Student Accommodation Council has warned that international students are frequently being mischaracterised in Australia’s housing debate, with stakeholders arguing that they are not a significant driver of rental market stress and are increasingly accommodated outside the general housing system.
According to Student Accommodation Council Executive Director, Dr Adele Lausberg, public discussion often fails to distinguish between international students and other migration cohorts, despite clear differences in duration of stay, housing behaviour, and accommodation pathways.
“International students are temporary visitors, and in Australia many live in purpose-built student accommodation that has been deliberately designed to keep student demand out of the private rental market.”
Dr Adele Lausberg
This intervention comes as housing affordability remains a central political and economic issue, with governments and commentators continuing to link migration trends to rental pressure. However, sector representatives argue that this framing oversimplifies a more complex structural problem rooted in housing supply constraints and infrastructure delivery gaps.
Research conducted by Mandala Partners on behalf of the Student Accommodation Council indicates that international students account for approximately six per cent of Australia’s total rental market.
This relatively small share, Dr Lausberg emphasised, is further mitigated by the expansion of purpose-built student accommodation (PBSA), which is specifically designed to house students without placing additional pressure on traditional rental stock, adding, “that context matters, particularly when students are increasingly housed in accommodation built specifically for them, rather than competing with local renters.”
This issue has also prompted comparisons with policy actions elsewhere, especially in Canada, where the government has attempted to tighten migration restrictions in response to home affordability concerns.
According to Dr. Lausberg such comparisons often overlook structural differences in housing systems. “Canada restricted student migration in the absence of dedicated student housing. Australia has built it and continues to build,” she added.
Meanwhile, Australia’s purpose-built student accommodation sector has expanded significantly, with approximately 134,000 student-only beds currently operational and a further 40,000 in development. The model is designed to directly link international education demand with new housing supply, reducing spillover effects into the private rental market.
Investment activity has also accelerated sharply, with transaction volumes in purpose-built student accommodation reaching $1.8 billion in 2025, compared with $116 million in 2024. The growth reflects increasing institutional confidence in the sector as both an infrastructure solution and a stable asset class tied to education demand.
International education continues to play a major role in the Australian economy, contributing $53.6 billion in export earnings in the 2024–25 financial year. Beyond revenue, it supports employment, construction activity, and long-term development of specialised housing infrastructure.
Dr Lausberg warned that blunt policy responses, including abrupt visa restrictions, risk creating uncertainty in the education sector without addressing underlying housing supply constraints. “If Australia wants a fair housing system and a sustainable international education sector, purpos -built student accommodation must be treated as essential infrastructure, not an afterthought,” she added.
She believes that clearer distinctions are required in national housing debates to avoid confounding various migrant groups and to ensure that policy is aimed at the actual structural sources of affordability problems, rather than misguided assumptions about demand.
Students Caught in Structural Housing Pressure Debate
Australia’s housing difficulties are primarily the result of a sustained mismatch between housing supply and demand, rather than being attributable to any single group. Long-standing structural constraints including delays in planning approvals, high construction costs, labour shortages in the building sector, and ongoing population growth have collectively limited the pace of housing delivery.
These pressures have contributed to persistently low rental vacancy rates and sustained increases in rents across major urban centres. Evidence also indicates that these challenges predate recent migration trends and are more closely linked to long-term underinvestment in housing supply and supporting infrastructure.
Against this backdrop, international students are significantly affected by the pressures in the rental market. Many rely on purpose-built student accommodation, which is designed to meet a diverse range of needs. This includes students seeking a secure and supportive environment as they transition into university life, as well as those requiring more predictable and manageable living arrangements.
International students often make use this due to its all-inclusive pricing structure, enhanced security, and the absence of guarantor requirements barriers that frequently complicate access to private rental housing.
Regardless, students are increasingly caught within the broader structural housing pressure debate, where systemic supply constraints not any single group continue to shape affordability outcomes and public discussion around housing in Australia.
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