Living with an Australian host family is a great way to experience Australia’s fantastic lifestyle close to your school community. By living in a safe, caring and supportive home environment you can immerse yourself in your studies, practise your English skills and develop lasting friendships with your homestay family.
What is provided?
In addition to a safe, welcoming and friendly home, your homestay host will provide you with:
- three nutritious meals a day, seven days a week
- a private bedroom with a bed, storage space and a desk for study
- assistance to access transport to and from school and to school activities.
When you arrive in Queensland for the first time (to commence your study program) a representative from your school will meet you at the airport and arrange transport to your homestay accommodation or school, free of charge.
“I would like to express my gratitude to the family who have treated me like one of their own – they have been beside me, supported me, brought me great joy during my stay. I am honestly, truly, deeply thankful”.
Nhi, homestay student from Vietnam
Quality and monitoring
The accommodation, care and welfare of international students are primary priorities for EQI and our schools. Homestay families are carefully selected by the school homestay/international student coordinator, and screened via a police identity and criminal history check.
Ongoing support
EQI schools are responsible for recruiting homestay families, managing the homestay program and the ongoing monitoring of homestay arrangements.
When you request homestay accommodation your school will take care to match you to a host family that is compatible with your needs, based on the information you supply in your application. The school’s homestay or international coordinator is available to assist you should you have any problems settling in to your homestay placement.
All international students have 24 hour emergency assistance and multi-lingual support available. On arrival at school, students will be given relevant emergency contact details for urgent student welfare issues.
EQI and our schools support the Australian Government Schools International homestay standards.
Support team
International Student Coordinator
Every EQI school has an international student coordinator who is the nominated contact point for all international student enquiries. Each school has a nominated emergency contact person who is available 24/7. School staff can provide assistance and advice with many types of education matters including extra-curricular activities, health and personal matters.
Homestay Coordinator
Every EQI school has a dedicated Homestay Coordinator. The Homestay Coordinator is in charge of organizing homestay placements and ensures students have an enjoyable homestay experience.
Guidance Officer
Every EQI school has a dedicated Guidance Officer who is a trained counsellor to assist student with personal issues and academic advice for school studies and tertiary or pathway studies after completing high school.
International Student Programs team
All officers in the International Student Program team are there to support agents, families and students applying to join an EQI program. We have offices in different geographical locations to assist with applications for different regions within Queensland.
We have an office in Brisbane, Cairns, Gold Coast and Sunshine Coast as well as our central EQI office which services the regional areas of Queensland and oversees the administration of EQI programs across Queensland.
For more information please contact us or email EQI directly at EQInternational@det.qld.gov.au.
Homestay costs
Please visit the EQI website for details of the current fees for EQI homestay.
Live with a parent or close relative
You can live with a parent or a close relative during your enrolment, if they'll also be living in Queensland. With this option, your parent or close relative has responsibility for your accommodation and welfare arrangements instead of the EQI.
The relative must be approved by the Department of Immigration and Border Protection (DIBP) and must:
- be over 21 years of age
- be defined as a relative by DIBP (for example - brother, sister, aunt, uncle, grandparent).