What Do Homestay Host Families Need to Provide? A Complete Checklist
If you are considering becoming a homestay host in Australia, you may be wondering what you need to provide. The requirements are more straightforward than many people expect.
Hosts provide a private, furnished bedroom; home-cooked meals, including breakfast and dinner; utilities; laundry facilities; and, most importantly, a warm, English-speaking home environment.
This checklist outlines the key requirements, so you know what to expect before applying.
Quick Summary: Your Host Family Responsibilities
- A private furnished bedroom with bed, storage, desk, and natural light
- Breakfast and dinner daily, with dietary requirements accommodated
- Electricity, gas, water, and laundry access included in the hosting arrangement
- A warm, English-speaking home environment
- Basic pastoral care: checking in, being available, flagging concerns to your provider
The Student Bedroom: What Is Required
The student's bedroom is a key part of the homestay experience. It should be private, comfortable, safe and suitable for study.
The room must include:
- A private space for the student. It should not be shared with another household member unless this has been agreed to in advance.
- A comfortable single or double bed with clean bedding.
- Storage for clothing and personal belongings, such as a wardrobe or drawers.
- A desk, chair and adequate lighting for study.
- At least one external window for natural light and ventilation.
- A clean, well-maintained environment, with bed linen changed regularly (generally every two weeks).
- Safe, working electrical fittings and smoke detectors in the home.
An ensuite is not required. Shared bathrooms are standard in homestay, provided there is reasonable access for all household members.
Meals
The standard homestay package includes breakfast and dinner each day, as well as a light lunch on weekends.
Students arrange and purchase their own lunch on weekdays, usually near their school or campus.
Meal quality and dietary requirements
Meals do not need to be elaborate, but they should be nutritious, home-cooked (or good-quality prepared meals), and varied enough to provide a balanced diet. Meals that are consistently inadequate in quantity or quality are a welfare concern and will be addressed by our team.
Before your student arrives, you will receive their dietary requirements from Global experience. Common requirements include:
- Vegetarian or vegan diets
- Halal meat requirements
- Pork-free diets
- Shellfish or other allergies
- Preferences around rice-based meals (common for students from East and South-East Asia)
You are expected to accommodate these requirements in your meal planning. If you are unsure how to cook for a specific dietary requirement, Global experience can provide guidance.
Utilities and Laundry
The weekly hosting fee you receive includes the expectation that utilities are provided to the student at no additional charge. This includes:
Electricity and gas: The student's reasonable use of heating, cooling, lighting, and kitchen appliances is covered by the hosting arrangement.
Water: Standard residential water usage for the student's showering, washing, and cooking.
Laundry: Students should be able to do their laundry in the household washing machine regularly, typically once or twice per week.
Common Areas and Access
Students have a right to reasonable access to the home's common areas:
Kitchen: Access to make simple snacks or drinks during reasonable hours.
Living room: Access to relax, watch television, or socialise during the household's normal waking hours.
Outdoor areas: Access to the garden, courtyard, or outdoor space where applicable.
Students are expected to treat common areas with respect and to follow reasonable house rules. Hosts may establish expectations around quiet hours, kitchen use after dinner, and guest policies. These should be communicated clearly at the start of the placement.
Pastoral Care and Welfare Responsibilities
Beyond the physical provisions, homestay hosts in Australia have a welfare and pastoral care responsibility to their students. This does not require professional qualifications: it requires common sense, attentiveness, and a genuine concern for the student's wellbeing.
Practical welfare responsibilities include:
Checking in during the first week: New students are often anxious, homesick, and overwhelmed. A brief daily check-in over dinner makes a significant difference in the early days.
Communicating house rules clearly: Students perform much better when they understand expectations from the start. Explain your quiet hours, guest policy, laundry arrangement, and anything else that matters to your household.
Notifying the provider of concerns: If you notice that a student seems unwell, distressed, isolated, or is not eating properly, contact Global experience. You are not expected to solve every problem: you are expected to flag it so our welfare team can support you and the student.
Acting in an emergency: In a medical emergency, call 000 immediately. Contact Global experience's emergency line after the student's immediate safety is secured.
Respecting the student's privacy: Students have a right to privacy in their bedroom, their communications, and their personal life. Hosts should not enter the student's room without knocking or impose intrusive enquiries about their personal relationships or activities.
The English-Speaking Environment
One of the conditions of homestay hosting is that your home operates as an English-speaking environment. This is fundamental to the purpose of homestay: students are placed with Australian families specifically because daily English immersion accelerates language development in a way no classroom can replicate.
In practice, this means:
- Speaking to your student in English at all times
- Not speaking to the student in their own language even if you know it
- Encouraging the student to ask questions and participate in English conversations, even when it is slow or effortful
This does not mean correcting every mistake or conducting formal English lessons. It means creating a comfortable, patient English-speaking environment where the student feels safe to practise without embarrassment.
Host Responsibilities: Quick Reference Checklist
Bedroom:
- Private room with bed, storage, desk, and natural light ✓
- Cleaned before arrival and maintained throughout ✓
- Bedding changed regularly ✓
Meals:
- Breakfast and dinner daily ✓
- Light lunch on weekends ✓
- Reasonable dietary requirements accommodated ✓
Utilities:
- Electricity, gas, and water included ✓
- Laundry access ✓
Welfare:
- Basic wellbeing check-ins ✓
- Clear communication of house rules ✓
- Prompt notification to provider of concerns ✓
- Emergency protocols understood ✓
Language environment:
- English spoken at home at all times ✓
Frequently Asked Questions: Host Family Responsibilities in Australia
What must a homestay host provide in Australia?
Australian homestay host families must provide a private furnished bedroom with a comfortable bed, adequate storage and study space, and natural light. They must also provide breakfast and dinner daily, access to a shared bathroom, laundry facilities, and utilities. Hosts must also provide a safe, English-speaking home environment and appropriate pastoral support.
Do homestay hosts need to provide transport for students?
No. Homestay hosts are not required to provide transport for students. Students are responsible for their own travel to school using public transport. However, hosts are encouraged to help students understand the local public transport system when they first arrive.
Do host families need to provide lunch?
The standard homestay package includes breakfast and dinner each day, as well as a light lunch on weekends. Students arrange and purchase their own lunch on weekdays, usually near their school or campus.
What bedroom standards must Australian homestay hosts meet?
A homestay student bedroom must be private, adequately furnished, have natural light and ventilation, and meet basic safety standards. The room should be cleaned before the student arrives and maintained to a reasonable standard throughout the placement.
What pastoral care responsibilities do homestay hosts have?
Homestay host families have a pastoral care responsibility to ensure the student's basic welfare: that they are eating, sleeping, and managing the adjustment to life in Australia. Hosts should contact the homestay provider if they have welfare concerns and act in the student's best interests in the event of an emergency.
Your Home Might Be Perfect: Let's Find Out
If your home meets these standards and you are curious about hosting, see our step-by-step guide to becoming a homestay host in Australia, and check what you can expect financially in our article on how much homestay hosts earn in Australia. Apply to become a host family with Global experience: we are genuinely happy to help you figure out if your home and lifestyle are a good fit for hosting.