Organising accommodation can be one of the most daunting tasks for international students preparing to live and study here in Australia. But it doesn’t need to be that way. We’ll help you get familiar with your accommodation options in Australia. We’ll discuss the important things you need to consider and expect for each type of accommodation, including how to shop and get one. We’ll also present the only summary you’ll find online about the different accommodation policies in public/ government schools across Australia. Then we’ll end by giving you tips on making your choice. Our goal is to help you have a complete picture of your accommodation options, to hopefully assist you decide which one would meet your need or which one you would prefer, to aid you plan accurately so you can navigate the whole accommodation shopping and selection process and be done with it.
In our article entitled “Budgeting Hacks for Australian international students” we saw how accommodation can be the biggest item in your cost of living in Australia. Consequently, it’s also the most important, because it can pretty much influence how you’ll budget for the rest, especially if it’s on the limited side. Needless to say, making a wise choice in your accommodation is crucial.
Types of accommodation options for international students
Different types of accommodation available to international students are:
A. Homestay – For international students who are minors and who’d be staying in Australia by themselves, homestay is one of the available accommodation options to them. Having said that however, homestay is also a viable accommodation option for adult international students. Homestay is a system that matches international students needing accommodation and a network of local families (called hosts) usually living not far from the school, VET or university campus who are willing and able to provide accommodation to international students. The host provides a room with bed, desk, chair and wardrobe, bathroom and laundry facilities, basic internet, and 2-3 meals a day (depending on the arrangement). The organiser or provider of homestay network are the school or education provider, and commercial 3rd party homestay network providers such as the Australian Homestay Network, etc. These homestay organisers or providers have the responsibility to make sure each host in their network is vetted in terms of the suitability of their physical dwelling, and that every adult in the host’s household has current clearance to work with minors and police checks.
What makes this setup unique is that the hosts are not normally doing it as a business and there is a sort of cultural exchange going on between the international student and the homestay host. Because the international student is living with an Australian family and is interacting with them on a daily basis they can quickly become the student’s second family away from home. This setup helps the international student settle in Australia, get immersed in the Australian culture, and practice their English language skills. Homestay accommodation fees varies from city to city, from one provider to another, and depending on the included amenities. Compared to other options, homestay accommodation can be quite cost effective.
If you’re attending Australian school and you’re looking at staying in a homestay accommodation you organise it with your school. We suggest you don’t organise a homestay accommodation on your own with some other provider because if your school provider doesn’t know your homestay network provider it might result in delay of issuing you a Confirmation of Appropriate Accommodation and Welfare (CAAW) letter. Remember, because you’re a minor and staying in Australia alone while you study you need to secure a CAAW (please read our page discussing Student Visa) from your education provider and submit it to DHA when you apply for student visa.
If you’re an adult student and you wish to stay in a homestay accommodation there are national homestay network providers and there are smaller homestay network providers in each major city. Google it. Also, ask your VET or university if they have accredited homestay network provider. If nothing still, give us a shout and we will try our best to hook you up with a reputable homestay provider based on your preference. The cost involved in getting a homestay accommodation includes the homestay establishment fee (or matching fee, or whatever they call it) and the weekly homestay fee.
B. Managed accommodation – Examples of managed accommodation include:
1. Boarding school – If you’re a school student and you’ll be living by yourself while you study in Australia, your accommodation options are generally a choice between homestay and boarding school. Boarding school or school boarding house refers to the school’s own and managed student accommodation. Boarding school is only provided by private schools and is accessible only to the school’s current students. No public school in Australia offers boarding school accommodation. Also, some exclusive Australian private schools accept international students on the condition that they stay in the school’s boarding house. Usually the school’s boarding house is within the campus ground with its own security, facilities, staff and manager. Everything is provided for including fully furnished room, laundry and cleaning services, catered meals, recreation, tutoring, pastoral care, etc. As can be imagined, compared to the cost of homestay accommodation, boarding school tend to be on the more expensive side.
If you’re availing of your school’s boarding accommodation you typically organise it at the same time as your enrolment. Don’t forget about the CAAW letter your school is supposed to give you as you’ll need this when you apply for student visa.
2. Residential colleges – Type of accommodation geared towards university students. There are some variations in residential college offerings in different universities.
a. Residential colleges that provide additional programs and support to student residents apart from accommodation, such as tutorial support, networking with alumni, sports programs, etc. This type of residential college is typically inside campus grounds, and is owned and run by the university. It’s all-inclusive. Meals are provided, all chores are done for residents like room cleaning, laundry, etc. It’s like the university version of the school boarding house discussed above. This is the most expensive type of residential college living.
b. Residential colleges that are owned and run by the university and provide purely accommodation services. They can also be catered, or self-catered. You have the option to choose the type of room you prefer. They can be on-campus or off-campus. They are fully-furnished. Pastoral care is provided for the welfare of the residents. Fees are also all-inclusive.
c. Residential colleges that are not owned and run by your education provider but by an accredited 3rd party provider. Like the residential above, they can be catered or self-catered, and you have options on the type of room you want. They are usually located off-campus, fully furnished, and with pastoral care. Again, fees are all-inclusive.
Application to stay in residential colleges is made through the university and can be made at the time of your enrolment. Residential colleges have limited capacity and it’s advisable to apply as early as possible. Aside from international students, local students coming from the rural areas or living far from the university are the ones who opt for this type of accommodation. Residential colleges are also advisable to minor university student as this makes getting the CAAW letter from your provider easier.
3. Purpose-built student accommodation (or student apartments) – In many ways it is a lot like residential colleges such as –
- Amenities like free Wifi, recreation, study and socialization areas. Not to mention the kitchen.
- Having different options for room types like single ensuite (with own bathroom) or dual occupancy and shared bathroom, to your own studio or apartment unit within the student accommodation complex.
- Fees being all-inclusive
- They are fully furnished
- The vibes and atmosphere
However, unlike residential colleges –
- Residents are not necessarily studying in the same education provider
- It’s not exclusively for university students, it’s also a popular option amongst VET students
- It’s not connected with your education provider, and thus it’s more independent type of living
- There’s a lot more location options, many are in city centres and some are even on-campus
- There’s no catered option
If you’re a minor and studying in VET or university this is also another option for you as many purpose-built student accommodation providers are accredited by many VET providers and universities to provide accommodation to their underaged international students. Remember you need to secure a CAAW letter from your provider (if you’re a minor) as it’s a required document when you apply for a student visa.
Providers of this type of accommodation include UniLodge, Urbanest, Campus Living Villages and HRL Morrison. You can shop around through their wesbites. If you’re unsure for whatever reason, let us know and we can help you organise it based on your preference and budget. Let us know.
4. Student hostel – Student hostels are also a lot like purpose-built student accommodations. They both come fully furnished, fees are all-inclusive, etc. What differentiate them are:
- Student hostels usually allow short-term stays like a month or so
- Student hostels are usually the more affordable option
- Student hostels can be a small operation like in a house with 3 rooms and 2-3 beds in each room
- They’re usually not an option for students 18 y/o and below who’ll need a CAAW letter from their education provider
There are plenty of boutique student hostel providers in every major Australian city. You can either Google it or you can contact your education provider for help. Or you can contact us If you need someone to point you to some student hostel provider in an area of your choice.
For student apartment and student hostel, rental bond will be required which is equal to several weeks of fees depending on the state or territory you’re in (because different state and territory have different laws on how much bond can be collected from tenants or leasees).
C. Private rental – This is an option for adult international students wanting complete independence and privacy, or for minor students who will be accompanied by their parents or nominated close relative. As the case elsewhere, it involves leasing or renting a property from private landlords or agencies. You can rent just a room, a studio unit, or a house or apartment unit with 1, 2, 3 or 4 bedrooms.
Like in other accommodation types, private rental rates are quoted in weeks. Fees are paid in advanced, and security bonds equal to several weeks of rent (depending on the state or territory) is required. Tenant is responsible for electricity, gas and water. Advertised property for rent usually have viewing schedule when interested people can view and inspect the property. If the interested would-be tenant likes the property they are usually required to submit an application to the landlord or agent. Selection of successful tenant can be a very subjective exercise, but factors like rental history are taken into account. As someone from overseas, the fact that you have no rental history in Australia can be an obstacle in shopping for private rental properties. But if you’re lucky the property you have chosen would attract few interests and you’d have a good chance. Besides there are ways to remedy your situation like proving that you (or your child) are an international student, be willing to pay more in advanced, etc.
You can find advertisements for available properties in campus, shops, community billboards, newspaper, or online. The 2 biggest sites in Australia for properties are realestate.com.au and domain.com.au. It should be straightforward shopping for rental properties through those websites. But, again, if you need help give us a holler and let us know how you wish us to help you and we’ll see what we can do.
Accommodation policies in public schools across Australia
State and territory governments are the administrator of public schools in their respective jurisdiction, and they have different policies regarding acceptable accommodation options for minor international students wishing to study in their schools. Table below summarises those different accommodation policies.
| STATE / TERRITORY | PRIMARY STUDENT | SECONDARY STUDENT |
| ACT | • Live with parent/s or nominated relative | • Live with parent/s or nominated relative • Homestay for 16 y/o & above • Parent-nominated homestay for 16 y/o & above |
| NSW | • Prep-Year 4, live with parent/s • Year 5 – 6, live with parent/s or nominated relative | • Live with parent/s or nominated relative, required til Year 8 • Homestay for Year 9 & above • Parent-nominated homestay for Year 9 & above |
| NT | • Live with parent/s | • Live with parent/s, required til 14 y/o • Live with parent/s or nominated relative for 15 y/o & above • Homestay for 15 y/o & above • Parent-nominated homestay for 15 y/o & above |
| QLD | • Live with parent/s or nominated relative | • Live with parent/s or nominated relative • Homestay • Parent-nominated carer |
| SA | • Live with parent/s or nominated relative | • Live with parent/s or nominated relative • Homestay for 13 y/o & above • Parent-nominated homestay for 13 y/o & above |
| TAS | • Live with parent/s or nominated relative • Homestay | • Live with parent/s or nominated relative • Homestay • Others, option if 18 y/o & above |
| VIC | • Live with parent/s or nominated relative | • Live with parent/s or nominated relative • Homestay for 13 y/o & above • Parent-nominated homestay for 13 y/o & above |
| WA | • Live with parent/s | • Live with parent/s or nominated relative • Homestay for Year 8 & above |
Definitions:
- Live with parent/s means to live with one or both parents. Note that if your parent/s is/are travelling and living with you in Australia they must be nominated as your Student Guardian with the Department of Home Affairs (DHA). They must also apply for a Student Guardian visa. Please our page About Student Visa to find out more.
- Live with parent/s or nominated relative means student can live with a Student Guardian who may or may not be their parent/s. A Student Guardian can be the parent/s, legal custodian or relative above 21 years old, nominated with DHA and approved by DHA. The Student Guardian can be travelling and staying with you in Australia (in which case they need a Student Guardian visa), or they can already be in Australia and living in the city where you’re planning to study.
- Parent-nominated homestay or parent-nominated carer means an accommodation directly arranged by the parents with a relative or family friend or somebody they trust who is living in the same general area where the school is located. It’s a private arrangement between the parents and the host. But since the student is still a minor and he or she is not staying with a Student Guardian approved by DHA, you would still need to secure CAWW from your school and therefore they still need to approve and be satisfied with the suitability of the accommodation arrangement.
How to read the table above
Let’s take NSW or New South Wales for example, their rules say international students wishing to enrol anywhere from Prep to Year 4 classes in government primary schools must live with their Student Guardian who is/are actually their parent/s. If the international student is planning to enrol in Year 5 or Year 6, he or she can live with a Student Guardian who may or may not be his or her parents. The same rule applies up to Year 8. If an international student is enrolling in Year 9 or above he or she has the option to 1) live with his/her Student Guardian who may or may nit be his/her parent/s, 2) stay in a homestay accommodation, or 3) stay in a parent-nominated homestay.
In South Australia, it’s not about the student’s study course or the class year as much as their age. South Australian Department of Education says that if the international student is 12 years old and below he or she must live with a Student Guardian who may or may not be his or her parents. When the student turns 13 y/o or if an international student wishing to enrol is at least 13 years old he or she has the option to either live 1) with his or her Student Guardian, 2) with a homestay provided by SA Department of Education, or 3) a parent-nominated homestay.
Note that many private schools mirror some or all of the accommodation policies of their state or territory government.
Some other accommodation options
Earlier we talked about homestay, boarding school, residential colleges, student apartments, hostels, and private rental as accommodation options for interational students. There’s technically two more:
- Live with a relative – If you’re an adult student and you have relatives or close friends willing to provide a room for you in the city where you plan to study you’re in luck, and we don’t need to say anything anymore. If you’re a minor and your parent can arrange you to stay with a relative or family friend they trust, you need to know that that schools have a policy on what age they allow students to stay in a parent-nominated homestay. Also, they still need to approve of such accommodation because you will still need your school to issue you a CAAW. Because you’re a minor and you’re not living with your Student Guardian.
- If you can afford to do so, you can actually buy a property in Australia that can serve as your or your child’s dwelling while you or they study. If you’re in Australia on a Student Visa you can buy an established property (simply meaning property that has already been previously sold or occupied) as your dwelling place while you’re here. You cannot rent it out though and you must sell it within 3 months after you’ve stopped using it as your main residence. However, you can buy as many as you want, do whatever you want for newly built properties (meaning properties that have never been sold nor occupied for a total of 12 months). You also need to secure an approval to buy Australian properties from a government office called Foreign Investment Review Board (FIRB), and there’s a fee involved like (in AUD) 5,700 for properties worth 1 million or less, 11,500 for properties worth between 1,000,001 and 1,999,999, and so on. Although the process can take up to 2 weeks, you don’t really need to apply for FIRB approval before you’re ready buy a particular property as 1) approval is almost sure, unless you’re a wanted felon, and 2) you can make the real estate deal contingent on FIRB approval. That way you’re flexible and you avoid waste.
While property markets in Sydney and Melbourne are currently not as robust as before, but others like Brisbane and Adelaide are doing alright. Assuming stamp duty between 4.5-5.5%, fixed minimal council rate, and variable utility costs, etc., vis-à-vis consistent historical growth and projected base growth rate of at least 11-20% in the next 3 years, it’s a sound investment that comes with free accommodation. Even after capital gains tax. Chances are you won’t need us but if you ask we’ll be happy to help.
Your rights (and obligations)
- As someone availing of a homestay accommodation – You have the right to be happy with your homestay setup, for example in terms of the meals provided to you, the suitability of your room, your ‘space’, etc. If you’re not, you can approach someone from your education provider (may be starting with your teacher) and talk about what’s in your mind so they can fix whatever it is that needs to be fixed. If you’re an adult and you’ve personally organised your homestay accommodation you can always talk to the homestay network provider you transacted with.
- When staying in managed accommodation – You have the right to have your place always in tip top condition. Meaning properly maintained, like no broken lights, fans, aircon, internet, lifts, etc. If your accommodation provider is a pain you have the right to seek remedy from your state government’s consumer office or residential tenancy office to compel them to act, or to declare them in breach so you can move on to better place. As a consumer there are things that are granted to you by law, even though such are not explicitly mentioned in any contract. You have the right to get back your security bond in full, assuming you haven’t destroyed or don’t owe anything, at the end of your lease.
- On private rental property – Issues concerning plumbing and electricity, whitegoods such as stove, aircon, water heater, etc., are matters which your landlord should be responsible for. When renting a property with a big yard the responsibility for its upkeep should be cleared. There are circumstances when your landlord can terminate your lease contract early (especially if you’re in breach), but there are legally mandated lead times (the length of which depends on the nature why the contract is being prematurely ended) from the time of notice to when you should vacate the property. Again, you have the right to get your full rental bond back, assuming you’re not in arrears or ruined any property. Every state or territory has government consumer and/or residential tenancy matters office that you can go to for help.
Regardless of your accommodation type, you have the obligation to pay on time, to be reasonable, to respect the property you’re using, to respect the people around you (those providing you service, your landlord and their agent, your fellow students, fellow residents), and to stay cool at all times.
Every university and many large VET providers have staff whose primary job description is to help international students regarding any tenancy or accommodation issues they might have. They should be able to help you. If not, we would be happy to assist you, act on your behalf, to make them do their job.
Final words: Tips on choosing
With all these options here’s our tips on choosing the right accommodation for you:
- List down what’s important to you in the context of what you need and what you want.
My daughter once had to go to Melbourne to sit an exam. Since she only needed a short-term accommodation she shopped in Airbnb. She was flooded by so many options and suddenly what she thought was an easy process turned to be a difficult one. Why? She can’t make up her mind. We talked about it and I helped her narrow down her option by establishing 1) she’s going to Melbourne to sit an exam, not to tour, 2) She needs to be walking distance to Southern Cross station, 3) she prefers her own bathroom. Just like that and soon she was able to choose and secure her accommodation.Choosing your accommodation may be a bit different because you need longer term accommodation. But the same principle can be useful. Know what’s important to you in the context of what you need and want and use them to filter the many option available. If you want it to be on-campus filter out those outside of the campus. If you want a single room ensuite, filter out those on-campus accommodation that don’t have single room ensuite. Do this til there are only few left.
- Go with your budget
To have a single ensuite room is nice if you can comfortably budget for it. If you think your budget will be stretched, consider downsizing. Boarding school is nice but if you think you will not have much allowance or room after that, consider homestay. You get the drift. If an option is comfortably within your budget, go for it. If it will stretch you budget a bit thinly, be practical and downsize. Even if the accommodation is not so much as what you would have preferred, ultimately you will adjust. Aside from your academic performance your budget will determine the sustainability of your Australian studies, therefore study well, pace your resources, and finish the job. - Prioritise and compromise
Not all choices comes down to budget, sometime you want something that’s simply not available. For example you want to live in a particular residence college but its already full, what now? Go for the next best thing. Repeat the exercise in tip #2 and write down the things that made you prefer it and rank them in order of importance to you. Soon you’ll find an option that though may not have all the traits you’re looking for, has the important things you’re looking for. Going back to our example, if living inside the campus and having a catered accommodation is what attracted you to a residential college maybe you can opt for one inside the campus even though it’s self-catered and just try to see how you can handle preparing your own food sometimes. Who knows, maybe you’ll find a passion for cooking and preparing your own meals.If you really want to stay in a student apartment but you realised the budget for the middle tier accommodations and up are beyond what you can afford, it’s ok. Either you find one in other location (like outside city centre) or if you really like the location and the apartment, go for the lower priced room types. In the end you get to stay in the apartment and location you desire.
- Things don’t need to be perfect in the beginning.
So you didn’t get the accommodation you wanted? No worries. Most accommodation cycle ends every year, some every semester. Worse that can happen is you wait for a year to move in to your preferred one. For the meantime consider everything experimental and temporary; that you don’t really know yet what you want. As you settle in Australia you’ll have clearer picture of what you need and want, and you’ll have better idea of how to go about getting them. So don’t stress out. First thing first, you need a place to stay that is as comfortable to you as possible. At some point, you’ll have plenty of opportunities to move to a different accommodation if you wish. Or you might grow comfortable where you are and would rather stay.
