Here you can read about the Australian Student visa (Subclass 500) and its basic requirements.
Anyone may study in Australia regardless of their age provided that the educational institute has obtained a permission to educate foreign students. With a student visa you can take part in English language courses, vocational courses or college and university study programmes.
The main and common attribute of the Australian student visas is that they contain a work permit for an average of 24 hours a week for you and your accompanying direct relative (spouse, partner). Additionally, if you are studying for an Australian Master's degree, your direct relative is entitled to a full-time work permit. The student visa has got another advantage: it is freely extendable and can serve as a gateway to employee visas or even to permits of residence.
The Australian Department of Home Affairs has completely altered the Student visa system in July of 2016. One of the two main changes is that one can only apply online and the second one is that there is now only one visa subclass (Subclass 500) instead of the several used before. The Australian government hopes to make the Student visa application easier and quicker with these changes (with more or less success).