The Koala has long held that when it comes to international education policy in Australia, increasingly the left hand seldom knows what the right is doing. Today’s developments in the student accommodation space suggest the hands might not even be on the same body.
Earlier today, ABC News reported on growing tensions between local councils and developers over proposed restrictions and moratoriums on new student housing projects. While framed as a response to broader housing pressures, the implications for international students and the sector that supports them are difficult to ignore.
At face value, the argument might appear reasonable. Communities are grappling with housing shortages, and councils are under pressure to act. But as is often the case in international education, the unintended consequences are where the story lies.
The ABC report highlights concerns that some councils are actively blocking or delaying purpose-built student accommodation developments. In doing so, they may be exacerbating the very housing pressures they are attempting to relieve.
Adele Lausberg of the Student Accommodation Council did not mince words.
“Councils can’t say they support housing supply while declaring moratoriums on new housing. You don’t solve a shortage by banning homes.”
It is a point that cuts through the noise. Purpose-built student accommodation has long been positioned as a pressure valve for the private rental market — not a contributor to the problem. Remove that valve, and the pressure doesn’t disappear. It shifts.
And where does it shift? Straight into the suburban rental market.
“Framing this as a choice between housing for residents and housing for students presents a false dilemma. Students are residents too and if they aren’t housed in purpose-built accommodation, they compete directly with families, healthcare workers, and long-term locals in the private rental market.”
This is the policy paradox now playing out across the country. In attempting to prioritise “locals,” decision-makers may in fact be increasing competition for the very groups they are seeking to protect.
The Koala understands the politics. Housing is front of mind for voters, and international students have increasingly become an easy lever to pull in public discourse. But policy made for optics rarely delivers outcomes.
There is also a planning dimension that appears to be getting lost.
“Housing students close to campus and public transport reduces long commutes, congestion and overcrowding in suburban rental markets. That’s good planning and good sustainability outcomes,” says Lausberg.
In other words, purpose-built student accommodation is not just about beds, it is about urban design, transport efficiency and liveability. Remove it, and the ripple effects extend far beyond the campus.
And then there is the fundamental misunderstanding of what student accommodation actually is.
“Purpose built student accommodation functions differently to apartments. Smaller rooms are balanced by shared study space, amenities, on-site management and proximity to campus, creating high-density housing that serves a very specific and time-limited need,” Lausberg says.
This distinction matters. Treating PBSA as interchangeable with traditional residential development risks misdiagnosing the problem and prescribing the wrong solution.
For a sector already navigating visa caps, shifting migration settings and ongoing political scrutiny, the accommodation question is becoming yet another pressure point.
The Koala has been told repeatedly that Australia wants to remain a destination of choice for international students. But wanting and enabling are two very different things.
Because if students can’t find a place to live, the decision about where to study may already have been made for them.
Let’s all hope the left and right hands start talking more to move away from optics toward outcomes for all.
