APSAA Student Accommodation Journal - December 2022

DISCLAIMER

This journal is copyright and all rights are reserved. Apart from any use as permitted under the copyright Act 1968, no part may be reproduced without prior written permission. All reasonable efforts have been made to obtain permission to use copyright material reproduced. Every effort has been made to obtain accurate information for this publication. The views expressed in this journal are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect those of APSAA.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT OF COUNTRY

Australia:

APSAA acknowledges Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people as the Traditional Owners of Country throughout Australia. We recognise Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people’s continuing connection to lands, waters and communities; and we pay our respect to them and their cultures and to Elders past, present and emerging.

Aotearoa | New Zealand:

APSAA honours Te Tiriti o Waitangi | The Treaty of Waitangi as Aotearoa | New Zealand’s founding document and recognises the special place of Māori in Aotearoa as mana whenua.

Marion Bayley APSAA President; CEO, Deakin Residential Services

President’s Welcome

Welcome to the December edition of Student Accommodation

As we are preparing for all that 2023 will bring, I often find myself reflecting on the year that was around this time. So much has eventuated in 2022, most of which was beyond our wildest expectations as our industry has seen a swift and encouraging bounce back from the global pandemic, acknowledging there is still some way to go.

APSAA has had a busy and productive year and I have been fortunate to work with wonderful colleagues to ensure that we provide the best outcomes for our members, successfully;

• Launching the 2023 – 2027 Foundations for our Future strategic plan

• Growing our global and industry partnerships, increasing commitment to 3-year MOU’s (memorandum of understanding)

• Delivering our annual conference in Sydney after 3 years, 3 months and 3 weeks!

• Delivering state and regional face to face networking opportunities

• Offering an extensive webinar program for members to receive complimentary professional development

• Delivering the 2022 APSAA awards

I am equally excited for 2023 and the amazing professional development opportunities that are available throughout the year providing valuable and relevant learning outcomes, no matter where you are in the journey of your student accommodation career;

Global Housing Training Institute (GHTI)

Target audience: Over 2 years industry experience and/or mid–senior level roles

Dates: 16 – 20 April 2023 (5 days)

Info: Fully immersive residential training institute, global and local faculty, guest speakers and site visits, hosted in Melbourne.

APSAA Bootcamp

Target audience: Under two years' experience in industry Dates: 20 – 21 November 2023 (2 days)

Info: Overnight residential training institute, focussing on industry guidelines and expanding knowledge in all aspects of student accommodation, hosted in Sydney.

This year the Board has achieved a great deal in clarifying the vision and values and ensuring the ongoing sustainability of our association. The board has also been a wonderful support to myself, and I want to take this opportunity thank each Director for their individual contributions, the APSAA office team who are the engine room of all that we do and particularly our Vice President, Jacob Waitere who has given tirelessly yet again juggling many competing commitments, thank you.

I hope that each of you get a well-deserved rest and wish you all a safe and happy festive season with your loved ones. I look forward to seeing you in 2023 and working together once again.

Best wishes, Marion

Jacob Waitere Chair – APSAA Communications and Engagement

committee; APSAA Vice-President; General ManagerCanterbury Portfolio UniLodge

From the Editor

Kia Ora koutou katoa | Hello everyone,

Welcome to the final edition of the APSAA Journal for the year! 2022 has just flown past. At the start of the year, we were focused on the vaccine roll-out and seeing how the world would react to COVID, now in December we are focused on the cost-of-living crisis and moving well away from COVID. It is amazing how much can change in a matter of months and weeks.

Given the turbulent year we all thought it best to focus on the positive milestones we have achieved this year. You will find features on our amazing award winners, a recap on our first conference held in person since the pandemic, and other member stories. APSAA is also proud to launch our new strategic plan, which outlines our roadmap for the future.

This edition of the journal will also be my last as Chair of the Communications and Engagement committee/Editor of the Journal. It is with bittersweet emotions that I write my final “from the editor”. Having taken up the mantel in June 2020 amid COVID, it wasn’t a committee I had naturally gravitated to, but like so many of us, you roll up your sleeves and muck in when stuff needs to happen. While I will

look forward to a few more hours of my evenings back to relax, being involved in the committee has allowed me to connect and interact with so many individuals. I would like to thank the committee members

I have worked with: Simone, Jack, Sam, Areti, Monica, Rachel and Kate. Big thanks must also go to the Association Managers I have had support me: Mel, Karen and Patrick.

In taking on the communications and engagement committee I had a clear set of objectives, and for the most part these have been achieved. Thank you to everyone who helped me achieve the below:

• I wanted to introduce international features to the journal. We have now featured articles from the United Kingdom, South Africa, Canada, the United States in addition to New Zealand, Australia and Malaysia.

• September has become the special feature edition of the journal. In 2020 we focused on Change management, 2021 we launched our first edition dedicated to indigenous student support and in 2022 we focused on sustainability and linked our articles to outcomes of the UN SDGs.

• We acknowledged country for indigenous peoples in Australia and New Zealand in our journal and website

• We linked articles to our three industry guideline areas

• We incorporated student voice, with articles and interviews with student leaders across two countries.

• We revitalised our social media strategy with new brand templates for posts

• We wrote a new Terms of Reference for the committee and increased membership

Finally, thank you to our readership. I hope that you have managed to take something away from the journal and find motivation and/ or inspiration for your important role in supporting our residential students. I wish the incoming Chair and Vice-Chair – Simone (ACU) and Sam (DRS), all the very best for propelling this committee forward with our new strategic plan.

Ngā mihi nui | Thank you very much, Jacob Waitere | Chair, Communications and Engagement Committee APSAA

INDUSTRY MOVEMENTS

AUSTRALIA

Australian Catholic University: Sydney

• Matt Ma appointed in a national role, Accommodation Coordinator, Operations;

• Erin Long appointed Accommodation Officer.

Australian Catholic University: Ballarat

• Adrian Carr appointed Accommodation Coordinator.

Deakin Residential Services: Burwood

• James Hawley appointed General Manager.

Dunmore Lang College: Sydney

• Emily Sutton is the new Dean of Students.

Journal Student Living: Melbourne

• Edward Lu has taken up a GM role.

Robert Menzies College: Sydney

• Rebecca Lui appointed Dean of Students;

• Lillian Li appointed Academic Dean.

St Mark’s College: Adelaide

• Sally Cassidy will join St Mark’s as the new Director of Wellbeing;

• Stuart Meldrum moving to Queen’s College in Melbourne.

University of Newcastle

• Gemma Edgar is on parental leave for 2023.

AOTEAROA | NEW ZEALAND

Arcady Hall: Canterbury

• Sam Cording appointed Community Development Manager. St Margarets College within the University of Otago

• Dr Chales Tustin retires at the end of 2022.

The University of Auckland

• Sophia Pedju appointed Night Supervisor – Waipārūrū Hall;

• Brittany Robertson appointed Resident Coordinator – Carlaw Park;

• Blossoms Cruz appointed as Administrator – Solutions Office;

• Vanessa Miao appointed Resident Coordinator – Waipārūrū Hall;

• Karyn Baker appointed Administration Team Lead – Carlaw Park.

UniLodge Auckland

• Karen Mathieson appointed to General Manager Portfolio.

UniLodge Canterbury

• Natasha Beattie promoted to Community Manager;

• Nathon Luxon appointed Community Manager;

• Joseph Riesterer appointed Night Manager;

• Tony Sapiandante appointed Maintenance Coordinator.

Jacob Waitere Chair, Aotearoa Advisory Group; APSAA Vice-President; General Manager, Canterbury, UniLodge

Aotearoa Update

Tēnā Koutou e te whānau,

It has been a very busy quarter for Aotearoa | New Zealand. Many of us have completed our Code of Practice attestations, we have all had our 2023 application process with offers going out in October, making tens of thousand students excited for their time at University!

New Zealand has a national agreement with the accommodation offices at the Universities. This means we all open our applications on the same date (1st August) and send out our offers the first week of October with a national due date of the 25th of October. This is designed to ensure that our secondary students completing their exams and final assignments have all their university offers at the same time

We had a great turn out in Sydney at the APSAA conference with registrations from Auckland, Christchurch and Dunedin. This was then followed up with an amazing APSAA Aotearoa Summit held at the University of Canterbury.

– reducing the stress of waiting. 2023 saw some universities have record numbers of applications and interest with the domestic market remaing strong in many areas. More beds are on offer than ever before with the University of Auckland opening up their new 900 beds as part of their Carlaw Park Student Village complex.

Our friends at ISANA New Zealand completed their Capability Protect Programme (CPP) and presented roadshows around the country. Education NZ partners have expressed praise for the quality of the work produced: “You should take great satisfaction that your work will provide tangible support to enhancing the international student experience across Aotearoa for years to come. It is much appreciated and will have a great impact.” This work from ISANA will allow us in Accommodation to support our international students as part of the code of practice. If you want to see more information about it, click here: https://www.isana.nz/events/ capability-protect-programme/

We had a great turn out in Sydney at the APSAA conference with registrations from Auckland, Christchurch and Dunedin. This was then followed up with an amazing

APSAA Aotearoa Summit held at the University of Canterbury. The summit had 40 participants take part in a full days programme with speakers from Universities New Zealand, ISANA NZ, the University of Canterbury and our members. It was fantastic to finish the day off with a world cafe conversation session about where everyone is at the moment recovering from COVID. We were thrilled to award Melissa Leaupepe the Fred Johnson award for her work with Pasifika Scholars in Accommodation. We also had some amazing tours of the following halls: Hayashi, Tupuānuku and Ilam Apartments (managed by UniLodge NZ) and Aracady Hall.

2023 is shaping up to be a busy year again for our profession. Two Universities are looking at developing their stock of beds, international students are set to start returning in greater numbers and we are all preparing for how our students will adapt to life on campus following three years of schooling impacted by COVID.

Meri Kirihimete me ngā mihi o te tau hou pakeha | Happy Christmas and happy european New Year!

Jacob Waitere | Vice-President &

NZ

representative

APSAA Asia Update

2022 Malaysia General Election

REGI

On 10 October 2022, Malaysia’s Prime Minister, Ismail Sabri announced the dissolution of Parliament, paving the way for a general election which is to be held on 19 November 2022. It is hoped that this general election, the first since 2018, will bring stability to the nation, which has experienced a political crisis that began in early 2020. The crisis has resulted in Malaysia having 3 successive Prime Ministers and 3 successive political coalitions governing the country over a 2 year period. This general election is seen to be an interesting one as, for the first time in Malaysian history, not

a single political party/coalition is expected to win the most votes.

Despite the necessity for political stability in the wake of years of political unrest, the election's schedule is widely questioned since it coincides with the year-end monsoon season, which increases the likelihood of poor weather due to heavy rains and even flooding.

In late 2021, a constitutional amendment lowered the minimum voting age from 21 to 18 years old. This is expected to add another 5.8 million voters to the electoral rolls - a significant number for a country of 33 million people. Since so many young people are using their right to vote for the first time, it is uncertain where their support will go. In late October 2022, the Higher Education Ministry instructed universities nationwide to grant students a five-day break, starting November 17 to return to their hometowns to vote in the general election.

Record High Straight A’s in High School Final Examination

In 2020, a total of 9,411 students or 2.46% of the total number of finalyear high school students obtained straight A’s in the national high school examination, also known as Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM). This was the best-performing year of the SPM examination since 2015. For the 2021 cohort, a new high of 9,696 students obtained straight A’s in the SPM examination. This is true despite the fact that students in both years were facing challenges such as online learning from home during the continuous lockdowns and for the 2021 cohort, they received face-to-face lessons for only three months of the year.

The record number of straight A’s has raised suspicions among parents and academics and speculations were made about how the SPM standards have been deliberately lowered as a politically-motivated

Daniel Lee APSAA Board Member; Director, The Purple House, Malaysia

Malaysia heads to the polls on 19 November 2022 with nearly 6 million young and first-time voters. Photo Credits: Davies Surya/bbc.com

act by the government to create a ‘feel good’ sensation for the general public as a prelude to the 2022 general election. Naturally, this has resulted in increased enrollment at all universities, especially public universities since they offer the most affordable option for many families that have been financially affected by the pandemic.

New Covid Strain

Malaysia is now experiencing a new, albeit small wave of Covid-19 cases. According to the Malaysian Health Ministry, new Covid-19 infection cases increased by 16.5% to nearly 17,000 cases in the last week of October 2022. Tests have shown that while the surge in new cases was caused by the Omicron variant, the government suspects that the catalyst is the new XBB sub-variant, which originated in Singapore a few weeks ago. The XBB sub-variant is observed to be resistant to existing vaccines as well as antibodies from previous Covid-19 infections. As a result, the government is recommending the public to mask up again, after months of easing Covid-19 restrictions.

Impact on Malaysian Student Accommodation

Except for the government first elected in 2018, the last couple of successive nonelected governments have been awarding generous amounts of higher education scholarships to students from the Malay background over the last two years as a means of securing their support prior to the general election. This is due to the Malays constituting Malaysia's largest ethnic group. This has also proven to be a windfall gain for many universities that have secured these scholarships into their institutions.

These generous scholarship programs, however, may suffer as a result of the uncertainty surrounding which political party or coalition will form the new government. This will have an impact on how many students will be able to live on campus in the future, as many universities typically combine their courses with on-campus housing to make their scholarship programs enticing enough to receive funding from the government.

The stunning performance in the SPM examinations in the last couple of years has resulted in increased enrollment, especially at public universities. The demand for cheap and highly subsidized on-campus beds at public universities has skyrocketed with

some student unions having to step in to help new students find accommodation around their universities. To make matters worse, government funding for public universities has been steadily reduced in recent years. The lack of capital investment has negatively impacted the maintenance of existing student accommodation buildings and severely restricted the supply of new on-campus housing.

The recent increase in Covid-19 cases has caused the need for more quarantine beds and services, which are placing the burden on student accommodation providers as quarantine rooms are unprofitable and the extra costs to care for quarantined students are often borne by the accommodation providers.

Daniel Lee | APSAA Board Member

Malaysian high school students with their SPM results. Photo credits: Alif Omar/thevibes.com

Malaysian Government scholarships may be at risk due to the upcoming general election. Photo Credits: ringgitplus.com

The new XBB sub-variant is causing a small wave of infections in Malaysia. Photo credits: 123rf.com

There is a shortage of cheap government-subsidized student accommodation at public universities due to larger student intakes in the last couple of years. Photo credits: nottingham.edu.my

Industry Advancement Committee Update

On behalf of the Industry Advancement Committee (IAC), we would like to welcome our new committee members, who are:

• Rachel Overton – Co-Chair

University of Canberra, ACT

• Kate Stock - Co-Chair

UniLodge Australia, QLD

• Bradley Brown – Committee Member

UniLodge, Melbourne, VIC

• Simone Gallo – Committee Member

Australian Catholic University, NSW

• Alasdair Murrie-West – Committee Member

Dunmore Lang College, NSW

• Laura Roberts – Committee Member

UniLodge Auckland, NZ

We will jointly be chairing the IAC meetings, with the aim of representing APSAA members requests on where you would like to see APSAA focusing on industry advancement opportunities.

The IAC has only had the opportunity to meet once since its formation, so we are still in the very early stages. Our immediate priority based on our member feedback has been to re-invigorate the APSAA discussion forum. https://www. apsaa.org.au/resources/members-discussion-forum/

Being a member of APSAA provides you with a wide range of information, and communication methods. A great example of this is the online discussion forum. As a member of APSAA, you can access the forum to read past and current discussions, ask questions and take part in discussions relating to your role in the student accommodation industry.

You will see that when you log on the names of the discussion forum topics have been updated to allow for ease of use. IAC committee members will be monitoring the discussion forum on a weekly basis and will get back to you personally or forward your post onto another committee member to respond. It would be great if all APSAA members can get involved with posting and responding to posts to share your experiences and expertise.

Do you have any ideas on what you would like IAC to focus on? Is there anything in your area that is causing you challenges that you would like us to discuss or investigate further? We would love to hear from you, so if you have any ideas please email manager@apsaa.org.au

It’s been short and sweet this quarter, but we look forward to providing you further updates in the next Student Accommodation journal. Until then, enjoy your well-earned summer break!

Rachel Overton and Kate Stock

Rachel Overton

IAC Committee Co-Chair, Associate Director, University of Canberra

Kate Stock

IAC Committee Co-Chair, UniLodge Australia, QLD

Sue Fergusson APSAA PD Committee Chair, QLD State Operations Manager, Scape

Professional Development Committee Update

Great to meet old friends and new at the recent APSAA conference. It was fantastic catching up and learning about all the great initiatives that are happening in our sector and sharing funny stories.

Thanks to our members for their interest to join the PD committee. Our new PD committee has been formed and we have our work cut out for us next year with planning webinars and networking events by state or region. Our first meeting of the year will be held 17 January, at which time we will be planning our four webinars for the year. Watch this space!

Other exciting things to watch out for in 2023, the return of the Global Housing Training Institute to be held 16-23 April,

and the introduction of the new APSAA Bootcamp.

Bootcamp will also assist you to understand the part of a student housing manager’s role that no one actually mentions to you when you first start in student housing. Besides the important stuff like student support and wellbeing and property management, there is the ‘other side’. We all know what I’m talking about. The part not mentioned in position descriptions about being a handyperson, pest controller, negotiator, conciliator, and master of unblocking the bin chute. Not to mention running a property rental business, collecting rent and evicting people and dealing with unwarranted pets. So, if you are new to our sector, APSAA Bootcamp could be just

Are you looking for staff?

The AAPSA Jobs Board is a service available if you have a position to fill. Institution and Corporate members can post Job Opportunities to this page, and access is open to all job seekers.

https://www.apsaa.org.au/member-resources/job-opportunities/

what you are looking for.

Both initiatives are a great opportunity to equip student housing managers with the skills needed to excel in their role. 2023 is shaping up to be a wonderful year full of opportunities for professional development and networking at APSAA.

As usual, if you have an article or would like to share a new initiative, remember you can submit it to be published in the APSAA journal. Please send all submissions to communication@apsaa.org.au.

Wishing everyone all the best for the festive season. Hope you all get a chance to rest and re-charge, and here’s to a successful 2023.

Sue Fergusson

Photo: ©gettyimages.com.au/Lim WeixiangZeitgeist Photos

2022 APSAA Conference Wrap Up

Feedback is overwhelmingly positive that you thought the conference really hit the mark this year, especially after the drought of face-to-face events over the past two years. It was wonderful to bring focus to the world of student accommodation and hear from such wonderful guest speakers through the three-day jam-packed program in Sydney.

After a warm opening from our regular MC-extraordinaire, Tim Cox, and a Welcome from the local Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, we

were treated to a keynote address by 2019 Australian of the Year, Dr Richard Harris, who shared insights and lessons from the Thai cave dive rescue of 2018. Needless to say, Dr Harris had us thinking about the importance of resilience, thinking ‘outside the box’, and never giving up.

Dr Harris was followed by a panel on Indigenous student support and engagement, led by QUT academic Dr Jessa Rogers, where the panel shared their experience working with Indigenous students as well as tips for how to meaningfully engage with

local Indigenous communities.

Well-known author and international speaker Sonya Karras wrapped our first day up with a colourful and interesting presentation around orientation week, and the night ended with networking drinks and long overdue catch ups between colleagues.

On day two, our second keynote Nadine Champion gave everyone a sense that all barriers could be broken like the wooden board that one of our delegates was able to put

Did we Reconnect, Refocus, and Renew? You bet your last dollar we did.

Dr Richard Harris

Isabel Fox with our host Tim Cox

Dr Jessa Rogers & panel

Dr Jana Pittman

Nadine Champion

Simone Gallo National Manager, Student Accommodation, Australian Catholic University

her bare hand through. The emotion in the room was evident as people shed a tear or two, she really pulled at the heart strings with her account of where you can get if you can muster up “10 seconds of courage”.

The conference was brought to life by other invited speakers such as Isabel Fox of Consent Education Australia, Torie Brown of the new Student Accommodation Council within the Property Council and Pete Galloway of ACUHO-I. In addition, were the presentations, forums and concurrent sessions delivered by industry professionals which gave delegates great insights into industry best practice and new ways to think about old problems.

What a treat to end the program with our final keynote speaker, Dr Jana Pittman, who spoke about her life and what it has taken for her to achieve her goals on the world’s sporting stage. What a pivotal role adversity has played in her development and the journey it has taken her on through summer and winter Olympics and onto

The conference took time to recognise some really great performance from teams and individuals from within our membership during the Awards Dinner – Celebrating Excellence in the Industry. Thanks to our judges Dr Areti Metuamate, Carolyn Mee, and Jacob Waitere. It was such a fun night which ended in some dance floor action. I am sure that waking up the next day there were some sore heads and feet but all worth it. The APSAA Conference gives us the opportunity

in the lives of young people at a pivotal time in their life. I look forward to seeing you all at next year’s conference in Brisbane – we are hoping to build on this year’s one with a bigger and bolder conference agenda, so please keep a look out for more details. In the meantime, we hope those who made it enjoyed Sydney and the conference program and thank you to Jacob and his team for organising it so well. Reconnect, Refocus, and Renew. Tick, tick and tick.

Simone Gallo

Pete Galloway

Pre-dinner drinks

Sonya Karras

Holly Giulieri & Caty Li

Torie Brown

APSAA Awards dinner

McHenry Operations Manager, Scape Australia

10 Seconds of Courage

This was my first time attending the APSAA conference after joining the Student Accommodation industry just over a year ago. I have experienced conferences in previous roles, but none quite compared to the APSAA event. Something that I really appreciated was that we had keynote speakers from completely different industries come in to present to us. One of the three keynote speakers was Nadine Champion, a world class martial artist who beat cancer a few years ago. When I first read about Nadine, I thought to myself – ‘what can a martial artist really teach me about running

student accommodation?’ – I’m glad to say that I was pleasantly surprised with what I learned.

Nadine started speaking about her past of being a kick boxer and comparing her life to the hit movie, ‘the Karate Kid’. She even told us about her meeting Benny ‘the Jet’ Urquidez, an undefeated World Champion fighter who, to this day, is Nadine’s mentor, guide, and friend.

Nadine asked us all the question, ‘do you think you are brave?’. I thought to myself about the question that had been asked of me and I immediately became confident with my answer –

‘Yes, I am brave’. I moved across the world at the age of 21, I changed my career in the middle of a pandemic – I can confidently say that people would think that I am brave.

As Nadine continued to tell us her story about how she entered a boxing match, an incredibly intimidating decision as her skillset was in kickboxing. Nadine trained for months, working hard every day to try to make herself the best that she could be for this fight. She explained to us about how incredibly scared she was before her match as she didn’t want to let anyone down. She told herself to have 10 seconds of

Jonathan

courage to get herself out of her dressing room and to get herself closer & closer to the ring to face her opponent. Nadine ended up winning her fight. However not long after that, she was diagnosed with cancer. She used the same tactic of 10 seconds of courage to get herself up off the floor and back into the hospital room to receive her chemotherapy. Nadine won this battle also.

I thought this was an inspiring story, however, it wasn’t until the last segment of the talk before I truly saw value in what she was trying to say. She pulled out a plank of wood and walked through the crowd explaining that one of us, was going to punch through the plank with our bare fist, splitting it in half. I instantly avoided eye contact with Nadine, desperately trying to prevent her from picking me. She ended up selecting someone who volunteered – this brave woman (Rachael Gibson) successfully broke the plank of wood on her first attempt.

It was then when I realized that perhaps I am not as brave as I originally thought I was. Why didn’t I have the courage to stand up and to at least try – no one in the room would have judged me, they were always going to support me whether I managed to do it or not.

There are many occasions in the workplace when we worry what people might think, how they could react or what they might

There are many occasions in the workplace when we worry what people might think, how they could react or what they might say. It’s important that we are brave enough in the workplace to make changes and to voice

say. It’s important that we are brave enough in the workplace to make changes and to voice our opinions, to express our ideas and to try something new without worrying about what others may think or say. I won’t only hold onto this lesson for my place of work, but I will remember this for my everyday life. I need to remember to be brave, to take risks and if I ever feel that I do not have the courage – that I only need to start off with 10 seconds of courage and then go from there.

our opinions, to express our ideas and to try something new without worrying about what others may think or say.

Conference in pictures

APSAA Awards 2022

Each year, APSAA offers a range of scholarships and awards that recognise outstanding performance and innovative ideas from our members. We celebrate and congratulate the 2022 Award recipients.

ACUHO-I NEW PROFESSIONAL AWARD

Jess Rokobaro University of Newcastle

Business Support Manager, in the Student Accommodation sector for 22 months

As the Business Support Manager

I am responsible for managing the delivery of the financial, admissions and systems business functions in Student Living as well as managing the Customer Service and Engagement functional areas.

My role ensures the optimisation of business functions and enhancement of the service offered to the University’s residents in line with the University’s strategic plan. A key element of this role is building effective and meaningful stakeholder relationships across the University and within the Student Accommodation Sector.

As a leader, I support and encourage my team to constantly learn and improve whilst also providing them with a high level of support. As a team we review our processes regularly and all team members are given the opportunity to contribute to the ongoing improvement and success of our business unit, and in turn, Student Living as a whole.

Key areas of accountability include:

• Manage Student Living finance, admissions, systems delivery, customer service and engagement functions with agreed targets.

• Develop strategies to facilitate a continuous improvement program within Student Living, taking advantage of sector opportunities to improve the service and business.

• Investigate, evaluate and recommend innovative solutions and/or new technologies to deliver measurable improvement in student living processes and procedures.

• Utilise systems and data to deliver information and analytics to stakeholders and make recommendations.

A career goal is to continue learning and improving what I do and how I do it. It is important to me to incorporate a continuous improvement focus into my leadership practices and key to this is taking advantage of opportunities to meet colleagues and share knowledge.

Being awarded the opportunity to attend the ACUHO-I Conference is a career highlight. I value the opportunity to connect with and share experiences alongside likeminded professionals, and I am extremely grateful for the acknowledgement of my efforts working within the sector over the last couple of years. I feel this award is also recognition of my potential to expand on my presence and impact within the sector.

Attending the conference provides me with access to educational sessions that are relevant to both my position / team and the wider community. I am looking forward to meeting colleagues from across the world and both learning from their experiences and

sharing insights from APSAA and Student Living thus expanding the reputation of our association and university practices.

I will also have the opportunity to present to conference attendees which I am excited about as I think there is huge benefit in sharing the knowledge I have gained in the following areas:

• approach to developing an Admissions Strategy that aligns with organisational objectives

• how student accommodation organisations across the Asia-Pacific region approach or work towards a positive student experience and place this at the core of their every day

• how we maintain a restorative approach when focused on process improvements

I look forward to sharing learnings and experiences gained by Acuho-i 2023 by presenting at the APSAA Conference 2023.

I would be happy for APSAA members to contact me either before or after attending the conference should there be specific elements colleagues would like me to research for them or queries relating to the sessions I attended.

FRAN O'BRIEN AWARD FOR NEW PROFESSIONALS: EXCELLENCE IN STUDENT ACCOMMODATION

Rachel Overton University of Canberra

Rachel has worked as the Student Accommodation Manager at UC for three years. In that time, she has transformed the student accommodation experience, ensuring that each student is recognised as an individual, and that the multiple support areas work as an integrated holistic model, in a seamless and transparent manner.

The focus has been on early intervention and the application of tailored support strategies.

Rachel describes the process of moving to the holistic model as one of collaboration and continual improvement, noting that the impact of COVID-19 on the wellbeing of residents was a significant factor in identifying the need for change.

“During the COVID-19 pandemic, as at all universities, we saw an increase in mental health issues,” she said.

“When reviewing outcomes for several incidents, it was identified that while we had done everything, we could to provide effective support to our residents, some had reached a point of crisis, and we wanted to be able to do more through early intervention.”

Having identified the issue, Rachel launched a collaborative project to increase early interventions with students.

She started with a 360-degree review of the student pastoral care model, with the University, UniLodge, Medical and Counselling and Student Wellbeing teams reviewing all touchpoints with students to identify areas for improvement or where information was missing, and opportunities for support were potentially being lost.

Rachel was proactive in ensuring that this 360-degree review involved all areas, and she believes that this engagement and consultation was critical to the success of the initiative.

In her view, “the driver for the collaboration was to aid early intervention to reduce the number of crises. Before setting up the collaborative group, teams worked in isolation.”

She continues to describe the process of collaboration across the different areas.

“We all shared a vision –we wanted to collaborate to extend the services available for students who were experiencing barriers to learning or poor mental health, while paying attention to student privacy and personal control in all interactions with students.

“Without such collaboration, relevant teams had only partial information relating to a student's academic progression, so it limited the support they were able to provide. By collaborating, the aim was to give the teams a holistic overview of challenges faced by students academically, financially, and personally, to enable more personalised support.

“We also found that students became frustrated when they were having to repeat information each time, they had an appointment with someone different.”

The project identified two areas which caused students significant difficulty –financial hardship and mental health.

In response, UC increased its focus on educating students on financial and budget management, which has been

further enhanced within the university’s O-Week activities. UC has also engaged with external financial services providers to support students who need further assistance with debt management.

Mental health and wellbeing are core components of all interactions and with every interaction, care is taken to check how a student is doing and if they need any help.

The forward-looking focus ensures teams work together, with weekly meetings held between Medical and Counselling, Student Wellbeing and UniLodge to discuss any issues or incidents. This group identifies the next steps for supporting the student and what strategies could be put in place.

When reflecting on the outcomes of this initiative, Rachel knows that her residents have been well supported.

“The most significant outcome is that we have seen a significant reduction in critical incidents over the last year since the lockdown ended, which demonstrates that early intervention strategies and collaboration have worked. Students are now more engaged and appreciative of the support, and reach out more if they are struggling. There has also been an increase in positive feedback from students and their parents/carers, that students feel safer and more supported on campus,” she said.

FRED JOHNSON AWARD

Melissa Leaupepe University of Auckland

There is a Samoan proverb “E felelei manu ae ma’au i o latou ofaga” meaning birds migrate to environments where they survive and thrive. As the Resident Manager of O’Rorke Hall at the University of Auckland, I have witnessed students leave their nests and set their sights on a new environment of higher learning, success, and growth.

For Pasifika students, our students of Pacific Island descent, living away from home is uncommon as they are dependent on their families and ‘village’. However, for many the setup of their home environment is not conducive in their quest to succeed at university.

Last July I conducted a survey to gauge the various perspectives of Pasifika Students living in Accommodation. Results show that although 91% of the students chose Accommodation for a better study environment, only 41% wanted to engage in any study related events and academic support leading to a portion of students failing courses and withdrawing at the end of their first semester.

From the survey findings, I saw a chance for UoA Accommodation to further develop their residential life programme and create opportunities that resonate with Pacific peoples and their cultural values and languages.

In early February, I connected with staff from the Pro Vice-Chancellor Pacific and Te Papa Manaaki (Campus Care) offices where we shared the same vision for our Pasifika students. Our conversations quickly progressed into a strong partnership, to establish a village on campus. This village is a cultural and collective approach that supports the academic journey for Pasifika students in Accommodation. Our discussions led to implementing a Study Fono initiative devoted to creating a consistent and dedicated study space in O’Rorke Hall, with wrap around support from staff that instils a level of accountability and expectation for our students to succeed.

We gathered staff, students and their families at ‘Meet the Village’ – an event that celebrated the launch of our Pacific

‘Study Fono’. The objective of this event was to introduce residents to the Village leaders and their respective offices, and to provide details on the programme. Our Pro Vice Chancellor-Pacific Dr. Jemaima Tiatia honoured us with her address and inspirational words “Your ancestors are right there beside you and you have an army that are here to back you all the way. Achieving excellence and graduating is the end game…. Your leadership, your excellence… you’re going to change generations”.

Every Monday from 7pm-9pm, our students flock to O’Rorke Hall, sign in and take their seats in the dining hall. Each session was prefaced by a power point presentation delivered by Campus Care Team Leader Avikashni Nair to promote the various support networks and academic privileges available to the students. As with every Pacific cultural proceeding (especially during Pacific Language Weeks), we unite in song, prayer, and blessing of the food. We are fortunate to be able to provide students with food sourced by local Pacific businesses, supermarkets, and pizza chains as an added incentive. Our students were then split into their faculty study groups with a Student Mentor and engaged in sustained silent study.

Throughout the rest of the week, Campus Care, Pro Vice Chancellor-Pacific and Accommodation teams are instrumental in the ongoing support of our Pasifika Students. Our Residential Life programme consists of an engagement calendar that includes the Pacific Language Weeks where Pasifika students across accommodation are openly invited to connect and participate in cultural and social events, talanoa (discussions), and workshops fostering a greater sense

From the survey findings, I saw a chance for UoA

Accommodation to further develop their residential life programme and create opportunities that resonate with Pacific peoples and their cultural values and languages.

of belonging and connection to the Accommodation community. For our Campus Care team, each student is designated one of five case managers. The case manager checks in during the week to ensure their students remain on course and assist with any hardships along the way. The Pro Vice Chancellor-Pacific office provides wrap around support for both staff and students, in particular students on an Academic Scholarship. I am proud to work alongside these teams as we continue to champion this initiative and our Pasifika students.

Heading into semester two word about Study Fono quickly grew and more staff from around the University voluntarily joined in on the sessions making support, resource and information readily available.

Study Fono was no more a place to just be a dedicated student but now a space to also become an independent young adult. Students are now able to meet with a Pacific Counsellor during Study Fono, and the presentations have evolved to include the promotion of prioritising mental health and wellbeing, sexual health and consent, personal hygiene, career and leadership skills and opportunities and financial support.

Like the migration of birds, I witnessed Pasifika students come into Accommodation where they lived and thrived. I witnessed staff from across the University mobilise together to be a part of this journey that empowers our Pasifika students in Accommodation on their voyage to success. So, although our students have left their families, they now have their village on campus.

Scape Franklin

Scape Franklin has taken student accommodation to new heights.

Since its opening in late 2021, this flagship building has impressed the student market with its design excellence and unique service concept to quickly become the new standard for premium student accommodation in the Asia Pacific region.

As the largest dedicated student accommodation tower in the southern hemisphere; comprising of 54-floors of facilities in the heart of Melbourne’s CBD, Scape Franklin is the first Scape building to be registered for full GBCA (Green Building Council of Australia) 5 Star Green Star as-built accreditation.

The building houses 814 student beds in a mixture of single studios to full compliant DDA rooms, along with a mix of 2-bedroom studios and 6-bedroom cluster residences. This mix allows for students of different financial capabilities to experience living in a premium student accommodation offering.

Featuring individual temperature controls, each residence can be set to personalised climates through a modern 100% diversity A/C system. The building is capable of recycling heating/cooling through heat exchanges to ensure Scape helps to contribute to the reduction of greenhouse gases and emissions.

Targeting a 5-star Green Star rating is not only good for the overall greenhouse gas emissions but also provides our residents a true sense of how the building can perform better, without compromising any of the modern luxury’s that are expected in premium student accommodation.

Scape Franklin sits between two tram lines and is located at the entrance of the new CBD North Metro Tunnel (opening 2024), just a few minutes’ walk to RMIT and right next to the tram corridor servicing Melbourne University.

Scape Franklin is supported by a team of 25 staff, including

• Operations Manager

• Facilities Supervisor

• Wellness and Hygiene Support Personnel

• Pastoral Care & Engagement Coordinators

• Residential Experience Specialists

• Café Service Personnel

These roles are further supported by our centralised head office which provides marketing, finance, sustainability, and governance services.

Scape Franklin’s ground floor café serves as both a retail offering and a training space by employing student residents and developing their Barista skills via our partnership with training facilities including Le Cordon Bleu.

Innovative over the previous 12 months

Scape Franklin has innovated the student accommodation offering by removing the single thing that students dislike the most – rules. Instead of a culture of rules and regulations, Scape Franklin has a service standard committed to ‘the extraordinary’ and underpinned by a focus towards Pastoral Care and Wellbeing.

Service

More than just superior accommodation with designer flair, the true value of the Scape Franklin experience is derived from the resolute, intuitive team of staff rostered to service our residents 24-hours a day, 7-days a week. Our team assists students in making their lives more comfortable, convenient, and personalised. Pastoral Care and Student Wellness lives at the centre of each of our team members service ethos.

Facilities

Our impressive facilities are designed to create a community feel and include an on-site gym (open 24/7), cinema, numerous communal study and socialising locations, fully equipped music laboratory, selfservice laundry equipment and extensive communal kitchen and dining spaces. The property has been purpose built for students with a mix of cooperative study places and private reflective nooks all aimed to ensure our residents achieve both their lifestyle and academic goals.

Risk Minimisation

Scape’s Wellness and Hygiene teams are Personal Safety Champions charged with delivering a TGA-approved standard of sanitisation throughout all facets of the building. Working in partnership with our

chemical provider, Diversey, Scape was at the forefront of implementing a personal safety-driven culture across its national footprint to introduce COVIDsafe protocols that extended to include high-frequency touchpoint cleaning measures and isolation “bubbles” that added further levels of safety and protection to our residents.

Scape’s exclusive partnership with the Sonder Safety APP adds a further layer of Pastoral care to our residents by providing every student with 24/7 support and access to a range of extended services that serves to complement our unmatched pastoral care program.

A positive impact beyond your institution

When it comes to our students, there are two words that cement our business –‘service’ and ‘wellbeing.’ We have had a positive impact on our students and their family given that for many it was their first time away from home, compounded with the midst of a frightening global pandemic fraught with uncertainty. Both students and parents needed to know that they were not alone, so we set out to put student wellness at the heart of all we do and make it clear to our staff, students (and their families) that we are much more than just a landlord.

Scape Franklin has been thoughtfully designed and furnished in partnership with local businesses to create sustainable spaces that are comfortable as well as creatively inspiring.

• Bespoke furnishings by Jardan, a Melbourne-based local supplier & manufacturer

• Organic offering, Tea Tonic, formulated by locally based naturopath & herbalist

• Vegan restroom amenities, Ink and Water

• Sustainable and ethically sourced Coffee Beans, serviced into Frankie’s Café

• Repurposed building materials featured throughout construction

• Upcycling via Red Nose Australia, supporting SIDs, infant mortality, and post-natal depression

Scape’s national commitment to being The Earth’s Best Living Company and operating with people, the planet and a deep sense of purpose sits at our core. Every decision we make, every action we take, is purpose driven. In the annual Global Real Estate Sustainability Benchmark, we received a 5-star Green Star Certification for our efforts towards reduced greenhouse gas emission and energy consumption.

Scape Franklin partners with local business in Melbourne to support employment opportunities via our internal program, “Scape’s Got Talent” (SGT).

SGT connects employers of diverse, largescale workforces with dependable, educated students seeking both employment opportunities and the enhancement of the life skills – all the while ensuring that they work in a safe and professional environment.

SGT matches our students with industry, providing a valued pipeline of human talent to a variety of organisations that gain benefit from employing talented individuals.

Achieve objectives and goals

While yet to serve out its first 12-months of continuous operations, Scape Franklin is already proving successful in achieving its objectives of being positioned as a world-class purpose-built, mixed use 5-star Green Star building.

These achievements are measured in various formats, notwithstanding the impact that the global pandemic has had on students returning to Melbourne, the level of resident satisfaction being achieved at Scape Franklin clearly establishes the building’s credentials as Melbourne’s premier student residence.

Working as a showpiece for the wider Scape portfolio, Scape Franklin serves as important to the wellbeing and student experience process as it does for Scape’s investors and our University and Education partners. As an iconic building in the middle of Melbourne’s educational precinct, Scape Franklin provides an unparalleled opportunity to incorporate premium student living services with both commercial and educational facilities incorporated both within the building and complementing the surrounding community.

By achieving full GBCA 5 Star Green Star as-built accreditation, Scape Franklin can measure its success not only in commercial terms but equally via its ESG commitments and the deliverables associated to these metrics.

Deakin Residential Services

In a time of great disruption due to the COVID pandemic and the wellbeing and mental health challenges we have seen across the Student Accommodation sector as well as society more broadly, it is more important than ever to create a safe, welcoming and inclusive environment for student residents to develop a sense of belonging, and to thrive throughout university.

At Deakin Residential Services, we are recovering strongly from the challenges to student experience and engagement experienced throughout the pandemic. We have done this by analysing detailed feedback from students and year-on-year incident and engagement reporting. Trends were identified in areas of mental health concern, demand from students for more opportunities to connect meaningfully, and a strong desire for the return to vibrancy on campus. This data supported new programming and initiatives to help residents develop a sense of belonging on campus, and through this we have achieved a 25% increase in residential event engagement from 2021 to 2022, and a 32% increase in event engagement from 2019 to 2022.

This Sense of Belonging programming is informed by our five Student Experience Pillars, which allowed us to identify areas of extra programming requirement to engage with our residents, particularly where initiatives could be brought in across all precincts to compliment local programming. We have transformed shared spaces in two of our precincts into wellness rooms (health and wellbeing), have introduced book-share libraries (academic/ social and community), are introducing more music facilities (arts and culture) and have embedded Acknowledgement of Traditional Custodians and opportunities to engage with First Nations knowledge and culture into programming across our four campuses (arts and culture/social and community).

Another key element of this Sense of Belonging programming is the Geelong College Cup, which leverages our Student Experience Framework and the existing inter-college rivalries to deliver a sophisticated program of training, events and communications to instil a sense of place, college pride and to increase and deepen engagement.

Beginning this year, our Geelong colleges compete in a series of five high-profile events across the year. Each of these events contributes points toward the College Cup, based on college performance and engagement. Importantly points are awarded both for performance in the events and for overall attendance. This encourages engagement regardless of the event outcome, deepening the sense of college pride because students are also rewarded for ‘getting around each other’ rather than just for performing the best.

What were the drivers and objectives of implementing this initiative?

The drivers and objectives for implementing this initiative were very much student-centred and aimed at improving student experience to help support engagement, wellbeing and to reduce negative incidents and sense of isolation for students living on campus.

Through analysis of our detailed annual student experience survey at the end of 2021, we identified a reduction in overall student engagement and satisfaction, which was in line with broader societal trends due to the pandemic, and through developing this range of programming we sought to help address these issues.

We also wanted to look at opportunities to make the most of resourcing and expertise across our four campuses by collaborating

more and looking for opportunities for cross-campus programming while ensuring a high level of student experience for all residents.

Our objectives for this programming were:

• To foster a strong sense of belonging for students across our campuses

• To see increased student engagement

• To provide opportunities for all students to shine and engage in key programming

• To reward those who help build community and who support those around them

• To help students develop life-long connections

• To increase student wellbeing, thereby reducing mental healthrelated issues and incidents

How do you measure the success of this initiative to enhance student experience and what has been the benefit to residents at your institution with this initiative? Achievements can be financial, operational or other.

Detail a student experience project or initiative that you have implemented

Our year-on-year orientation and student experience surveys provide a detailed opportunity for us to analyse student engagement and perceptions, and through these we can compare how this years’ programming has affected key elements of the student journey.

In addition to these large-scale surveys, we report monthly on event engagement and incidents, analysing trends in incident type and comparing year-on-year engagement levels. Throughout the pandemic we have seen a rise in wellbeing and mental health related incidents. By comparing 2022 data with past years, we will be able to see what impact this programming has had on reducing the frequency of these incidents on Residence.

We also receive key data from Deakin more broadly, including the results from the Inclusion and Wellbeing student survey, which showed that residential students had significantly higher results in key areas of wellbeing, belonging and feelings of safety and respect, lower levels of stress and higher coping abilities when compared to non-residential students. This is a testament to the impact of culture, event programming and the sense of belonging that we provide for our residents.

How do you identify gaps in your student experience offering?

Our monthly event reporting, yearly student experience and orientation survey and ongoing incident analysis provide us with a broad data set to help identify gaps in our student experience offering. This is supplemented by ongoing feedback from our Residential Leaders (RLs) and other students.

All events are aligned with one of our five Student Experience Pillars. As part of our yearly planning, we allocate a target number of events per campus in each pillar, as well as overall at DRS. This allows us to keep track of the range of experiences students at each campus are being offered, and to adjust programming throughout the year if we see the need to focus or one or more areas more closely.

We also actively look for programming opportunities which allow all residents to engage and thrive, regardless of their interests or personality types. An example of this was seen with the Geelong College Cup programming, which introduced a Great Debate event this year as one of the five high-profile events contributing toward the college points. This event allowed our more academically minded students to shine, and by allocating points to

the colleges for attendance, participation and success in this event, this programming sends a clear message to residents that academic prowess is just as valuable to the residential culture as sporting or artistic success. This reflects the Deakin Residential Services RESPECT values, and the importance placed on inclusivity and celebrating diversity throughout our programming.

What have been the key successes over the last 12 months in the area of student experience?

As mentioned earlier, we have seen a high level of engagement with new programming and initiatives throughout 2022, which is a great success especially when viewed in the context of significantly low on-campus engagement university-wide for non-residents.

Another success this year was a week of immersive events for NAIDOC week across our Burwood, Warrnambool and Geelong Waurn Ponds campuses. This included Welcome to Country ceremonies at each campus as well as art, knowledge sharing and wellbeing workshops run by Noongar and Tuwharetoa woman Kiri Wicks, and catering from first nations-owned businesses.

Excellence in Student Experience

These events helped students meaningfully engage with First Nations culture while further developing a strong sense of place and belonging on campus. The program was planned in partnership with facilitator Kiri Wicks, and reflecting on the programming Kiri said, ‘These types of events are so important for each student as it helps to develop connection to place, but more than that it shows our future leaders and teachers’ ways in which they can keep Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Knowledge and Concepts of Community and Traditions in their future roles after University. For students that are Aboriginal, these events can allow them to connect with Community, it can give a sense of pride and cultural safety.’

Are there any changes/ improvements/learnings you could take from the project or initiative?

We place a strong focus on improving and growing the Sense of Belonging programming into the future. We will take a data-driven approach to analysing the overall success of the year’s programming and new initiatives after conducting the Student Experience survey, as well as gathering and reviewing other qualitative and quantitative data through new event follow-up.

In addition, we continually look for opportunities to roll elements of successful programming out to other campuses in a way that is appropriate for their cohort, size and culture. An example of this is that the very successful Res Factor event held in Geelong as part of the Geelong Cup has now been piloted in Burwood. This was well received, and will become a yearly event which can help residents develop their sense of belonging and enjoyment on campus.

Another example comes from the Geelong Cup where the groundwork for success in this initiative was set this year during the annual training camp for RLs. Alongside in-depth training and culture building workshops, a small version of the College Cup saw RLs working together in college groups to win points throughout the camp. This set the tone for the sense of belonging that they would help build in the wider cohort throughout the year and established a sense of commitment to and ownership of the College Cup program. This not only helped with bonding within our important student leader cohort, but also ensured that RLs were sharing this excitement, sense of place and culture with new arrivals from day one of O-Week.

After seeing the success of this initiative, we will offer this camp to our RLs from all campuses for the 2023 intake, which we believe will help instil the sense of belonging for all residents at both a campus level, and DRS-wide. Reflecting on the success of the College Cup program, Campus Life Officer Toby Prendergast said:

“By providing our community with events and programming designed to reinvigorate social connections, Residences Geelong has been able to engage more than ever before with our amazing cohort, and we have given residents a platform to build strong connections and friendships, as well as providing a space where everyone can feel like they belong and have a sense of place here at Deakin Res.”

And fittingly, the final word comes from Geelong RL Michael, who says, “The College Cup and Sense of Belonging reflect how engaging and connected our community has been. When we see our residents off Res be it at class, at the beach, or at local sport, we have a sense of pride knowing we are all connected back to Res, our Home.”

Team from Deakin Residential Services with the Excellence in Student Experience Award. Jacob Waitere (Vice-President, APSAA), Cam Baker (General Manager, DRS Geelong), Angelica Klein-Boonschate (Campus Life Coordinator, Geelong), Sam Johnstone (Manager, Experience and Engagement), Rachael Gibson (Campus Life Coordinator, Burwood), Jodie Hazell (Operations Manager), Eliza Hart (Campus Life Coordinator, Geelong) and Marion Bayley (DRS CEO)

University of Newcastle Student Living Business Support Team

The Excellence in Sustainable Development Goals award is presented to an APSAA member that can demonstrate a clear understanding of, and commitment to, the UN sustainable development goals in the development or implementation of a project.

The University of Newcastle is committed to aligning its organisation wide strategic priorities to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Our University’s values (Excellence, Equity, Engagement and Sustainability) reflect these SDGs and set the standards that we expect, encourage and nurture in our staff and students and across our Student Living community. They guide our decision making and position us to achieve our purpose which is to create an exceptional student experience for all residents living on campus.

The United Nations Sustainable Development Goals were developed as a call for action by all countries – poor, rich and middle-income – to promote prosperity while protecting the planet.

When developing our 2023 Student Living Admissions Strategy it was paramount that we align our strategic direction with that of the University and therefore mirror its commitment to SDGs. Below are examples of SDGs and how our Admissions Strategy aligns to, and supports, them.

SDG 3 – Good Health and Wellbeing – This SDG seeks to explore how our university deals with specific health and wellbeing elements, and how we support our community.

One of our key admission strategies is providing varied living environments to cater to a resident’s personal preferences. We also offer admissions schemes to support Indigenous and / or Torres Strait Islander students, students from rural and remote communities and other cohort groups.

SDG 4 – Quality Education –This commitment seeks to ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promotes lifelong learning opportunities for all. Student Living seeks to provide inclusive and equitable access to on campus accommodation by ensuring consistency across our admission processes. A key focus of Student Living is our commitment to supporting our residents to becoming life ready graduates.

SDG 5 – Gender Equality – Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls.

Our admissions target ratio for female to male residents is 55:45. Student Living offers genderbased accommodation options for residents wishing to reside with the same gender.

Our share apartment occupancy levels are set to ensure a gender split (with the exception of those held for gender-based preferences) to ensure a resident of one gender is not living with housemates that are all of another gender.

SDG 11 – Sustainable Cities and Communities – Make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient, and sustainable.

We offer on-campus accommodation across nine residences, with various fee structures, room types and inclusions to enable students to select options within their affordability range and living environment preferences.

Student Living – Admissions Strategy background

Having a robust and detailed admissions strategy allows us to demonstrate our commitment to our purpose and outline the methods by which we will realise our goals.

Our commitment to supporting the wider University’s goals and objectives is openly discussed in our stakeholder engagement sessions during the planning phase of the Admissions Strategy and these meetings are also an opportunity for parties to provide feedback on previous years’ initiatives and admissions schemes.

Demonstrating our place in the wider University community is an important stakeholder engagement process and similarly, being able to showcase how Student Living supports the University more broadly is a positive reputational outcome.

University of Newcastle Student Living Engagement Team

Engaging with Student Living communities during COVID-19 lockdown.

Student Living’s purpose is to create an exceptional experience for all students living on campus and whilst 2021 certainly had its challenges and made engagement and connection difficult, we found ways to continue to support our community through virtual activities.

Student Living’s Support team planned and implemented a suite of virtual engagement initiatives with the very explicit aim of helping the community feel supported and engaged.

Using a tool designed for virtual scavenger hunts, the team converted a series of traditionally in-person events into virtual events. This gamification used online participation and competition to engage directly with residents while still providing a sense of community and friendly competition.

Examples of virtual events held during 2021 include:

• Virtual Music Night – submission of full-length video performances

• Virtual Art Show – collaborating with the School of Creative Industries, Student Living created a virtual showcase for resident art pieces (sculpture, drawing, photography, painting, and mixed media)

• Virtual Battle of the Brains –virtual game show/trivia

• Virtual Sporting Comp – Student Living “gamified” the traditional residential sporting competitions and created interactive missions and adventures

The virtual program was a huge success and exceeded our expectations for resident participation, showing a strong desire for connection and participation within the community.

Due to the success of this program we continued to utilise elements of the gamification program into 2022 to cater to residents who may enjoy the flexibility and accessibility of participating virtually.

In 2021 we were also looking for ways to engage with our prospective residents who weren’t able to visit us on campus for Campus Tours and Open Days due to travel restrictions and event cancellations.

Student Living developed a program of webinars and virtual tours designed to provide these largely nervous yet excited prospective students the opportunity to connect with current residents and get a sense of what it might be like to live on campus.

Feedback from these sessions was overwhelmingly positive and at a time when most were feeling disconnected, we were able to support and encourage potential residents.

Jacob Waitere APSAA Vice President, Gemma Edgar General Manager, Charity Kelly, Health and Wellbeing Coordinator, Jess Rokobaro, Business Support Manager, Djoeke Van Loon Support Manager - University of Newcastle Student Living Engagement Team, Marion Bayley APSAA President

Scape Australia

Provide details of the Marketing or Communications campaign that you have implemented.

We recently conducted a research study amongst our own residents and students in Australia to better understand their eating habits and budgets.

We discovered that 75% of students are eating alone and spending more than half (57%) their weekly food budget on takeaway.

We know food is a huge connector for our residents, drawing them out of their rooms to share experiences of their favourite dishes and those meals they are missing from home. We also wanted to have better insights to shape and launch our new Scape Eats offering. During the research we also found most students were sticking to the same style of food eaten for decades; spaghetti bolognese, instant noodles and toasties.

Considering this focus on food, our residents growing love of TikTok and existing presence on Insta plus our overarching opportunity to showcase the fantastic experience

Scape Student Living in Australia has to offer in our residences we came up with the world’s First TikTok Creator Cook-up.

We engaged three TikTok creators who had a strong Gen Z following and provided them with a brief to re-imagine those age-old student go-to meals mentioned above.

• Morgan Hipworth’s (1M followers) take on pasta with sauce: Nothing is Impastable sweet tortellini filled with a Nutella Ricotta filling, and served with raspberry coulis and hazelnut praline;

• Vincent Yeow Lim’s (DimSimLim, 1.3M followers) twist on a toasty: YumYumcha –Ham & Cheese Shumai, XO, garlic butter, toast croutons and topped with gold leaf;

• Priya Sharma’s (1.3M followers) stir fry reinvented: Samosa be a stir fry –A mash-up of cuisines combining an Indian classic with a go-to student dish – the stir fry! From the outside, this Samosa will look just as delicious and crunchy as any other but break it open and you’ll find it filled with a classic plant-based stir fry – noodles and all!

Did the campaign achieve its goals – how did you measure the impact of the campaign on your residents & detail the outcomes.

The goals of the campaign were to drive reach and engagement across social channels and launch TikTok. We also wanted to achieve mainstream media pieces of coverage across news and what’s on media. We were blown away by our results.

• 3.6m people viewed the social content

• 46K people engaged with Scape (liked, commented or shared)

• 164 pieces of content created by students

• 35% increase in new advocates, followers

• 13 Pieces of coverage plus 40 pieces of Syndication (9.1m reach)

• Total reach of 12.9m

The event goals were 50 pax attendance, Scape residents and students who entered the competition to attend. Five media and drive 20 tours on the night.

• 60 Student Attendees

• 8 Media Attendees

• 46 Tours

We also chose to work with partners who were sustainable businesses, so we donated, recycled and hired, not acquired. We supplied leftover decorations and food to Ozharvest.

L-R: Jacob Waitere APSAA, Liam Riley, Rosalind Lill (Scape), Marion Bayley, APSAA

The ‘Asset Class’ of Residential Leadership and College-style Community

Dr Ian Walker Head, Toad Hall, Australian National University

Two years of lockdowns, State and international border closures, COVID-safe regulations, isolation and online learning and examinations have taken their toll, particularly in increased issues of mental health and wellbeing for both educators and students. Of course, we have also learned positively about some use of online connection that maintained course enrolments and links, as well, for example in residences, where creative initiatives supported both domestic and international students who were unable to return home. In many ways, however, with increased vaccination and the opening of borders, this year has revealed perhaps more than ever before the hunger for place-based learning and living and for ‘in-person’ engagement.

Much is being reassessed about the role of universities and, indeed, of university residences as to what will be the ‘new normal’. It is a time of rethinking and of reimagining, and perhaps also a time of reaffirming.

While acknowledging the challenges experienced over the lockdown (and lockout) years, the 2021 Savills’ ‘Australian Student Accommodation’ research report noted that “Savills expects well located, suitably designed, highly amenitised student accommodation to bounce back and perform strongly as international enrolment numbers return to 2019 levels and above within the next few years.”1 Whether temporary or even more persistent, there was some confidence expressed in relation to the impact of current inflation by noting that “as student accommodation continues to mature as an asset class, we expect greater liquidity and economies of scale will put downward pressure on the sector’s risk premium.”2 This, of course, reflects the all-important and ongoing significance of assessing market demand and investment opportunity in the light of local and world-wide circumstances and trends. Location, design and amenity as well as risk are very much part and parcel of that process.

Much is being reassessed about the role of universities and, indeed, of university residences as to what will be the ‘new normal’. It is a time of rethinking and of reimagining, and perhaps also a time of reaffirming.

In her opening address at the recent University Colleges Australia (UCA) Forum in Brisbane, University of Queensland Vice-Chancellor, Professor Deborah Terry, commented that universities are always evolving and adapting, defying predictions of demise as they remain true to their mission of teaching and research, and of students learning how to learn and to apply knowledge in a complex world of increasing technological development, including AI. There is the role of developing “uniquely human skills” such as applying ethical consideration and emotional judgement in the interpretation of data, and learning how to advocate and influence. Ethical leadership was a theme of an address by UQ Associate Professor of Law and Marketing, and Deputy Chair of the AFL Brisbane Lions, Sarah Kelly; in the panel session that followed, the need for greater consideration of stake-holder interests and needs in relation to an often dominant focus on shareholders was emphasised.

With the emerging growth, in the context of more corporatized universities, of commercial investment and partnerships in student accommodation in the later 1990s and early 2000s, Simon Marginson and Mark Considine

noted “we live in the age of business and it is plain to everyone that the money-changers have long since mortgaged the temple.”3 The massification and internationalisation of our universities, with the attendant realities of accommodation availability, affordability and accessibility, have since then inevitably fostered the burgeoning of PBSA/commercial developments, as reflected in the Savills’ research report. However, along with the importance of location, design, amenity and financial return, is a whole gamut of increased expectations and requirements around care, safety and overall wellbeing, with greater awareness of the significance of engagement and belonging on student retention as well as the positive impact of the best possible holistic residential student experience. Good university residential community is therefore far more than convenience, checklists, customers and contracts, important as they are. More than a transactional experience, it is warmly relational and supportively transitional; and it can be deeply transformational.

Investment in both student and staff leadership and in collegestyle residential communities of social and cultural connection, of the exchange of knowledge and ideas, of belonging, friendships and global networks, and of inspiration and hope, will bring a truly rich return both for the student and for the university.

Lead singer of ‘Midnight Oil’, former Australian Labor Government Minister, and one of the first residents of Burgmann College ANU, Peter Garrett, recently noted that “There’s a myth in the modern era which derives from the cult of the individual … that we’re all just single individuals reaching our own destiny by ascending a ladder or buying shiny goods or locating ourselves in a cool and desirable place … We’re much more communal … and we derive meaning not ultimately from things we

end up throwing away, but from memories we collect and stories we tell one another, and the experiences we share.”4 As much as, if not more than, the place based wider university community of learning and what Professor Merlin Crossley refers to as “real interactions students have with their teachers and with each other”, the engagement that students will have in college-style university residences with residence leaders and staff and with each other “will sit within their memories and help shape their identities.”5

Toad Hall community 2019 (Multicultural Festival). Toad Hall, now a mainly postgraduate residence, was named by its first residents and the name approved by the University Council in 1974. Willows along the creek at the rear of the Hall reminded them of the British children’s novel ‘The Wind in the Willows’, with Mr Toad of Toad Hall – “the finest house on the river”!

The ‘Asset Class’ of Residential Leadership and College-style Community

Continued from previous page

All this, of course, has significant implications for the nature of and investment in leadership within our residences - both student and staff leadership. Presentations and networking at our various conferences (NAAUC, APSAA, UCA) and in a range of webinars, as well as journal articles, have highlighted the importance of resident student leadership opportunity, training and development.6 A 2019 research article by Dr Johan Groenewald and Professor Magda Fourie-Malherbe at Stellenbosch University, South Africa, refers to an “accommodation mindset that considers residence heads as merely managers of ‘beds where students sleep’”, and that in their findings “residence heads concurred that the residence head who plays an educational role is pivotal in promoting student success.”7 The research found that one of the key optimal roles of a residence head from the students’ perspective is being a leader who inspires – a leader with “an intentional educational mindset”. In an interview for my PhD research, former Governor-General of Australia, the late Sir Zelman Cowen, who in the 1930s was a non-resident member of Ormond College, University of Melbourne, remarked on the support, advice and encouragement he received from the then Master of Ormond, D. J. Picken: “If I were to build a monument to any man who exercised an influence on me at that time it would be to Picken.”8

More university commercial partnerships and developments are now incorporating college-style arrangements of community leadership, care and support, as well as a range of academic and career programs which further promote student retention and success. Investment in both student and staff leadership and in college-style residential communities of social and cultural connection, of the exchange of knowledge and ideas, of belonging, friendships and global networks, and of inspiration and hope, will bring a truly rich return both for the student and for the university.

At a function to mark the fiftieth anniversary of the opening of Ursula College (now Hall) at the ANU in 2018, the then Residents’ Committee President, Christina Fawns, noted “I think there is something really special about residential colleges/halls that we often don’t recognise… there is something really special about that first step into college. The excitement, the anguish, the hope… and maybe that’s what college is about. Not just about courage, community and excitement. Maybe college is about hope. Hope for the future, hope for yourself…”

An ‘asset class’ of residential leadership and college-style community that can add real value to a resident’s university experience, and well worth the investment.

“There’s a myth in the modern era which derives from the cult of the individual… that we’re all just single individuals reaching our own destiny by ascending a ladder or buying shiny goods or locating ourselves in a cool and desirable place… We’re much more communal… and we derive meaning not ultimately from things we end up throwing away, but from memories we collect and stories we tell one another, and the experiences we share”

Peter Garrett

References

1. https://www.savills.com.au/research_ articles/167771/204714-0 p.7

2. As above p.12

3. Simon Marginson & Mark Considine The Enterprise University: Power, Governance and Reinvention in Australia Cambridge University Press, Cambridge UK, 2000, p.2

4. ‘Peter Garrett: from old Library lawns to the Australian stage’, interview by Will Salkeld in Woroni 30/9/2022

5. Prof Merlin Crossley, Deputy Vice-Chancellor Academic Quality UNSW, ‘The power of learning locally’ Campus Morning Mail 29/09/2022

6. An example is a recent Discussion Paper ‘Student Leaders in Residence’ (University of Wollongong) https://documents.uow. edu.au/content/groups/public/@web/@ accomm/documents/doc/uow266377.pdf

7. https://www.researchgate.net/ publication/338029430_Residence_ Heads_as_Intentional_Role-Players_ in_Promoting_Student_Success

8. Interview with the Rt. Hon. Sir Zelman

Cowen, Melbourne, 16 March 2000. Sir Zelman had also been Vice-Chancellor of the Universities of New England and Queensland, and Provost of Oriel College, Oxford.

Dr Ian Walker at the UCA Forum in Brisbane

Finding the Student Accommodation Sweet Spot: A UK Perspective

Rebecca O’Hare Assistant Director (Residence Life & Accommodation Office), University of Leeds, UK

In student accommodation, the sweet spot in any city or region is ensuring there is sufficient bed supply to match an equally abundant student demand. In locations where an oversupply of beds exists, universities and private operators will often battle it out, hoping to attract students to their accommodation by enticing them with attractive rental rates and plush facilities. Inevitably in that scenario, voids will exist, an operator, perhaps a university, will be a sore loser and lessons will be learned for the following sales cycle.

However there is an alternative scenario and one which is currently playing out in the UK. Simply put, across the country, in numerous

cities with several universities, there are too many students and an insufficient supply of beds.

As a result a number of top UK universities have had little choice but to offer financial incentives or blunt communications in the hope their students will either not live in their accommodation or defer their studies for a year. At the University of Manchester, students were offered £2500 (AU $4474) not to live in their halls (yes, you read that correctly!) while Manchester Metropolitan University offered their students the option of taking up a room in Liverpool or Huddersfield plus a weekly stipend of £100 to cover “out of pocket expenses”. (For context,

both cities are 35 and 30 miles away from Manchester). Meanwhile, at the prestigious University of St Andrews, officials have acknowledged an “acute housing shortage” (Fitzpatrick, 2022) and instead requested that students consider renting accommodation in Dundee, 14 miles north of the campus.

Ahead of the 22/23 academic year, the University of Glasgow informed students not to travel to Glasgow if accommodation was not secured, removed their accommodation guarantee for new incoming first year students and is now declining housing applications to those who are considered to live within commuting distance to the city. In Bristol, where the situation is considered to be at crisis point, student housing waitlists are reported to have trebled. Private rental prices have increased from an average of £400 (AU $716) per person, per room to circa £700 (AU $1253) and the only options available to enquiring students was a 45 minute commute by train from Newport, a town across the border in Wales.

At worst, where any of the above is not an option, students feeling deflated by the situation are choosing to withdraw from University. Scroll popular social media platforms or online forums and you will easily spot desperate calls from students and their family members asking if anyone, anywhere is

Bedroom in Dobree & Whetton, catered accommodation at Charles Morris Hall, owned by the University of Leeds

Finding the Student Accommodation Sweet Spot: A UK Perspective

willing to rent a spare room in a bid not to lose their university place or withdraw from Higher Education altogether.

The national housing shortage, inflation and soaring rents has also resulted in vulnerable first year students feeling pressurised to sign contracts with flatmates they barely know for their second academic year, weeks into the start of their university experience. In the eyes of private student operators and letting agents, this may be viewed as the perfect storm, but in reality it is having a detrimental impact on student wellbeing and merely adding an unnecessary pressure in the midst of a cost of living crisis.

As recently witnessed in the historic city of Durham, home of the elite Durham University, hundreds of students slept on the streets

and queued overnight outside letting agents desperate to “get in early” (Abruzzese, 2022). Letting agencies are reporting receiving hundreds of applications for a single apartment and forced to compete with other students, rent bidding wars are emerging with perspective tenants offering more than the asking price for a room or flat (McLean, 2022).

How has this occurred?

Taking the above into consideration, the question begs to be asked “How has this occurred?” and why does the UK student accommodation market find itself in such dire straits?

Student acceptance rates into UK universities hit a record high of 570,000 in 2020, a 17% increase compared to 2010. While

the pandemic played a role in the figure dropping by 8,000 in 2021, grade inflation ensured that more students received the very best of marks and offers to the very best of what the UK education system has to offer. Coupled with large volumes of students deferring their place in a bid not to experience university during a COVID lockdown, the UK has found itself in a challenging situation that is expected to worsen in 2023.

Critics have also long argued that keen to meet targets, universities are continuously over recruiting and without due consideration to where their students will actually live or with little consultation with private accommodation operators and/or local housing authorities to understand what is available to perspective and hopeful

(Devonshire Hall, owned by the University of Leeds)

students. In fact, the National Union of Students has accused UK universities of “washing their hands of their duty towards their own students” and students themselves have taken matters into their own hands (McLean, 2022).

Student Unions up and down the country are actively lobbying their universities for a suspension on student recruitment. The 93% Club, a student led society created to support and improve the experience of state school students at Durham University has lobbied both the university and the local government calling on the “madness” to end as the housing system is not conducted with students in mind (Abruzzese, 2022).

CASH (Campaign for Affordable Student Housing) at St Andrews University have undertaken marches on campus and in Ireland where an identical situation has unfolded, students have been walking en masse out of lectures to protest at the lack of accommodation available for new and returning students (Conlon, 2022).

Addressing the accommodation shortage

Outside of homes owned by private landlords, to date 697,734 beds exist in the UK, with 17,000 beds projected to be available in 2022/23 and a further 29,000 planned for 2023/24 (Cushman and Wakefield, 2022). So while more beds are on the way, there is a general consensus that it is too little, too late.

Rising rent costs coupled with small private landlords selling properties or converting them to Airbnb’s, results in students being priced out of the market and especially when their living situation is not being thought about when university stakeholders, local or national governments come together to strategize their long term objectives. So where does a possible solution lie? Outside of calls for university recruitment freezes and for the introduction of rent

controls, the UK government has attempted to have a go at solving the issue, although it has many in the sector worried.

An upcoming renter’s reform bill for England, described as game changing by some and a “hand grenede” by others (Reed, 2022) is currently on the table. The proposals, while on the surface, aim to improve the experience for renters, it is considered to be one which will have significant implications for the entire student market and will potentially exacerbate an already tenuous situation.

It’s important to note that whilst PBSA (University or private) will be treated differently to off street housing, the proposal to replace assured and assured shorthold tenancies with periodic tenancies and allow students to end their contract on two months’ notice will result in a further reduction of off campus, private housing. Landlords viewing these conditions as unfavourable will withdraw from the market and sell up their properties thus causing a further reduction in properties available and an inconceivable amount of stress for student renters. Over the next five years, international undergraduate numbers are forecasted by rise by 46% and

by 2026, one million applicants are expected to enter the UK university application cycle (UCAS, 2022). In the absence of a well thought out national student housing strategy and increasing competition amongst UK universities to continue recruiting more and more students, the question still remains…where are they all going to live?

References

Abruzzese, 2022 – https://www.thenorthernecho. co.uk/news/23073781.durham-university-studenthousing-crisis-worsens-students-queue-overnight/ Conlon, 2022 – https://www.irishexaminer.com/ opinion/commentanalysis/arid-40982576.html

Cushman & Wakefield., 2022. UK Student Accommodation Report 2022. [online] Available at: https://image.comm.cushmanwakefield.com/lib/ fe37117171640578741271/m/2Cushman+Wakefield+ Student+Accommodation+Report+EXPO+2022.pdf

Fitzpatrick, 2022 (https://news.stv.tv/scotland/ students-at-university-of-st-andrews-face-acutehousing-shortage-with-some-forced-to-live-in-dundee Mc Lean, 2022 (https://theface.com/life/studentaccommodation-crisis-glasgow-portsmouthhousing-shortage-students-freshers)

Reed, 2022 https://www.property118.com/ renters-reform-bill-a-hand-grenade-forstudent-let-sector/comment-page-2/

UCAS, 2022 https://monitor.icef.com/2022/06/ uk-international-undergraduate-enrolmentforecast-to-climb-46-by-2026/

Rebecca O’Hare biography

Rebecca O’Hare is Assistant Director (Residence Life & Accommodation Office) at the University of Leeds, UK and recently completed an MA in Student Affairs in Higher Education where her research ‘Working in purpose built student accommodation: An Exploration into the Induction and Training Practices of Accommodation Managers & Deputy Accommodation Managers’ was awarded a distinction. She co-founded and co-hosts the Student Affairs podcast ‘Free Food, Free Drinks’ and previously, worked for global PBSA operator Campus Living Villages as their Head of Residence Life. Rebecca was previously the chair of the ACUHO-I Global Initiatives Network, a former member of the ASRA committee and was awarded the CUBO Residence Life professional award in 2019, the Class of 2020 Best Initiative award for wellbeing in 2019 and the BYTA Rising Star award in 2018.

The national housing shortage, inflation and soaring rents has also resulted in vulnerable first year students feeling pressurised to sign contracts with flatmates they barely know for their second academic year, weeks into the start of their university experience.

APSAA Strategic Plan 2023-2027

Our current strategic plan commonly known as “L3” comes to an end this December. APSAA has achieved a lot in the last 5 years, but we have an even more exciting future ahead of us.

Forming the new strategic plan:

The APSAA Board formed our strategic plan in three stages:

1. Review:

We reviewed our current plan, what worked well in it, what we had achieved. We looked at how our membership had grown and changed with the mix of Universities, PBSA and Residential Colleges, while also looking at how the profession is bouncing back post COVID disruption.

2. Development:

The APSAA Board employed an expert in association governance to spend an in person planning day with us as we developed the plan from the ground up. Looking at our vision, mission, and pillars. The board also talked about wanting to have a set of values that the association operates by the reflect the work our members do.

3. Refinement:

Once the bulk of the hard work was done, the Executive committee reviewed the drafts and tweaked any wording as was necessary and ensured the plan met all of our association’s requirements.

The final piece of work was “Our foundations for the future: 2023-2027”. The title of the strategic plan recognises the great work done by our association in the last 50 years and uses this position to propel us into a bright future.

Our strategic plan was launched formally at our Sydney Conference in September, with it coming into effect January 1, 2023.

The APSAA 2023-2027 Strategic Plan:

APSAA Vision: To support and nurture excellence in the student accommodation profession.

APSAA Mission: APSAA is the premier industry body for the delivery of professional development, industry standards and the recognition of our members

APSAA values:

• Inclusion We foster positive and respectful relationships

• Excellence We deliver high quality relevant member experiences

• Leadership We support our members in addressing issues that affect them

• Integrity We promote honest and open communication and engagement

To read the plan in full, including our pillars, please click here: https://www.apsaa.org.au/about-us/ strategic-plan/strategic-plan-2023-2027/

How will we use the strategic plan:

The strategic plan will inform our decision making moving forward. We will align our committees and the work they do to our pillars and desired outcomes. The values will inform how we work with our members and the ethical standards they agree to as part of our CPD programme. We will report to members annually against the objectives of the annual plan.

Peter McDonald Tertiary Balance Pty Ltd

GST and residential colleges New Guideline from the ATO

The ATO’s new Practical Compliance Guideline: GST and residential colleges is about to be launched

The final version of the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) Draft Practical Compliance Guideline 2022/D3: GST and residential colleges is scheduled to take effect from 1 January 2023.

The PCG – what is it?

The Practical Compliance Guide (the PCG):

• will change the way most residential colleges (colleges) determine how much Goods and Services Tax (GST) to pay or claim back;

• replaces the ATO’s Residential Colleges GST Tool (GST Tool), an excel based product which has been in use since January 2009;

• is a document that aims to give some practical guidance on GST for colleges;

• only applies the market value tests for meals and accommodation, not the cost tests;

• has been designed by the ATO in consultation with colleges and college advisors;

• is not intended to interpret GST law; &

• is not a computer systems based product maintained by the ATO, like the GST Tool.

Colleges can face a host of practical difficulties in applying the GST law and in accessing GST concessions

The ATO acknowledges these difficulties, in the text of the PCG.

The PCG is designed to and in my opinion will, reduce compliance costs for most colleges relative to what would apply if this or a similar type of product was not provided.

Various of the compliance concessions provided for colleges in the GST Tool have been carried across into the PCG, but there are important differences between the GST Tool and the PCG that I will go into below.

The ATO will not compel colleges to use the PCG

Colleges may elect to use the PCG, or not.

If a college elects to use the PCG for a given calendar year, that does not bind the college to use the PCG in future years.

Similarly, if a college decides not to use the PCG in a given calendar year, the college may nevertheless elect to use the PCG in a later year.

The ATO has been careful to reassure colleges by stating:

‘Where a residential college does not apply the compliance approach as outlined in this Guideline, this does not necessarily mean that a residential college is not complying with its GST obligations.’

GST and residential colleges New Guideline from the ATO

In other words, the ATO is not going to subject your college to a GST review or audit just because you choose not to use the PCG.

The PCG gives colleges’ access to the ATO’s charity benchmark market values

A design feature of the PCG is that it gives colleges’ access to the ATO’s charity benchmark market values for long-term accommodation and for short-term meals. Previously colleges have not been permitted to use these ATO maintained benchmarks.

The PCG only permits access to the ATO charit long-term accommodation benchmark market values if the college does not have an independent accommodation valuation less than four years old.

Catered colleges with an independent valuation less than four years old covering both meals and accommodation are not permitted access to any of the ATO benchmark market values but are still able to use various other concessions in the PCG, for example to do with formal tutorials.

This overall approach has the advantage of efficient use of existing ATO maintained benchmarks but is controversial on at least two grounds:

1. the use of the ATO’s short-term meals benchmark market values (note the ATO does not operate any long-term meals benchmarks) results in quite a high GST charge on meals if the meals are taxable under the PCG;

2. colleges in one or two capital cities complain the ATO long-term accommodation benchmarks applicable to their capital city are too low to be realistic for college use.

A response to the criticism on the PCG’s use of the ATO’s short-term meals benchmark market values is that although this results in materially higher GST on meals (if the meals are taxable) it also increases the likelihood of GST-free student accommodation outcomes.

Generally speaking, in my opinion, there will be less input taxation of student accommodation under the PCG than under the GST Tool, with a commensurate decrease in GST compliance complexity and increased entitlements to claim back the GST paid on acquisitions.

Where a college has an independent accommodation valuation less than four years old or decides to get one (perhaps as a result of dissatisfaction with the ATO’s benchmarks) the ATO accommodation benchmarks are not used and the PCG uses the college’s valuation.

The PCG’s quest for simplicity

Critics of the GST Tool have said the Tool is too complex and there is too much potential for colleges to make mistakes when answering (the many) questions asked by the Tool.

A further criticism of the GST Tool is that many colleges find they need professional assistance and/or external training to achieve correct and defensible GST outcomes under the Tool.

One of the ways in which the PCG has reduced complexity, relative to the GST Tool, is to ask far fewer questions. This approach brings benefits but also has some drawbacks.

For example, the PCG does not ask whether a student room comes with its own en-suite bathroom whereas the GST Tool does.

If a college charges more for a student room with an en-suite than it does for a room without one, the GST Tool makes an allowance for this whereas the PCG only makes an allowance where the college has supplied its own valuation. That is, the PCG makes no allowance for the en-suite if the ATO benchmarks must be used.

The unfortunate reality is that if the PCG is to be fair to all colleges in all circumstances in terms of GST outcomes, it is going to be difficult to do this without introducing additional complexity into the product.

A new feature in the PCG is that colleges may pick and choose which parts to use

Both the GST Tool and the PCG contain many concessions for GST compliance.

With the GST Tool, one by and large has to use the Tool for all student contracts.

A key point of difference with the PCG is that with some exceptions colleges may pick and choose which parts of the PCG to use.

The PCG grants far wider discretion to use only parts of the product for only some of the student contracts, than under the GST Tool.

Wider spread of net GST remission rates with the PCG

The introduction of the PCG has the potential to cause material changes in net GST remission rates by colleges.

By ‘net GST remission’ I mean the sum of the GST charged to the students plus the GST on acquisitions that is not claimed from the ATO. In addition the PCG tends to give a wider range of net GST remission outcomes between colleges, than is the case under the GST Tool.

College “A” might have a lower net GST remission rate than its neighbour College “B”, under the GST Tool. This relativity could potentially be reversed under the PCG, with resultant consequences for things such as profitability and the fees charged to students at each of the colleges.

The PCG is not meant to and has not been designed to mirror the outcomes under the GST Tool. The PCG is a new ATO product with a new approach.

Colleges are facing some decisions on the PCG

Some colleges have called for an overlap between the retirement of the GST Tool and the commencement of the PCG.

This would give more time to decide whether to adopt the PCG in whole or in part.

As at the time of writing the ATO has not announced any relaxation of the hard retirement date for the GST Tool, of 31 December 2022.

In deciding whether to adopt the PCG in whole or in part, what will be the key factors guiding your decision?

The key factors are considered to be: • net GST remission rate; • compliance cost; & • level of compliance risk with the approach taken.

Net GST remission rate

Colleges should not delay in using the Draft PCG to work out what their net GST remission rate will be if they elect to use the PCG.

Once the final or official version of the PCG is issued, these calculations should be updated.

If your decision is to use the PCG but using a new independent valuation of accommodation as the basis for using the PCG, be aware that once you take that step you will be required to stay with that valuation or an indexed version of same when using the PCG, for up to four years or until a new valuation is obtained.

There are alternative approaches to obtaining a new independent valuation of accommodation for use with the PCG, inclusive of but not limited to cost test over-rides of the market value tests. Cost test over-rides are permitted under the PCG, as they are under the GST Tool.

If the GST characterisation of your student accommodation changes from input taxed to GST-free then generally your college will be entitled to what are known as decreasing GST Division 129 adjustments (annual payments to the college from the ATO).

Where the reverse is the case then increasing GST Division 129 adjustments (annual payments to the ATO by the college) generally apply.

Try to have regard for the scale and direction of these GST Division 129 adjustments (where applicable) when deciding whether to adopt the PCG, or seek advice in this area.

Compliance cost

My view as stated earlier is that compliance cost under the PCG will generally, but not always, be lower than under the GST Tool all other things being equal.

When assessing compliance cost under the PCG include any independent valuation costs and professional advice costs that may be necessary if taking the decision to not use the ATO’s accommodation benchmark market values.

Compliance risk with the approach taken

The level of compliance risk under the PCG and the GST Tool, in the same circumstances, is considered in each case to be low.

If using the PCG with an independent valuation of accommodation there is always an element of compliance risk the Commissioner’s valuer might not agree with your valuer.

What are your options if you decide not to adopt the PCG?

Your options in this case are no different than if your college has previously elected not to adopt the GST Tool.

Namely, seek professional advice or undertake your own GST compliance with or without an independent valuation. There is also the option of a GST private ruling request to the Commissioner, being a path many colleges have gone down in the past.

I for one will be sorry to see the GST Tool retire, having been deeply involved in its development and operation for nearly two decades, but accept the ATO finding the Tool has run its course and is no longer fit for purpose going into the future.

I would urge you to explore all the PCG has to offer and to choose wisely on whether or which parts of the PCG to use in the coming years.

Student Accommodation December 2022

Phone: +61 3 9586 6055 Email: admin@apsaa.org.au apsaa.org.au