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Homestay: Another Way To Rip Off The Vulnerable?

We all know that international students face a host of problems when coming to Australia. Loneliness, visa restrictions, financial difficulties and language barriers are frequent issues, all of which make the process of settling more difficult and can adversely affect a student’s university experience. There is, however, one problem which many students face that is often ignored: homestay.

For those who are unfamiliar with this concept, homestay is an arrangement where international students live with an Australian family. The host family prepares food, is responsible for cleaning, and sometimes picks the student up from school. Homestays are often considered a very effective way of replicating a nurturing home environment in a foreign country, immersing yourself in Australian culture and saving time on chores. Sounds great, doesn’t it?

Disturbingly, the average cost for this spoiled life is minimum of $245 per week.  If you are underage you must pay even more, as Education providers require a surcharge of around 30% for organizing the homestay, as opposed to the hosts being paid directly. Underage students aren’t able to move out of homestay unless they have special permission from their parents, and even if they do, are only allowed to live alone under certain conditions.

Once students have paid a terrifying amount of money up to five weeks in advance, they are usually afforded a tiny room in the house, internet limits (as host families can be worried about downloading habits) and even food restrictions. Yes, according to the rules host families are required to supply students with food. However, there are no guidelines pertaining to exactly what is provided, so international students might get Hungry Jack’s for lunch or a sandwich for dinner. The host family can also control the amount of fruit consumed. The word ‘control’ is used literally when students are given permission to eat one or two apples a day. That also happens. Furthermore, changes made this year mean that families are no longer required to provide students with lunch.

Host families are usually expected to improve students’ English language skills, or at the bare minimum speak to students in English in order to ease their settlement in Australia. However, there is also a chance that hosts can’t even clearly speak English, or actually use languages other than English as the sole mean of communication.

There is also a chance that students will placed with a disgruntled host family that in extreme circumstances has keys to lock the bathroom. Did you forget that the water bills are expensive in Australia? Didn’t you have shower two days ago? So wait till you get another chance to wash your bloody hair! This has happened to people that I know.

If you are a social person and you enjoy inviting friends to your house, be ready for rejection. Not because your friends will make a mess or will breach someone’s privacy, but because they may eat something in the house and use the water both in the toilet and in the bathroom. Get over it. Your friends can stay outside.

If international students are not satisfied, then it is not a big concern for hosts. There will always be another bunch of kids looking for a friendly Australian family, so foreign students need not worry that their host parents will feel lonely without them.

Indeed, the system doesn’t persuade students to make complaints, comments or recommendations. They frequently arrive in Australia with their host family as the only means of support and navigating language and bureaucratic problems; when the host family is unsupportive these students feel abandoned and unsure of where to seek help. Underage students do have ‘guardians’ who check up on them intermittently, but they usually do little to help.

Vulnerable students are afraid of reporting issues to higher authorities because they risk being kicked out of home. They know little about Australian culture and don’t understand the bureaucratic process, meaning that they are easily manipulated into being silent. There are also very few channels through which complaints can be officially directed, so students are left to talk about their problems with their parents back home and their classmates, both of whom, although sympathetic, have little power over outcomes.

It would appear that no one is actually interested in solving this issue. Homestay students are scared to protest, homestay families have no incentive to improve living standards and often happily exploit the status quo, and there is no impetus for changes to legislation until complaints are made. It’s a vicious cycle. In the meantime educational institutions gladly take students’ money (full fee!) and have little further concern. Not all host families are bad; indeed, some students have very positive homestay experiences. However, homestay shouldn’t be like gambling; you shouldn’t need to rely on a lucky role of the dice to get a good environment. Welcome to Australia!

Sveta Tran

The author Sveta Tran

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