Australia’s first industry-recognised standards for student homestay accommodation providers have been announced at the Australian International Education Conference (AEIC) in Adelaide… and they come at a good time.
The new “Homestay Quality Standards” – independently managed by the National English Language Teaching Accreditation Scheme (NEAS) – were developed following a nationwide industry collaboration spearheaded by the NSW Government through Study NSW.
It comes as Australia’s housing shortages have left both domestic and international students struggling to find affordable accommodation and aims to increase consumer confidence in the in-demand student accommodation sector.
David Bycroft, Founder of the Australian Homestay Network (AHN), said the announcement recognises the importance of standards in what has been a highly unregulated market in the past. “The Australian Homestay Network has been advocating for industry-wide homestay standards since we began in 2007.
“Issues of students experiencing overcrowding, exploitation and being ripped off by unscrupulous individuals were apparent back then and with today’s lack of housing, students are just as vulnerable,” Bycroft said.
Bycroft said having official standards and quality assurance framework not only provides credibility to the sector, but also helps students and potential hosts identify quality homestay companies to engage with.
“It’s pleasing to see much of what we’ve been doing for the past 16 years incorporated in the NEAS Homestay Quality Standards, and that their independent assessment validates our mission to provide the highest quality homestay experiences in Australia.
“AHN is proud to be the first NEAS Endorsed Homestay Service,” Mr Bycroft said.
Good timing
While most in the know understand accommodation is paramount to attracting international students, the spotlight has been on Australia as rental prices increase and pressure is applied to international student accommodation vacancies.
A point picked up in the Emerging Futures 4 survey, conducted by IDP Education in August 2023.
Joanna Storti, IDP Connect Director of Partnerships and Stakeholder Engagement APAC, saying “Global competition for international students remains high. While Australia is clearly attractive for international students at present, it’s imperative that their voices continue to be heard by policy makers and institutions so that Australia remains a leading choice for students.”
Cost of living and related issues, such as securing affordable student accommodation, continue to be a concern for international students with more than a third of current international students studying in Australia (35 per cent) saying their rental accommodation close to campus cost more than they had budgeted, while just under a third (32 per cent) said they had rented accommodation further from their campus than desired to access more affordable accommodation.
A press release by AHN anticipates that the Australian Government will recognise nationwide standards for hosted accommodation as the Inquiry into Australia’s Tourism and International Education Sectors continues.
There are estimated to be around 13 million spare bedrooms across Australia and homeowners could be earning tax-free income by hosting international students through properly-managed, standards-based homestay organisations.
More information on homestay options can be found here.
