This is a qualitative narrative study that has explored the challenges of international research students in understanding, adapting, and evolving in an autonomous learning culture, specifically in an Australian context. As a small project incorporating six participants, who are all Master of Research (MRes) students, this study confines itself within the context of Western Sydney University (WSU); the findings and discussion of which have highlighted the rationale for a wider research scope in the future. The potential benefit of this study would be improved preparedness of international research students towards autonomous learning structures in Australian universities. This study will help in understanding the unique pedagogical support that international MRes students may require that is responsive to their prior learning contexts and assist in revising the current research-specific support. Through the narrative storytelling process, this study has captured the lived experiences of these students that may contribute to the current literature on international research students, and issues of their integration into diverse learning contexts, styles, and curriculums that are common in Australian universities.