***Check against delivery*** 

Thank you for that warm welcome. 

It’s a pleasure to be here this morning on the lands of the Wurundjeri people. 

I pay my respects to elders past and present. 

I very much appreciate the opportunity to speak today. 

Thank you to the Asia-Pacific Student Accommodation Association for inviting me. 

APSAA is a very important association, representing the interests of a very important sector. 

And I want to congratulate and thank Jacob and the entire APSAA team for all that you do. 

Student accommodation is crucial for a positive and successful university experience. 

It provides a sense of community, belonging and a supportive environment for students. 

And it’s a key driver of academic and personal growth. 

I never lived in student accommodation, but if I had my time again, I think I might like to. 

My peers who did only have fond memories of their experience living on campus. 

The convenience, the socialising, the sense of community. 

A home away from home. 

The student accommodation sector has come a long way since I studied. 

I’m advised there are currently more than 132,000 student accommodation beds in Australia. 

This is a 90 per cent increase on the number of beds a decade ago. 

Here in Victoria, there are almost 44,000 beds alone – more than in any other state. 

It’s a big operation. 

Let me take this opportunity to thank each and every one of you for what you do to make it possible. 

I know it’s a lot of work, and it’s not always easy. 

But you are passionate, and you are dedicated. 

It’s so appreciated. 

You do more than just provide a bed for someone to rest their head at the end of a long day. 

You build communities. 

You foster safe and respectful cultures. 

You meet accessibility requirements. 

You provide academic and personal support. 

You build social connections and nurture friendships. 

You resolve disputes. 

All this and more. 

So, thank you for all that you do for sector and those who rely on it. 

This is a sector that has a bright future. 

In the coming decades, Australia’s universities are going to continue to grow. 

New skills targets show we need to double the number of students we educate each year by 2050. 

That’s 1.8 million domestic students studying a year, up from approximately 900,000 today. 

More student beds will be needed to cope with this increase. 

But this is just domestic demand. 

We also need to consider future growth in international enrolments. 

And with the federal election now behind us, I’m optimistic we still see growth in this important cohort. 

Let me provide some context to this. 

Our sector is emerging from a very volatile period for international education. 

In the last 18 months new policy settings have curtailed growth in international enrolments. 

Student visa fee increases. 

Delayed visa processing. 

Changes to post-study work rights. 

International enrolment limits. 

The list goes on. 

This is all part of a political fight over housing and migration. 

At the height of the election, international students were put at the centre of this battle. 

They became scapegoats for a problem not of their making, blamed for rental affordability and availability problems. 

The evidence suggests otherwise. 

International students account for only six per cent of the rental market. 

That’s what the Australian Government has told us. 

International students live in areas with higher vacancy rates than the metropolitan average. 

That’s what the property data has told us. 

International students have not pushed up rental prices. 

That’s what independent research from the University of South Australia has told us. 

International students have not caused the housing crisis. 

That’s what the government’s National Housing Supply and Affordability Council has told us. 

Even the federal treasurer admitted that the student contribution to housing is “at the margins”. 

I, along with many others, called this horrible treatment of international students for what it was – election year politics. 

Both Labor and the Coalition bowing to political pressure and deferring blame for domestic policy failures. 

For a long time, Australia simply hasn’t built enough houses to keep pace with a growing population. 

The issue is a lack of supply-side measures to address Australia’s housing supply dilemma. 

This has been acknowledged far and wide, including by the Reserve Bank of Australia. 

So, where does the student accommodation sector fit into this? 

Unwittingly, your sector became part of the debate last year. 

In May, the government announced limits to international enrolments. 

Universities wanting to exceed their limit were told to establish new student accommodation. 

This is easier said than done. 

As you would all know, building student accommodation takes planning, money and time. 

It doesn’t happen overnight. 

And it doesn’t happen by accident. 

It takes investor confidence. 

You can’t build new accommodation without capital. 

And to attract investment, we must send the right signals to the market. 

Why are international enrolments so important? 

Because we know student accommodation is hugely popular with international students. 

Investors know this. 

The boom in international student enrolments in 2020 sparked huge investment. 

About $2.5 billion was invested in student housing that year. 

Investment dried up rapidly during COVID-19 when international students went home. 

But the strong rebound in arrivals post-pandemic has again been met with investor confidence. 

And recent reports suggest investment in the sector could soon surpass its previous annual peak of $2.5 billion. 

Continued investment is needed to meet both domestic and international demand for student accommodation. 

And now with the federal election behind us, we have a real opportunity to spur investor confidence. 

Both major parties took aim at international students during the election. 

But Labor arguably presents a more favourable government for the sector as far as international education is concerned. 

Under Labor… 

Enrolment limits are higher. 

Student visa fees are lower. 

And the settings to control numbers are fairer across the sector. 

Labor also promised to deliver sustainable growth in international education over time. 

The government now has a mandate to deliver this, and I want to urge that to happen. 

This is an opportunity for a much-needed reset in international education. 

The election is over. 

It’s time to support this sector with good policy. 

International education is our nation’s biggest export outside of mining. 

It’s an additive industry, not an extractive one. 

It pays for essential services. 

It supports 250,000 jobs. 

It funds vital university research. 

And critically – it subsidises the education of Australian students. 

Let’s also not forget what international students add to our workforce and our communities. 

They work in the hospitality, retail, tourism and health sectors while they study. 

And they strengthen Australia’s cultural fabric and links to the outside world. 

The Reserve Bank has warned that federal policies to limit international students put all of this at risk. 

International education should be above politics. 

Australians have rejected hard cuts to our international education sector. 

The government needs to honour this and commit to growing the sector for Australia’s benefit. 

To give investors the confidence to back new student accommodation. 

To give students confidence Australia is a welcoming destination for them. 

To give universities confidence they can educate international students. 

And to give Australia confidence to grow and prosper. 

Thank you again for the opportunity to be here this morning. 

And thank you again for everything you do to support Australia’s student accommodation sector. 

Let’s keep working together to deliver a bright future for students, our universities and the nation. 

Thank you. 

ENDS