Conroy, Sen Stephen

Senator Conroy: The Minister for Sustainability, Environment, Water, Population and Communities has provided the following answer to the honourable senator’s question: (1) The Department of Sustainability, Environment, Water, Population and Communities (DSEWPaC) and the Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations (DEEWR) do not collect data on student accommodation and reliable figures are difficult to obtain. A 2010 survey by Universities Australia found that 34 of Australia’s 39 universities formally provide accommodation for students and that universities provide a total of 42,620 beds. (2) A number of agencies are involved in assessing the appropriateness of housing across the spectrum of tenure options, including the Department of Families, Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs (FaHCSIA) and DSEWPaC. For example, DSEWPaC supports the National Housing Supply Council to prepare the annual State of Supply Report. DSEWPaC and DEEWR do not collect data on current housing needs for students. Demand for student housing may be monitored either by universities or by the private sector, often in collaboration with tertiary education providers. (3) The National Rental Affordability Scheme which supports the development of affordable rental accommodation for low to moderate income households, is managed by DSEWPaC. DEEWR provides capital works support through the Commonwealth Grant Scheme and higher education infrastructure programs. However, these programs are not specifically targeted towards student accommodation. DEEWR infrastructure programs include: Education Investment Fund; one-off Teaching and Learning Capital Fund (Higher Education); one-off Better Universities Renewal Fund; and Capital Development Pool. A list of programs and the alignment of their objectives with the development of student accommodation is at Table 1. Table 1: Sources of Australian Government Capital Funding for Student Accommodation PROGRAM ABOUT ALIGNMENT WITH STUDENT ACCOMMODATION Education Investment Fund (EIF) The EIF funds projects that create or develop significant infrastructure in higher education institutions, research institutions and VET providers. The EIF prioritises funding for teaching and research infrastructure. Student accommodation developments have only been supported where it has been demonstrated that the accommodation is integral to projects fully delivering the intended outcomes. Teaching and Learning Capital Fund (TLC) Better Universities Renewal Fund (BURF) The one-off BURF and the TLC are designed to renew ageing university infrastructure and provide an educational experience appropriate for the 21 century. While some universities directed a small portion of their allocations towards student accommodation projects, BURF and TLC funds have largely been used to support teaching and research infrastructure, ICT developments and infrastructure associated with student amenities. Capital Development Pool (CDP) The CDP provides special funding assistance to higher education providers for capital infrastructure needs over and above those that could be expected to be funded from their other sources of funding. Although funding for student accommodation is potentially available under the CDP, the vast majority of CDP funds have been applied directly to teaching and learning infrastructure including ICT. The CDP will cease from 1 January 2012. (4) As noted above, the Commonwealth does not currently collect data on student accommodation. A summary of full and part time students by state and territory is at Table 2. Table 2 Number of Full time and part-time students by state and territory (2009 student data). INTERNAL EXTERNAL MULTI MODAL FULL-TIME PART-TIME SUB-TOTAL FULL-TIME PART-TIME SUB-TOTAL FULL-TIME PART-TIME SUB-TOTAL New South Wales 209,353 68,146 277,499 9,597 47,304 56,901 16,240 4,284 20,524 Victoria 204,646 53,826 258,472 3,127 17,210 20,337 12,575 2,934 15,509 Queensland 125,332 30,347 155,679 9,219 26,819 36,038 10,219 3,287 13,506 Western Australia 80,248 23,492 103,740 1,902 8,244 10,146 5,025 2,168 7,193 South Australia 48,344 16,647 64,991 1,657 6,174 7,831 4,891 1,474 6,365 Tasmania 11,814 4,600 16,414 452 2,298 2,750 1,997 522 2,519 Northern Territory 1,029 770 1,799 1,313 2,464 3,777 1,497 612 2,109 Australian Capital Territory 18,145 8,658 26,803 10 64 74 2,328 894 3,222 Multistate Institutions 13,007 6,188 19,195 427 907 1,334 58 81 139 TOTAL 711,918 212,674 924,592 27,704 111,484 139,188 54,830 16,256 71,086 (5) To date, 31 applications for NRAS Incentives have been received from universities or educational institutions since the commencement of the program on 1 July 2008. (6) As at 20 June 2011, 2,681 incentives have been offered and accepted by universities or other educational institutions with 467 dwellings delivered. (7) (a) (b) (c) Noting the answer to question 5, the table below provides information about each supported application where the applicant is a university or other educational institution. Round Applicant State Suburb Dwelling Type Incentives Allocated (Tenanted or available for rent) Incentives Reserved (Not yet delivered) Total 2 Monash University VIC Clayton Studio Apartments 600 600 Holmesglen Institute of TAFE VIC Glen Waverley 1 Bd Apartments 59 59 Total 659 659 3 Australian National University ACT Canberra City Studio and 1, 2, 3 & 5 Bd Apartments 467 555 1,022 UWA Accommodation Services Pty Ltd WA Crawley, Nedlands, Claremont Studio Apartments 1,000 1,000 Total 467 1,555 2,022 4 (to date) University of Ballarat VIC Mount Helen, Ballarat Studio Apartments 200 200 Total 200 200 *There were no specifically identified or other educational institution applications in Round 1. Building Better Regional Cities program (Question No. 721)