Accommodation | International Students
Accommodation and Welfare Policy
Homestay is a very popular form of accommodation. It offers an international student the security and comfort of a real home while they are away from their family, enabling them also to experience the Australian family culture first-hand.
For students who have indicated on their application form that they will live in homestay, King’s will organise a suitable homestay placement. All conditions for homestay must be agreed to before moving into a college-organised homestay. A placement fee is charged by the college to find a suitable homestay.
As part of our enrolment conditions, students have two options for living arrangements regardless of their age and they are:
- live in college-organised homestay approved by the college OR
- live with a close family member approved by DHA
Please refer to the fee schedule for the cost of a college-organised homestay. The homestay fee is paid direct to the college in advance, either by year or by semester from enrolment commencement.
When living in homestay, students may be asked to participate in some minor household tasks for example, keeping their room tidy, helping with the dishes after a meal, making their own breakfast or lunch.
At King’s Christian College all homestay families are chosen carefully by the college’s Homestay Officer. They must pass government regulations and requirements to be part of the homestay program. The well-being of our students is very important to us and we do our best to make sure that our international guests enjoy every aspect of their stay at King’s.
Students are generally expected to return to their home country during the summer vacation, which is almost two months in duration, over December and January. Alternate arrangements must be made with the approval of the college’s Homestay Officer earlier in the year.
A homestay organised by the college’s Homestay Officer is expected to provide the following:
- Three meals a day
- Inclusion (where possible) in all family activities
- Supervision and monitoring of homework and behaviour
- Checking that homework and assignments are up to date
- Regular liaison with the College if there are any issues that need to be dealt with (eg. after school functions or detentions etc)
- Regular liaison with subject / year level teachers by attending high school partnership evenings
- When a student is ill, it is the homestay’s responsibility to call the college to advise of the student’s absence
- Washing and ironing of clothes and uniforms (older students may wish to do their own ironing)
- Minor clothing repairs where possible (eg. hem undone, small tear in shorts etc)
- Provision of heating in winter / fan in summer
- General parental love, care, concern, discipline and direction
- Monitoring / supervising social outings and activities, especially on weekends
- If a family outing includes a meal, then payment of that meal is provided by the homestay family
- In the event of an emergency, provide transport to a doctor or hospital
- Provide transport as requested, if necessary and where reasonable
- Report any socially unacceptable behaviour or extended absences to the college’s Homestay Officer
- While hosting a King’s Christian College student, the host family agree to have a maximum of two homestay students at any one time
Two week’s notice must be given in writing to the College’s homestay officer, if exceptional circumstances make it necessary for a student to move out of the college-organised homestay. This may only be done with the approval of the college’s Homestay Officer.
Please note that all fees are quoted in Australian dollars. All information supplied is correct at time of posting. King’s Christian College reserves the right to adjust fees without notice.