00:00Raj feels at home in his new Adelaide apartment, but his first experience renting as an international
00:07student was less than ideal.
00:09It was a four bedroom house that had been converted to a six bedroom house.
00:13At one point there were nine people living in that house.
00:17It's an all too common experience for those who come to study in Australia, where there
00:20isn't enough student accommodation.
00:23International students are basically cash cows that are milked by the system.
00:27With an election looming and rising political pressure, the government announced a cap of
00:31145,000 international students for publicly funded universities, plus an incentive, go
00:37over the limit but provide more student housing.
00:40If we can get more accommodation and more supply on, although it might be at the high
00:44end of the market, it puts downward pressure on pricing.
00:48Universities have pushed back against the planned student caps, arguing the rental crisis
00:52isn't caused by the post-COVID influx of international students, but rather a chronic
00:57lack of housing supply.
01:00But getting approval for new developments isn't always straightforward.
01:03The University of New South Wales plan for student housing was fiercely opposed by the
01:07local council and neighbouring acting academy, NIDA, which raised concerns about construction
01:13noise.
01:14We already have in Radwick over 3,000 very expensive commercial student accommodation
01:20rooms already approved.
01:23After initially being knocked back, the development was approved in September.
01:26The government is hoping to pass the legislation on student caps before parliament breaks for
01:31the year.
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