cambridge B2 First and C1 Advanced run on fixed dates tied to the exam calendar, usually January, March and September, and those fill early. The Young Learners Program runs in January and from late July. Tell us your dates and we will confirm what still has places.
Can I work while I study?
Yes, on a student visa. You can currently work up to 48 hours per fortnight while your course is running, and without a limit during scheduled course breaks. Work rights are reviewed by the Australian government from time to time, so we check the figure that applies to your start date before you fly. Inforum helps with the practical side through its Super Work Ready workshops: the RSA certificate, barista training, waitperson skills, resume and interview coaching, and your Tax File Number application.
Is there a minimum age?
Inforum's adult courses take students from 16. Younger students have their own programmes: High School Preparation is built for ages 14 to 18, and the Young Learners Program runs in the January and July holidays. We confirm the exact rule for the course and dates you want before your enrolment is sent.
What accommodation does Inforum offer?
Homestay with an Australian family, chosen personally by the school's Accommodation Manager rather than assigned from a list, with a private room and the meal plan you pick: none, breakfast and dinner, all three meals, or all three plus transport. There is also a student residence, and a noticeboard of share houses once you know the city. Homestay is usually the easiest first landing. Places are limited around popular start dates, so check availability with us early and we will include it in your quote.
Where exactly is Inforum?
At 13-15 Short Street, Southport, on the Gold Coast in Queensland. It is a restored heritage building with verandas, a garden and a student lounge. The light rail stop is about fifty metres away, Australia Fair shopping centre is a two-minute walk, and Surfers Paradise is eleven minutes by tram. Banks, the post office and the library are all inside a five-minute walk.
Can Inforum get me into an Australian university or college?
Yes, through its pathway agreements. Take Inforum's placement test, complete the English programme they recommend, and you can enter a partner college or university without sitting a separate IELTS exam. Hundreds of students have used this route. Tell us which institution you are aiming at and we will map the English weeks you need to get there.
Is Inforum accredited?
Yes. Inforum Education Australia is registered on CRICOS, the Australian government register of providers allowed to teach international students, and is a Department of Home Affairs Level 1 accredited college, the lowest immigration risk rating a provider can hold. It is a recognised Cambridge English preparation centre and an approved English Language Provider for Education Queensland International. It has also won the ST Star Award for English Language School, Southern Hemisphere, in 2023, 2024 and 2025.
What is an ELICOS course, and is Inforum a registered provider?
ELICOS is the Australian government's name for intensive English courses taken by overseas students, and every full-time English course on a student visa falls into it. The letters stand for English Language Intensive Courses for Overseas Students. Inforum is registered to deliver them under CRICOS Provider Code 02894G, ABN 54 124 743 237. Those two numbers exist so you can verify a school without taking anyone's word for it, including ours: look the provider up on the Australian government's CRICOS register before you pay a deposit anywhere.
How do I apply to Inforum from my country?
Start with the form on this page. A ViveCampus advisor then contacts you in your own language with everything for your case: which documents your country needs, how long each step takes, how the Australian student visa application works, what the total comes to, and which start dates still have places. You do not need to prepare anything before talking to us, and the advice is free from beginning to end.
Don't see your question here? Send it through the form below and a ViveCampus advisor will answer it directly. Asking costs nothing and commits you to nothing.
Source: ViveCampus
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