The Student Accommodation Association has lodged a submission on behalf of members for the Australian Strategy for International Education Consultation Paper.

The submission included key priorities and measures to improve the international student experience, changes to make Australia more globally competitive and working together with different stakeholders to create a unique Australian education experience.

• Key priorities: 

Reset the accommodation message by promoting NPAS accredited properties as a clear and consistent message to future international student intakes.

• Improve international student experience: 

Education providers could look to increase their level of commitment to delivering the overall international education experience for students, including non–core business elements such as student accommodation.

Align themselves with quality student accommodation providers with the protection of NPAS.

• Changes to make Australia more globally competitive: 

Consideration be given by education providers to packaging student accommodation as part of the education offering, enabling students to immerse themselves in a diverse multi-cultural student residential community and by doing so develop the personal skills and cultural comfort required to prosper later in life.

Expanding the obligations of an education provider through changes to the ESOS Act requiring them to provide secure access to quality student accommodation controlled or provided in partnership with an NPAS accredited provider. Required capacity could be based on a percentage of the number of enrolled international students with the education provider.

• Education providers, governments and other stakeholders working together:

• Skills for the future: 

• Improve employability outcomes:

• Creating a unique Australian education experience: 

Design and promote the Australian education experience around both the learning and living experience.

• Improving community support for international education:

A commitment by Australian international education stakeholders to provide a clear pathway by which international students can set themselves up to get the most out of their international education experience to reduce the risk of exploitation, or isolating themselves (impacting on their language ability and personal skills set development) will improve their capacity and confidence in engaging with members of the wider community.

• Other suggestions:

DOWNLOAD THE FULL SUBMISSION

We're delighted to welcome Western Union Business Solutions as an SAA Corporate Sponsor in 2021/22.
 
Western Union Business Solutions is excited to partner with the Student Accommodation Association (SAA) and support its members through our expertise in managing international payments.
 
Western Union Business Solution’s WU® GlobalPay for Students platform enables student accommodation providers to improve their international student experience by offering fast, easy and affordable ways for international residents to pay their application fees, security deposits and rent while also delivering efficiency and reconciliation gains for your business. Your international residents will experience a modern e-commerce feel, with competitive exchange rates, flexible payment options and real time updates.
 
For more information or to arrange a demonstration contact 

Mark Woolf, Sales Manager Education Australia at mark.woolf@wu.com or on 0448 442 323.

The Student Accommodation Association was invited to participate in the Capital City Committee Adelaide - Post COVID City: Driving Economic Recovery and Growth forum at the Adelaide Town Hall on Friday 21 May 2021.

The forum was addressed by both The Honourable Steven Marshall MP, Premier of South Australia and The Right Honourable The Lord Mayor of Adelaide, Sandy Verschoor.

The centre piece for the morning's session was the delivery and subsequent conversation pertaining to the Deloitte Access Economics Post - COVID City: Driving Economic Recovery and Growth (Foundation research report).

Student Accommodation is briefly referred to under Education (Page 28). A copy of the report is attached for your reference.

View Report here

SAA members and industry peers gathered together at our NPAS Launch Networking Event in Sydney on 30 April 2021.

After the virtual NPAS presentation delivered by SAA President Geoff Denison, participants had an opportunity to hear from the panel, facilitated by Ron De Haan GAICD, about the industry post-pandemic recovery. We'd like to thank Peter Mackey, Anouk Darling, Thomson Ch'ng and David Riordan for the engaging discussion.

We would also like to thank all the attendees and stakeholders for their participation.

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 members, industry participants and state government representatives came together to have all their questions answered about the National Property Accreditation Scheme at the NPAS Launch Networking Event in Adelaide on 08 April 2021.

Thank you to our presenter and facilitator Geoff Denison and Dr Paul Tosch, to the panel members Mary Ann Seow,  Andrew Houey, Melissa Tracey and Anmol Saini for their valuable insights on the sector post-pandemic recovery and to all the attendees for their participation.

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.