Sinkie FT students faces housing woes in Aussie land

[Extremist]

SYDNEY - For international students, getting good grades while studying in Australia is often less taxing than finding a decent and safe place in which to live.

"I have seen houses where walk-in wardrobes were considered bedrooms," said Mr Aleem Nizari, national president of the Council of International Students Australia.


"Living rooms with temporary partitions, or sheds in backyards that have been converted into bedrooms. I've seen houses where the landlord puts in portable toilets like you find on building sites," he told The Straits Times.

Indeed, for many foreign students in Australia, the housing problem far outweighs the challenge of passing exams or paying tuition fees and daily expenses.

"It is one of the main issues that we have to deal with," said Mr Nizari.

In recent years, spiralling rents and a housing shortage across Australia have squeezed out accommodation for students, causing a lack of safe and suitable housing.

Australian state and federal governments are aware of the problem, which poses a risk to the country's lucrative A$18 billion (S$22.9 billion) a year international student sector.

 

[Raiders]

Asian students often have this problem in Australia. The first time I was there, we had to fill in tons of papers and referrals to rent a house. But you can't blame the Aussies. Students generally do not take care of their properties.