Asia-Pacific

66% of Australian students under extreme rental stress: survey

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2010-04-22 22:28

CANBERRA - Two-thirds of Australian university students said they are under extreme rental stress, a new survey showed on Thursday.

The National Union of Students (NUS) asked almost 1,000 university students about housing matters during their first week back to campus, earlier this year. Of those surveyed, 66 percent of students living away from home believed the stress rent placed on their personal budgets was extreme.

NUS president Carla Drakeford said students were being squeezed out of the rental market in capital cities and regional centers, because the federal government's levels of rent assistance weren't high enough.

"For the majority of students, rent assistance for share-houses is 75.60 dollars (US$70.2) a fortnight," Drakeford said on Thursday as reported by Australian Associated Press.

"(It is) simply not enough to help students from low socio- economic, regional and indigenous backgrounds make the shift to university like the government is expecting."

Drakeford has called on Australian government to create a fund for universities to build and administer affordable on-campus accommodation for domestic and international students.

NUS also wanted the government to reassess the value of Rent Assistance payments.