27 Years of Homestay in Australia: What We Have Learnt

Global experience has been placing international students in Australian homestay since 1999. In that time, more than 250,000 students from across the world have studied in Australia with a Global experience host family. That is a lot of breakfasts, a lot of school commutes, and a lot of dinners where two cultures tried to understand each other across a kitchen table.

After 27 years, some things have changed significantly. Others have not changed at all. This article is a reflection on what we have learnt, what we do differently now, and what remains true about what makes homestay work.

Quick Answer

• Global experience has operated in Australia since 1999, placing more than 250,000 students in homestay.
• The company operates across Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, and the Gold Coast, with over 6,500 vetted host families.
• The most important factor in a successful placement has not changed: a well-matched host family, in a well-inspected home, with consistent welfare support throughout the stay.
• Industry standards have become more rigorous over 27 years, particularly around vetting, welfare monitoring, and student support for under-18 students.
• Global experience is a member of NEAS, with operations aligned with the ESOS Act and the National Code of Practice 2018.

How It Started

Global experience was founded in 1999 with a straightforward belief: that the best way for an international student to experience Australia is to live with an Australian family. Not in a dormitory. Not in a shared apartment with other international students. In a home, with people who know where the good bakeries are and who will ask how your day was over dinner.

The first placements were in Sydney. The network was small. The principles, however, were the same as they are today: visit every home, interview every family, and never place a student in a household you have not been inside yourself.

What Has Changed

The diversity of students and source countries

In the early years of Global experience, students came predominantly from a small number of source countries, mostly in East Asia and Europe. Today, students come from more than 50 countries, speaking dozens of languages, and with a much wider range of dietary, cultural, and religious backgrounds.

This has made matching more nuanced. A host family that is a wonderful match for a student from one background may be a poor match for a student from another. Our team, which now operates in English, Mandarin, Cantonese, Bahasa Indonesia, Spanish, Portuguese and Tagalog, has had to develop the depth and cultural range to navigate that complexity well.

The professionalisation of welfare and vetting standards

When Global experience was founded, there was no National Code of Practice for overseas students. There was no systematic requirement for Working With Children Checks as a condition of hosting. There was no standardised framework for what a homestay provider had to do before placing a student.

Australia now has some of the most rigorous international student welfare frameworks in the world. The ESOS Act and the National Code of Practice 2018 set detailed obligations on education providers and their accommodation partners. The Working With Children Check is a mandatory step in our vetting process, required for all adults in every host household.

We are proud to have been ahead of many of these standards before they were formalised. They reflect what we believed from the beginning: that you cannot place a student in a home you do not know, with adults whose suitability you have not verified.

The cities where students study

Global experience now operates in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, and the Gold Coast. Growth into new cities has been driven by the growth of international student enrolments in those cities, and by the decision to actively recruit and vet host families in those locations rather than wait for demand to arrive.

Each city has its own character, its own suburbs, and its own student population. The Gold Coast, for example, attracts a large number of younger students on language programmes. Melbourne draws a more diverse cohort across universities, vocational colleges, and language schools. Operating well in each requires local knowledge, and our teams are based in each city rather than managed remotely.

What Has Not Changed

The importance of the match

After 27 years and more than 250,000 placements, the single most consistent lesson is this: a good homestay comes down to the quality of the match. The right family for one student is not the right family for another. A quiet, studious student placed with a loud, social household will be miserable. An outgoing student placed with a quiet family who keeps to themselves will feel isolated.

We gather detailed information about every student before matching. School location, dietary requirements, household preferences, allergies, and study schedule all matter. So does the less quantifiable information: what kind of environment will help this student settle, study, and feel at home?

The value of visiting the home in person

No photograph of a bedroom tells you what a bedroom feels like. No online form tells you whether a household is genuinely welcoming or simply willing to take the money. The in-person home inspection has been a non-negotiable part of our process since 1999, and it remains so. Every home in our network has been visited by a member of our team. There are no exceptions.

The importance of welfare support during the placement

Placing a student is the beginning of our responsibility, not the end of it. A student who moves into a homestay on a Sunday morning should not be left to work out everything on their own. Our team is in contact throughout every placement. Welfare calls happen regularly. If something is wrong, we find out quickly, because we stay close enough to hear about it.

The fundamental offer: room and meals in a real Australian home

What a homestay offers has not changed since 1999: a private furnished bedroom, breakfast and dinner, and the daily experience of living with an Australian family. That offer is simple. Its value is not. Students who live in homestay consistently develop English faster, adapt to Australian life more quickly, and leave Australia with a genuine sense of having lived here, not just studied here.

What We Look for in a Host Family Today

The qualities we look for in a host family are the same as they have always been, though our process for verifying them has become more systematic.

• Genuine motivation: Families who want to host because they are curious about the world and enjoy meeting people from different cultures make better hosts than families who are primarily motivated by income.
• An English-speaking household: The daily English immersion that homestay provides is one of its core educational benefits. Families whose home language is primarily not English reduce that benefit.
• Flexibility and patience: Hosting an international student requires adjustment on both sides. Families who are rigid in their routines or impatient with cultural misunderstanding are not a good fit.
• A safe and welcoming home: The practical standards matter: a clean bedroom, working smoke detectors, a home that is well-maintained and feels safe. But so does the less tangible quality of a home that feels genuinely welcoming.

Frequently Asked Questions: 27 Years of Homestay in Australia

How long has Global experience been operating in Australia?

Global experience was founded in 1999 and has been placing international students in Australian homestay for 27 years. In that time, more than 250,000 students have been placed through our network across Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, and the Gold Coast.

How many students has Global experience placed in Australian homestay?

More than 250,000 students have been placed in Australian homestay through Global experience since 1999. Our network currently includes over 6,500 vetted host families.

What is the most important factor in a successful homestay in Australia?

The quality of the match between student and host family is the single most important factor in a successful homestay. After 27 years and more than 250,000 placements, the consistent lesson is that the right family for one student is not the right family for another. Careful matching, based on school location, dietary needs, household type, and student personality, is what separates a good placement from a difficult one.

What changes have you seen in the Australian homestay industry over 27 years?

The most significant changes have been in the diversity of students and source countries, the professionalisation of welfare and vetting standards, and the range of cities where international students study. The fundamentals of what makes homestay work, such as a welcoming host family, a safe home, and consistent welfare support, have not changed.

Why did Global experience's founder start the company?

Global experience was founded with the goal of giving international students a genuine Australian living experience, not just accommodation, during their studies. The belief that a well-matched homestay placement is one of the most formative parts of an international student's time in Australia has guided every decision since.

What the Next Chapter Looks Like

Global experience is continuing to grow its host family network in all four cities, with a focus on expanding in Melbourne and the Gold Coast, where international student numbers have grown significantly over the past decade. We are also deepening our school and agent relationships so that more students receive the benefit of a coordinated school-plus-homestay experience rather than having to arrange the two separately.

The goal remains what it has always been: to give every international student who comes to Australia a home to come back to at the end of the school day.

If your school has a relationship with Global experience, your booking may need to come through your school. Check with us first and we will confirm the right process for you.