Analysis of International Student Housing Problems in Australia

This report identifies the lack of affordable housing for international students in Australia as a significant problem, particularly in cities like Sydney and Melbourne, despite apartment booms. The high cost of living, coupled with insufficient information about housing options, leads to stress, impacts academic performance, and forces students into unsuitable or even illegal accommodations. The causes include high property costs and a lack of awareness among students regarding their housing rights and available resources. The report emphasizes the need for government intervention through laws and educational packages to ensure students are aware of their rights and that housing charges are affordable, ultimately improving their overall wellbeing and academic success. Desklib provides access to similar solved assignments and past papers for students seeking further assistance.

Running head: INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS PERSPECTIVE
International Business Perspective
Name of Student:
Name of University:
Author’s Note:

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What is the problem?
The problem is the lack of enough housing space for the students in Australia. This is one
of the major problems because students go there from so many different parts of the world to
study and establish themselves. They try hard to adjust themselves with the surroundings. On top
of that, it is really very tough for them if they do not get a good affordable accommodation. One
of the reasons behind this can be the large increase in the price of the property. Consequently,
there is a sharp increase in the rent of the housing as well. This problem is prevalent almost in all
the cities but particularly in Sydney and in Melbourne. Despite the fact that both Sydney and
Melbourne have witnessed the apartment booms, there is this problem of university student
accommodation (Knox, Marston & Imort, 2016). The amount of rent that is charged by the
owners is sky high (Sin, 2015).
How big is the problem?
This problem is becoming very high as the students are finding it very tough to find
suitable affordable housing facilities. In particular, students who are studying in Sydney find it
very difficult. The cost of living is very high over there and it is not possible for the students to
bear with this problem. They do not have any such significant income sources so it is really too
tough for them to gather a huge amount of money. Another reason is that many of the
International students are also not left with any option except to stay in the highly expensive off-
campus houses or in the on-campus residences. There is a lack of sufficient information in the
education providing packages as well (McLaren, Yeo & Sweet, 2016). So, this makes the
students stressed ad impacts their academic performance and their mental wellbeing as well
(Schofield et al., 2016). They get confused and are forced to love in very poorly furnished places

3INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS PERSPECTIVE
or in places that exploit them. They might also often enough to stay in accommodations that have
illegal arrangements. The problems go to such an extent that the students have to desperately bid
or bargain for the price of the accommodations and still end up in unsuitable places like
abandoned houses (Donnelly & Whelan, 2017).
The international students are also of the opinion that the accommodations that they have
stayed in are very unhealthy and unhygienic as well. There are dead rats and maggots found on
the floor and fridge. A survey conducted in 2008 where many of International students were
interview regarding their experience of studying and staying in Melbourne (Duangpracha,
2012).The students reported that they had to suffer from the accommodation problems. So, it is
evident that this situation demands some serious actions to be taken.
What are the main causes of the problem?
The Causes of the problem are many and varied. Firstly the cost of the property is too
high in the Australian cities. Particularly Sydney and Melbourne are the highest, so the rent of
the houses is automatically higher. The other reason can be lack of awareness on part of the
students. They do not know about the options that they can actually opt for. They are unaware of
the student housing rights and about the more affordable accommodation options. There is also a
lack of sufficient information in the educational packages that the students opt for. They are not
informed about any suitable housing options either. The legal codes like the boarding house
legislations are also quite confusing for students to understand. So, altogether students get
stresses, confused and suffer from indecisiveness. It is the responsibility of the government of
Australian to implement laws in the University or education packages to make students aware of

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their housing rights. On the other hand state must be responsible enough to make the housing
charges affordable for students

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References
Duangpracha, K. (2012). The Accommodation Challenges of International Students(pp. 13-22).
Knox, P. L., Marston, S. A., & Imort, M. (2016). Human geography: Places and regions in global
context. Pearson.
Luthans, F., & Doh, J. P. (2018). International Management: Culture, strategy, and behavior.
McGraw-Hill. Calder, M. J., Richter, S., Mao, Y., Kovacs Burns, K., Mogale, R. S., &
Danko, M. (2016). International Students Attending Canadian Universities: Their
Experiences with Housing, Finances, and Other Issues. Canadian Journal of Higher
Education, 46(2), 92-110.
McLaren, J., Yeo, A., & Sweet, M. (2016). Australia is facing a housing affordability crisis: Is
the solution to this problem the Singapore model of housing?. Australasian Accounting,
Business and Finance Journal, 10(4), 38-57.
Schofield, M. J., O'halloran, P., McLean, S. A., Forrester‐Knauss, C., & Paxton, S. J. (2016).
Depressive Symptoms Among Australian University Students: Who Is at Risk?.
Australian Psychologist, 51(2), 135-144.
Sin, S. C. J. (2015). Demographic differences in international students' information source uses
and everyday information seeking challenges. The Journal of Academic
Librarianship, 41(4), 466-474.