senate inquiry commends the australian homestay network

The findings of a senate inquiry into the welfare of international students have commended member the Australian Homestay Network (AHN) on its dedication to ensuring appropriate industry standards are met.

AHN is be the only national network of homestay and is responsible for the largest trained homestay host pool and homestay placements in Australia.

The Inquiry also ran in conjunction with an Education Services for Overseas Students (ESOS) legislation review released in February.

The industry was found as requiring higher regulation of benchmarks in fields including accommodation, safety, insurance, orientation and induction.
The push for these types of reviews and inquiries has come after numerous incidents, including recent raids by the Brisbane City Council in which police discovered numerous international students living in overcrowded and sub-standard conditions.

In one such instance, 37 students were found living in a single Sunnybank house in Brisbane during a raid by the Brisbane City Council.
Groups such as AHN have been working closely with education institutions and industry networks in order to improve these benchmarks and tighten industry standards.

Damian Haber, owner of The Pad Management, one of the largest student accommodation service providers in Brisbane, Queensland, feels that the key concern is that whilst much of the focus to date has been on attracting students to our educational institutions to undertake study, there has been a corresponding marked increase in the demand for suitable accommodation.

This has lead to undesirable outcomes in some cases for the industry due mainly to a lack of adequate tailored management services as well as anomalies that exist in the current regulatory framework.

“Our market research shows that the cost of accommodation is typically the next largest component to a student’s overall budget behind tuition fees and affordability or value for money as well as diversity of housing choice is something that students are demanding more of to better experience the Australian culture,” said Haber

“In this regard, whilst location, standard and facilities are important to a prospective student tenant, the rental cost remains a high priority.”
The AHN system has successfully bridged the gap in communication and processes for hosts, students and education institutions by providing a professional, fully accountable and auditable system for all involved, as per the ESOS requirements.