Since moving to Melbourne to study, Kiki Zhang has been losing sleep, losing hair and suffering chest pains.
Key points:
- International students say they had no idea the cost-of-living and rental crisis was so severe
- Many say they are being exploited and forced to live in expensive and uncomfortable housing
- Stories of the realities of studying in Australia are making students change their plans
"I can't sleep every day and I constantly have anxiety, worrying about what to do if I don't have a place to stay," Ms Zhang told the ABC.
"The rent has gone up too far."
The 25-year-old from China said she was aware of "radical voices ranting hate speech" against international students, as the community is increasingly blamed for the rental crisis in Australia.
But, in reality, her community is also copping the brunt of housing stress and are often being exploited.
Ms Zhang looked for properties on real estate websites, Chinese social media platforms and online forums, and saw asking rents rise from an average of $400 to $650 a week for a one-bedroom apartment.
Landlords were also making applicants "bid" for properties, she said.
"I have met many Australians who are very friendly to international students," she said.
"But it was incredibly difficult to find a place ... The whole experience was very unexpected."
In a month, Ms Zhang sent out 30 applications before being accepted for a $385 room in a shared apartment in the city.
The Department of Home Affairs student visa information page recommends a budget of $21,000 a year for living costs – a figure which hasn't been updated since 2019.
Students say they are also still being told by education agents they can live on less than that and being sold "dreams" that are far from the reality.
But stories of housing horrors, financial stress and prejudice have been making their way back to students, especially in China.
Students won't 'dare to come' to Australia
Laura Zhao, a 23-year-old studying at the University of Melbourne, said the rising cost of living had been "shocking" and was making Chinese students abandon their plans to come to Australia.
"I have friends who had a plan to study in Australia, but living situations made them fearful and they didn't dare to come," Ms Zhao told the ABC.
The sentiment towards international students and security concerns also impacted their decisions, she said, adding they had very different views of Australia to what they are hearing now.
Ms Zhao returned to study a master's degree in March after a positive experience living as an international student in Melbourne before the pandemic.
But this time around, the situation has left her "miserable and heartbroken".
Ms Zhao stayed in a hotel and crashed at friends' places before giving in to paying about $400 a week for a bed in a living room in Melbourne city.
"I feel extremely suffocated and uncomfortable living in the living room," she said.
"I don't think it's quite what I thought it would be."
Not nurturing students a 'loss for us'
International education contributed $29 billion to the economy in 2022, according to Universities Australia.
And international students are expected to help to fill skilled labour shortages once they graduate, said Angela Lehmann, a sociologist and head of research at education consultancy The Lygon Group.
"These are potentially ideal migrants who have committed to living in our communities and learning about Australia," Ms Lehmann told the ABC.
"We should be nurturing them and making sure that we have them on board."
It would be a "loss for us" if they didn't feel supported, she added.
Ms Lehmann said ensuring students had accurate and reliable information was an important first step.
And it needs to be communicated through the internationals students' social media "ecosystem".
"Chinese students support each other, largely via social media," she said.
"So, the information needs to be delivered within their own systems of information flows."
Ms Lehmann also warned about the narrative being used around international students causing rent inflation.
She said some negative sentiment had been circulating online and the wrong messages could lead to "a lot of resentment towards vulnerable young people that are here in our care".
Her research has highlighted comments saying international students were taking up homes "meant for Australians".
There were fears that up to 40,000 students would "flood" back after China made a surprise announcement in January that it would no longer certify degrees studied online.
Then last week's budget confirmed predictions that Australia's surge in net migration will reach around 400,000 this year.
Most of the increase is attributed to the return of overseas students, skilled temporary visa holders and working holiday-makers.
Ms Lehmann said there was an assumption students were snapping up properties and sending rents soaring in major cities.
"But it's not as simple as that," she said.
Many can't afford to live in desirable areas and are struggling to get applications accepted because they don't have any rental history in Australia.
"A lot of the commentary started to conflate the return of international students with an issue that was already going on, which was our increasing cost of living and increasingly difficult rental and short-term accommodation problems," Ms Lehmann said.
Nine migrants share a four-bedroom home
Rajesh, a mature-aged student from India who preferred not to use his full name, was forced to live in a hotel for 42 weeks when he arrived in Australia.
The ordeal cost him about $10,000.
"I didn't know how difficult it would be or how renting works here," Rajesh said.
"Not being a particularly young student, I didn't book into student accommodation, which probably would have been the wiser way to go."
After countless applications were rejected, he offered to pay 12 months' rent up-front to a private landlord.
He has been spending $255 a week to live out of the CBD in a four-bedroom house with eight other tenants.
He not only lives with international students, but people from the wider migrant community who had no other housing option.
They range from a nurse from Nigeria, a Sri Lankan mother and son, and a family from India – one of whom is an Australian citizen.
Some share bedrooms while others sleep in the garage and a converted store-room, Rajesh said.
He believes some of the living conditions are illegal, but is worried about reporting the landlord.
"What will I get out of it? It's not going to benefit me in any way," he said.
"It's probably going to add to the misery of other people in the house."
Rajesh asked to keep his location confidential, fearing the other people in the house may be implicated.
Ms Lehmann said it was common for students to feel nervous or confused about speaking up.
"They might be concerned perhaps about exploitation or some other risk to themselves," she said.
"We need to make sure that students are given, again, that accurate information around rights and responsibilities and dispelling myths."
Rajesh was led to believe that the government's suggested $21,000 a year for living costs was an inflated amount.
"You can't survive on that money unless you starve yourself to death," he said.
Education agents have a "dream they sell you" which paints a "cloudy picture," he added.
But he still considers himself to be in a fortunate position financially compared to other students who are "basically trying to survive".
"It's terrible. It's absolutely terrible," he said.
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