A new report has revealed that Adelaide performs better than most Australian capital cities when it comes to student accommodation availability.
Leading property management firm JLL Australia’s report, released today, shows Adelaide’s ratio of full-time student to purpose built accommodation beds at 9:1 is greater than Brisbane (15:1), Sydney (16:1) and Melbourne (17:1).
The report indicates further good signs for growth in the international student sector:
- There is currently no shortage of land surrounding any of the three public universities campuses.
- Adelaide’s city centre is still relatively underdeveloped compared with the eastern states with room for growth as international student numbers increase.
- Purpose built accommodation developments in the pipeline for the CBD will result in approximately 1000 new beds over the next two years.
The report will be tabled next Tuesday at the first meeting of the International Education Ministerial Advisory Council, a key action from the recently released International Education Action Plan, which aims to increase the number of international students studying in South Australia from 28,300 in 2013 to 35,500 by the end of 2017.
Background
The Ministerial Advisory Council will drive policy and cooperative programs to increase South Australia’s share of the international student market.
It is a forum for all parties involved in the sector to collaborate and provide advice to government, develop innovative domestic and international initiatives, and provide a platform for progress to achieve the actions set out in the International Education Action Plan.
For more information, visit: www.statedevelopment.sa.gov.au/internationalandhighereducation
Quotes attributable to Investment and Trade Minister Martin Hamilton-Smith
This report is confirmation that international students will find Adelaide a welcoming place to study, with safe and affordable accommodation available close to where they want to study.
We know that the state’s 32,100 international students spend $1.2 billion on education, accommodation, food, goods and services, so this further strengthens the work we have undertaken in consultation with the sector to grow international student numbers. Adelaide City Council’s planning rules were also given a tick in the report, and the government plans to work with other near-CBD councils to ensure that their planning rules are also supportive of further development of the sector.