What is purpose-built student accommodation?

Rob: Welcome to the National Virtual Expo and welcome to this session on student accommodation. Before we kick off, I pay my respects to the traditional custodians of this magnificent land on which I live and work. Can I tell you a little bit of a story? When I went through university I did a student exchange programme and I lived in some student accommodation -- this old musty shoe box, bare brick walls. I remember coming back to my home university in Sydney and going to one of the residential colleges there and discovering that it was also a bare brick wall shoe box. I remember thinking to myself, why would you want to leave home and live on campus? But that was 25 years ago, and all I can tell you is that the world has changed in the most unbelievable way. To talk about student accommodation, I'm really grateful to be joined by Georgia from Student One. Georgia, welcome to the National Virtual Expo.

Guest: Thank you. Thanks for having me. Very excited to be here.

Rob: The world has changed, has it not, when it comes to accommodation?

Guest: Honestly, I remember when I was at university 13 years ago and it was nothing like it is now. There are apartment buildings and high-tech facilities, and I think back to when I went -- it was corridors and brick rooms coming off them, and that was about it.

Rob: Yeah, and absolutely no natural light. One of the things I think that old grubby, grungy feel actually turned me off the whole idea of moving away to university or living near campus. But now, having been in this industry for 25 years, I'm a huge advocate for people to go and, if they can, move somewhere close to a university to really be part of that campus lifestyle. Anyway, let's dive in -- what is purpose-built student accommodation? People might see the abbreviation PBSA when they start looking at choosing a uni.

Guest: So essentially you've got your on-campus accommodations, which include a lot of your residential colleges, but there are also PBSA sites that are either on campus or near campus -- in high-traffic areas like CBDs and places like that. They are usually independently owned apartment buildings, and within them you have cluster apartments or studio apartments that provide an independent style of living. I view it as a nice stepping stone: you've lived at home all your life, you want some independence, you've never rented before, you don't have rental history, but you also want that social experience of being at university and meeting people, while still having the safety of a secure apartment. It's a one-stop shop for all of that. And it's very much all-inclusive -- your rent covers electricity, water, Wi-Fi, and access to facilities like gyms. So it's a lot more accessible if you're a first-time mover out of home.

Rob: That's really interesting. When I went to uni, if you wanted to live out of home you basically found yourself a share house, and it was quite complicated -- somebody's name had to go on the lease and they were effectively subletting rooms to other people. It became this complicated puzzle of who owes what to whom, and one person had to take full responsibility. PBSA has made things a lot easier for students, no doubt.

Guest: Definitely. It's just a nice landing pad. Whether you're a domestic or an international student, if you're coming from a different city -- and regional students are a big feeder for PBSA -- you're arriving somewhere new and you don't really know where to live, how close the universities are, or where to shop. It's nice to have a landing pad, get familiar with the city, and then once you know which areas suit you, you can go from there.

Is PBSA only for students, and how does the application process work?

Rob: Is it only for students?

Guest: It is, and that's the added safety element -- everyone there is studying something. But the beauty is you're not limited to one university. We've got students studying dance, musical theatre, apprenticeships, as well as students from major universities.

Rob: This session covers student accommodation broadly, but let's hone in on Brisbane, where you're based, as a great case study. If you're watching from overseas or from around Australia -- and I'm not putting this on at all -- Brisbane is my favourite student city in Australia. Brisbane and Perth, I think, are the perfect cities for students: big enough, great climate, great culture and lifestyle, exceptional universities, and a better cost of living than Sydney and Melbourne.

Guest: Definitely, especially at this point in time -- and the Olympics are coming too.

Rob: Of course! So let's stay on Student One for a moment. You've got a number of options for students in the middle of Brisbane, which has some fantastic universities -- UQ, QUT, Griffith, plus others. What does the application process look like for a student who might want to live with Student One while studying at one of those universities?

Guest: The best way I can describe it is like booking a hotel. You hop onto our website, work out which building you want, pick your room type, see which rooms are available for the length of stay you need, and book on the spot. You press accept, we send you a letter of offer, you pay a two-week deposit, and that secures your room. As long as you have a confirmed enrolment, you're good to go. There's none of the back-and-forth of the private rental process. If everything checks out, you can have an acceptance within 15 to 20 minutes.

Room types available in purpose-built student accommodation

Rob: Brilliant -- so stress-free. You mentioned different room types. Why don't we hone in on those, using Student One as an example, since I imagine the options are fairly comparable across different providers?

Guest: Sure. It's pretty much the same across most providers. You've got apartment-style buildings with a range of price points based on room type. For us, we have twin studios and bunk studios, which are your more cost-effective option -- you share a studio apartment with someone you may or may not know. Then we have single studio apartments: your own small apartment with a desk, bed, kitchenette, and bathroom, no sharing. We also have couple rooms for students moving with a partner, and only one person needs to be on the lease -- the other can simply be a second occupant.

Guest: Our most popular rooms are our clusters -- four-, five-, and six-bedroom apartments. The best way to describe them is a share house in apartment form. You have your own private, lockable room with a desk, wardrobe, and bed (all furniture provided), and then a communal living area, kitchen, and bathroom shared only with the other people in your apartment -- not 50 or 60 strangers. If you have four mates, you can book a whole apartment together, live together, cook together. It's quite a good set-up.

Rob: I think that last one is, at least from my perspective and having spoken to literally hundreds of students who've lived in on-campus or PBSA accommodation, the option that really stands out as popular. You have that privacy -- your own personal, lockable room -- but you still have that co-living vibe. I've even met people who stayed in a single studio by themselves and at the end of it said, "Actually, I still want to be around more people," because when you're moving away it can get lonely on your own.

Guest: Exactly. And I think it's great to have both options. Some older students or students in intense degree programmes want the solitude of a single studio, while others are like, "I'm moving from Cairns and I know nobody -- put me in a shared apartment with like-minded people so I can make friends." In my opinion, I would have said, "Chuck me in a cluster, let me make some friends."

What happens when living arrangements go wrong

Rob: Let's take the one who might be a bit anxious. What happens if something goes wrong? What happens if you end up in a shared space with someone and it's just not working out?

Guest: There are a few steps available. We have property managers and assistant managers on every single building site -- each building has its own -- so it's much more accessible than a private rental where you might have to book a call with a manager. Here you can just pop down to reception and explain the issue. Because we own all three buildings, if you have a problem and there's availability, we can arrange a room move within the same building or one of our other buildings, and it doesn't have to be classified as a lease break. You have a way out while still staying in student accommodation where you feel comfortable, without being locked into that exact room if there are issues.

Rob: Once again, in a private rental you're kind of stuck -- unless you break the lease, you're there for the next year.

Guest: Exactly.

Making friends and community life in student accommodation

Rob: Let's jump onto something else that makes people anxious. Research shows the number-one thing prospective students worry about when going to university is making friends. Can we talk about the lifestyle and community inside purpose-built student accommodation?

Guest: We have a wonderful person who oversees all of our events -- we call it residential life -- and her job is literally to make sure people make friends. She puts on events, networking evenings, cultural dinners, breakfasts -- all included in your rent -- with the sole purpose of bringing people together. Come eat some food, make some friends. Come do yoga. We'll bring in a yoga instructor. We do puppy yoga, which is consistently one of the most popular ones -- and suddenly you're bonding with like-minded people.

Guest: We also did a survey last year and found that while residents loved the events, some were still struggling to make friends. So we partnered with an app from the UK called Going. It's almost like a social media platform for our students. When you move in, you get a log-on and create a little profile -- "I'm Georgia, I love good coffee, I love to eat, I love running" -- and then you can see profiles of people who might live on the same floor as you that you've never met. You can connect and say, "Hey, I love running too -- want to go for a run?" There are groups for "I live in Elizabeth Street," "I study nursing at UQ," runners, food lovers. It's been this extra step where people say, "Oh, I can connect a bit more comfortably" -- because this younger generation loves connecting digitally. So it's like, if that's how you find friends, let us meet you there. Your best friend could be four floors up and you don't even know it yet.

Rob: This is making me want to go back and be a student again -- meeting people, exploring different cultures and opportunities. To have that built not only into the university experience but into your residential after-hours experience as well really dials down that "how am I going to make friends?" anxiety. You've just got so many different connection points.

Guest: And the friendships that come out of it are incredible. We had a shared apartment last year with one student from Townsville, one from Toowoomba, one from Canada, and one from London. They all went and spent Christmas in London with the friend they met in their shared apartment. Friends for life, with connections all around the world -- it makes the experience that little bit richer. Instead of just going to uni and getting a degree, you also come away with friendships you carry with you for life.

Facilities, self-catered living, and on-site support

Rob: Let's think about the facilities. Practical question first: do students have to cook for themselves, or are meals included?

Guest: Every room, no matter the type, will have a kitchen of some sort, so it is self-catered. You do have to learn to cook for yourself, which can be a bit of a culture shock at first. But we do community dinners and breakfasts once or twice a week, so there's that extra touch point if you don't want to cook all your own meals. And being so centralised, a lot of students also take advantage of the close proximity of restaurants and delivery options.

Rob: Learning to cook is a very handy skill for the future, ladies and gentlemen. And mums and dads who might be watching -- don't worry, they'll figure it out. What other facilities are available in a PBSA?

Guest: For us, we have gyms in all of our buildings, so you don't need to buy a separate gym membership. Because we have three buildings, we've spread the facilities across them and given all students access to all three. One of our buildings has a pool, but your keycard automatically comes with pool access across all buildings. We have rooftops at some buildings, two buildings have cinema rooms, and all of them have study breakout spaces. What probably surprised me most when I joined was the sheer number of spaces available outside your room. Your room is where you sleep, but you can also go two floors up to a whole study floor, or head down to the cinema room to relax. Students aren't confined to a tiny apartment -- they can build a routine: gym in the morning, laps in the pool on Wednesdays, a barbecue on the rooftop on the weekend.

Rob: Tell me this: if you're working on a group assignment, can you invite your study group to use those facilities?

Guest: Absolutely. We have breakout rooms with large whiteboards and screens you can connect your laptop to via HDMI. You can run a full presentation without being at uni. So you could do a barbecue on the rooftop for dinner and then go down, book the study room for two hours, and work through the assignment together. And because it's someone's home, the space is available 24/7 -- you don't have to worry about making it back from the library late at night.

Rob: And you mentioned on-site staff, so if you do need something or have an emergency, you have a clear port of call.

Guest: Exactly. All three buildings have their own on-site staff during the day and night managers overnight. It's not like you're completely fending for yourself -- the independence is there if you want it, but there's always a staff member available. Even for small things, like "Where's a good coffee shop?" or "I'm not familiar with the bus routes yet -- can you point me in the right direction?" Little things you don't think about when you're booking accommodation but are so reassuring once you arrive.

Rob: And this is a very micro question, but Brisbane is really humid -- is air conditioning included?

Guest: Yes, all of our buildings have air conditioning in every room. I did one private rental without air con and swore I would never do that again. And because it's all included in your rent, you can run it 24/7 and your rent stays exactly the same. I honestly sleep with it on every night. Whatever gets you through.

Rental history, parking, and public transport in Brisbane

Rob: What happens when a student finishes with Student One and wants to move into their own private rental? Does time spent with you count towards rental history?

Guest: Yes. Because we operate under the Residential Tenancies Authority in Queensland, you can use us as a rental reference. You could live here for a year and then go for a private rental, putting us down as a previous landlord. You've now got rental history at age 19 or 20. It probably doesn't sound that exciting if you're currently at school, but as someone who's in the rental market, it will be your greatest little advantage. It just helps to have it if you can.

Rob: What else do people ask about a lot when they're inquiring about staying with you?

Guest: After meals and making friends, the most common question is definitely about parking. Especially if you're coming from somewhere like the Sunshine Coast or Toowoomba -- close enough that you could drive. But what I've found is that being so centralised in the city, and with most PBSA on main public transport lines, you could have a car but honestly might not use it much. You can walk to Coles or Woolworths, catch the ferry to UQ, or take the bus to QUT or Griffith. It's more accessible, in my view, without a car than trying to manoeuvre car parks and things like that.

Rob: And for people who aren't in Queensland: public transport fares in Queensland are currently 50 cents. The maths on that is extraordinary -- it can save you thousands of dollars a year compared to driving, which is literally hundreds of hours of work you don't have to do.

Guest: I catch the bus to work now and it's a dollar return. You can't even drive 100 metres down the road for that in fuel, especially given petrol prices at the moment. It makes getting around the city incredibly affordable.

Wrapping up: how to find Student One and ask further questions

Rob: This has been such a great conversation. Thanks so much for joining me. Ladies and gentlemen, we've run out of time for live Q&A, but if you have questions -- whether specifically about Student One and what they offer in Brisbane, or more broadly about student accommodation -- you can ask them in the Choosing Uni Discord (details in the description below). If you're a parent, we also have a Facebook community just for you, linked below. Every single question will get an answer. Georgia, thank you so much for joining me at the National Virtual Expo. Where can people find out more about Student One?

Guest: You can find us on our website at studentone.com. We're across all the social media platforms as well, so you can see our events and get a feel for life here. We also offer room tours -- you're welcome to come to any of our buildings and book a tour online. It would probably be me showing you around, so I would love to meet you.

Rob: Thanks so much for joining me at the National Virtual Expo, Georgia.

Guest: Our pleasure. Thank you so much.