Support For Homestay Providers

It is of paramount importance to us at Australian Experiential Learning Centre (AELC) that our interns have the very best experience whilst visiting Australia and believe our Home Stay Families play an integral part in this experience.

We pride ourselves on our level of customer service and we actively foster positive relationships with our Homestay providers and rely on them to inform us of any issues and concerns they have or become aware of relating to our interns whilst they are in their care.

We provide full support to our Home Stay families, we have our own Home Stay Coordinator who will be there to assist our families with any issues with regards to placements, interns, payments etc.

Guide For Homestay Providers

Australian Experiential Learning Centre (AELC) have compiled this guide to help you make an informed decision about offering Homestay accommodation to international or local students.

Please consider all the information, even if you have provided Homestay accommodation in the past, as AELC may have different requirements or expectations to that of other colleges or companies you may have dealt with.

We pride ourselves on our level of customer service and we actively foster positive relationships with our Homestay providers and rely on them to inform us of any issues and concerns they have or become aware of relating to our students whilst they are in their care.

If there is any information that is not clear to you please do not hesitate to contact one of our Homestay coordinators for further information or clarification. They will be very happy to explain everything to you.

What is Homestay Accommodation?

Homestay is a way of providing a good quality, safe accommodation option for international and local students in Perth. It is intended for the students to be a “home away from home”, a comfortable environment with people to help them learn about Australia whilst welcoming them into their household.

Our Homestay providers choose to take in students for many different reasons and therefore our providers may be families, couples, single parents with children or single. It’s an advantage for us to have a mix of households to choose from so we can match our providers with our student’s requests.

Information about our students

Our students come from many different countries, the majority from the United Kingdom, Europe, Asia and Australia.  They come from different backgrounds and cultures and are over 18 years of age.

Our students are made aware that every Homestay is different and we try to match the Homestay placement with their requests. However the provider may not provide all the home comforts that they are used to.

Students are advised prior to their arrival that they will experience different cultures and customs that they are used to in their own countries and that they need to come to terms with these differences.  We rely on our Homestay providers to help them through this process as they do not have their familiar family/friends support network to assist them with this and for some it can be a stressful experience.

How long do students stay in Homestay?

This varies greatly.  Often students will book Homestay for the duration of the program. Others may book for a couple of weeks when they arrive and then move into shared accommodation.  Some may change their minds, book Homestay for the duration of their course and then once they have settled into their program and feel more confident they choose to leave their Homestay.  We cannot predict what will happen, as every student is individual, and there are many variables to consider.

Giving notice to leave Homestay

If either party wishes to terminate the Homestay agreement the following shall apply:

If the student wishes to terminate her/his agreement with the Homestay provider then the student must give a minimum of two (2) weeks notice. Rent will be paid to the Homestay provider to cover the period up to and including the day of vacating.

If the Homestay provider wishes to terminate the agreement then the Homestay provider must give a minimum on two (2) weeks notice.  The Homestay provider will receive the rent to cover the period to the actual date of the student leaving (this may be prior to the 2 weeks notice date – should the student choose to leave earlier).

Payments

Our Homestay payments run on a fortnightly basis in arrears. Our weeks run from Saturday to Friday inclusive and extra days will be calculated separately on a day rate. Our weekly Homestay rate is $210.00 with the day rate calculated at $30. Once we receive your bank account details the payments will be directly deposited into your account. Please note we do not issue notices or statements with regards to payments.

What is required next?

If you would like to proceed with the application of becoming a Homestay Provider please forward to us the following documents.

1. A completed Homestay Family Profile/Application Form.
2. Police Clearance Certificates for each adult who resides at the property. AELC must have copies of current police checks (2 years or less).  Forms are available from Australia Post. Once the documentation is received our Homestay Coordinator will arrange an appointment to visit you at your home.

Applications

Download the application form and mail or fax it back to us:

Homestay Provider Application Form (PDF 369kb)

Or, contact Linda Harland for further information or inquiries: linda@aelc.edu.au