The Hon Alan Tudge MP Minister for Education and Youth recently spoke at the RMIT campus and shared his views on international education, also marking the formal launch of the consultation process to develop the new International Education Strategy for 2021 to 2030.

He emphasized on the contribution of international education sector on the economic growth of Australia and the impact due to COVID-19 in 2020 and 2021. Touching upon the roadmap for the next 6-12 months, he mentioned that while the situation is unpredictable, there is an optimistic view that international students might be allowed back into Australia for the first semester of 2022. 

He applauded the pivot by major universities to digital learning but also highlighted the key objectives of international education and the contribution of diversity through international students towards fulfilment of these objectives.

The Australian Government’s commitment to expanding the role of international education in the post COVID-19 world will boost economic growth, foster foreign diplomacy and contribute to Australia’s national security.

"The impact of COVID-19 has forced universities to rethink business models and with large numbers of international student arrivals not anticipated until Semester 1 2022, it is critical that the government and higher education sector work together to develop a model that maintains our competitive advantage in international education and research, while ensuring Australia has the skills and expertise required to meet our national priorities,” said The Group of Eight Chief Executive Vicki Thomson.

View The Hon Alan Tudge MP's address here.

View the Media Release from The Group of Eight here.

SAA Member panelists had an opportunity to speak at the International Education Association of Australia (IEAA) Student Life Forum during the Student Accommodation in a Post-COVID-19 World discussion on the 26th of February 2021.

Facilitated by SAA President Geoff Denison, representatives from University Managed, Purpose Built Student Accommodation and Residential Colleges shared their valuable insights into their COVID-19 journey to date from a student accommodation perspective and the important part the National Property Accreditation Scheme (NPAS) will play in supporting the post COVID-19 recovery.

SAA Member Panellists included: 

• Geoff Denison, President, Student Accommodation Association; Associate Director, Accommodation Services, The University of Adelaide
• Steve Diack, National Relationships Manager, Scape
• Amit Mitra, Manager, Housing Services, University of Technology Sydney
• Dr Paul Tosch (MAICD), Chief Executive Officer, Lincoln College Inc

Event participants also had an opportunity to hear from Bassina Farbenblum, Associate Professor, UNSW Faculty of Law; Director, UNSW Human Rights Clinic; Founding Co-Director, Global Migrant Worker Justice Initiative who presented findings of her research into international student exploration in accommodation. You can access the research papers following the links below:

• Laurie Berg and Bassina Farbenblum, As If We Weren’t Humans: The Abandonment of Temporary Migrants in Australia During COVID-19 (2020) 
• Laurie Berg and Bassina Farbenblum, Living Precariously: Understanding International Students’ Housing Experiences in Australia (2019)
• UNSW Human Rights Clinic, No Place Like Home: Addressing Exploitation of International Students in Sydney's Housing Market (2019)

Insurgo Insurance Brokers and Quantum Underwriting Agencies are proud to become joint sponsor of the Student Accommodation Association (SAA). 

As an experienced insurance broker for the Purpose Built Student Accommodation (PBSA) industry, Insurgo has partnered with Quantum to develop a resident contents insurance product that meets the needs of both students and building owners. There are currently thousands of students already covered under the Insurgo / Quantum policy, most notably through UniLodge.

“Contents insurance is often overlooked by students moving into accommodation for the first time. The Insurgo / Quantum contents insurance product is a cost effective policy, which is tailored to the needs of residents in student accommodation. Importantly, claims are simple to process, with Insurgo / Quantum involved and available every step of the way.  I have no hesitation in recommending Insurgo / Quantum to the student accommodation sector.” said Matt Row, COO, UniLodge.

The contents insurance product is available exclusively to Members of SAA.  For more information, or to discuss your broader insurance needs, please contact Jason Norris on 0477 007 104 or at jason@insurgo.com.au.

On behalf of all staff, our residents and the key stakeholders of student accommodation across Australia, the student accommodation industry would like to commend the manner in which commonwealth, state and territory governments, and education providers have skilfully navigated the country through the COVID-19 pandemic to date.

The student accommodation industry provides over 95,000 beds for the sole purpose of providing students with safe, comfortable and secure accommodation to support the higher education journey.

Providers of student accommodation are connected through their collective dedication and commitment to delivering quality residential environments that offer a supported platform for students to develop resilience and the personal quality’s required to overcome challenging times and to be successful in life.

Under the definition of ‘Accommodation provided for the exclusive use of students’ - student accommodation in Australia comes in all shapes and sizes, falling under the categories of:

• University Managed
• Residential Colleges
• Purpose Built Student Accommodation (PBSA)
• Commercially Managed Student Housing Portfolios
• Student Hostels

The industry is pleased to have been recognised as an ‘essential service’ through the lockdown phase of the pandemic which allowed providers to further demonstrate the critical role the industry plays in supporting the Australian education sector.

Student accommodation providers are immensely proud of the courage of our professionally trained management teams, who faced the risk of a COVID-19 outbreak in their communities, particularly in early months of the pandemic as students returned from affected countries.

In fact, the industry has gone to great lengths during the pandemic to:

• Develop COVID safe management plans and successfully integrate them into standard operational practice
• Provide financial flexibility through the application of rent credits and the negotiation of flexible payment plans to support students impacted by COVID-19
• Provide apartment options that are conducive to healthy quarantine
• Significantly invest in further enhancing student wellbeing and experience within our communities
• Support emergency accommodation programs across the country
• Provide support for under-18 international students unable to return home.

As Australia, and the Australian education sector moves into the next phase of the COVID-19 response, the student accommodation industry stands ready to support government and education providers to:

• Provide isolation solutions which meet the specific needs of students
• Accommodate students who may be stranded in Australia until international borders reopen.
• Welcome new students from unregulated share and private rental accommodation arrangements.

The student accommodation industry of Australia looks forward to continuing to play an important role in supporting the recovery of the Australian education sector.

   

Student Accommodation Association is delighted to partner with StudyAdelaide on the International School Student Summer Program. The program aimed to develop short term accommodation packages for Year 12 international students who will be graduating at the end of 2020. Given current border restrictions, most of these students are unable to travel home over summer and then return to Adelaide as they may have planned.

A number of SAA Members, inlcuding Atira, Capital Student Stays, dwell East End Adelaide, Unilodge, Urbanest, Aquinas College, St Mark's College, The University of Adelaide Village, Flinders Living offered exclusive packages designed to support these students. We hope the program will assist many students as they transition from school to their next education provider during this uncertain year.

We would like to thank StarRez for their sponsorship support in 2020/21.

"We are proud to sponsor the Student Accommodation Association as we are passionate about supporting thriving residential communities. In Australia our community includes the University of Melbourne, University of Adelaide, Campus Living Villages, UniLodge, Student One and more." said StaRez Managing Director Adele Knipe.

StarRez is the proud global leader with more than 850 customers globally serving more than 2 million beds.  Their cloud platform delivers an outstanding experience from online applications and bookings, contactless move in/out, automated billing, communication tools, dashboards, analytics and more.  StarRez global community includes Harvard University, Cornell University, National University of Singapore, University College of London and more.

"We are excited to join a leading industry association in SAA to support our community and the industry with best practices, business recovery and innovation ideas." Adele adds.

Visit https://www.starrez.com/ to learn more.

Student Accommodation Association (SAA) introduces National Property Accreditation Scheme (NPAS) to benefit all participants in Australian education 

New NPAS initiative aims to identify individual properties operated to industry-led minimum standards for the exclusive use of students

The Student Accommodation Association (SAA) is proud to introduce the National Property Accreditation Scheme (NPAS) – an industry-led program owned, governed and administered by the SAA membership. NPAS has been developed to assist national education stakeholders identify, promote and support quality managed student accommodation businesses which operate for the exclusive use of students.

The initiative is designed to provide greater clarity to Australian education stakeholders, as well as prospective students, agents and the community. NPAS aims to identify individual properties that are being operated to a set of industry-led minimum standards for the exclusive use of students with a focus on student safety and wellbeing. 

The National Property Accreditation Scheme benefits all participants in Australian education – students, education stakeholders and government agencies, and student accommodation providers. 

Applicant properties will be assessed under five accreditation categories:

VISIT NPAS WEBSITE

Following the 3rd Annual General Meeting of the Student Accommodation Association held on the 21st of August, the SAA National Committee extends its formal gratitude to James Atkinson, Principal, Flinders Living, Flinders University for his years of dedicated services as a Treasurer. Dr Paul Tosch MAICD will move to the position of Treasurer, and Rebecca Bendall has taken on the role of Secretary.

We would like to welcome a new Committee Member, Craig Carracher, Executive Chair, Scape Group. SAA is pleased to welcome Craig on board and is looking forward to the unique expertise he will bring to the work of the Association to further promote the value of accommodation for the exclusive use of students.

See the full list of Committee Members

We are very pleased to welcome the University of Technology Sydney (UTS) and Scape as our newest Executive Members!

UTS Housing is a provider of shelter, food and fun for over 1200 UTS students. Aiming to enrich students' life by providing and promoting a positive culturally diverse living environment that is conducive to academic, social and personal growth for students.

Scape Living Student Accommodation has student accommodation hubs in Brisbane, Melbourne, and Sydney. Scape believes in quality living through intuitive design and intelligent service, putting students at the heart of everything they do. 

We at SAA are very proud of our growing membership community. To find out more about SAA membership, visit https://studentaccassoc.com.au/Membership

Thank you to our SA based members for supporting StudyAdelaide's new brand awareness campaign to promote Adelaide as an ‘easily accessible’ and welcoming study destination. The campaign presents key information that is relevant for students who are considering South Australia as a study destination.

In accordance with the MOU between StudyAdelaide and the Student Accommodation Association (SAA), SAA South Australian members were exclusively invited to feature the range of quality accommodation available in South Australia for international students.

The campaign can be found here.