To establish an alternative income stream, student accommodation providers in Redfern and other parts of Australia are temporarily seeking to change the use of their buildings into temporary hotel accommodations and rentals for non-students.
Scape Australia, the country’s largest student accommodation provider with upcoming purpose-built student accommodations (PBSA) in Redfern, and Iglu, which also runs a number of student dormitories in the borough, has sought permission from the City of Sydney to allow the changes amidst the uncertainties of the pandemic lockdowns.
Scape chief Anouk Darling said that their existing student homes are at 10 to 20 percent occupancy only whilst many of their new and completed state-of-the-art buildings have not yet opened due to the lack of international students.
Iglu’s Richard Smith said that they want temporary relief from the ongoing COVID situation and would like to turn their student buildings into accommodations for teachers and school support staff as well. The student accommodation provider has a new 18-storey building on Redfern’s Regent Street with 500 beds.
Prior to COVID-19, the purpose-built student accommodation industry has been booming with over 109,000 beds across Australia whilst 30,000 more are in development for the next few years. Scape has five new buildings around the country slated to open this year, which would lose millions in revenue if the borders remain closed.
As of January 2021, 60,394 student visa holders in NSW have not returned for in-person classes, per the figures from the Federal Department of Education, Skills and Employment However, Minister Alan Tudge said they will launch phased pilots to bring back the students in small numbers.
NSW Treasurer Dominic Perrottet said that the NSW Government has given the green light for 250 international students to fly into Sydney every two weeks beginning July 2021. The students will undergo mandatory quarantine at a purpose-built student accommodation, whether they are vaccinated or unvaccinated. The proposal has been submitted to the Federal Government for their review.
