General support services
11. General support services
11.1. Standards for support services
11.1.1. The institution is required to provide support services to awardees, which
are not less than the requirements of the National Standards for International Students as defined in the institution’s contract with DFAT.
11.2. Arrival in Australia
11.2.1. Unless the awardee has indicated that they do not require airport reception,
the institution will meet awardees on arrival at the arrival terminal of their final destination and take them to their initial accommodation, if within a reasonable distance of the institution. Costs incurred to meet awardees will
be at the institution’s expense.
11.2.2. Program Areas arrange the awardee’s travel to Australia and must: P
i. record the awardee’s travel details including flight number and arrival time in OASIS at least two working days after finalising the travel and by 10 December at the latest for awardees commencing in semester one unless there has been a delay in finalising of the placement or visa issuance.
ii. amend the awardee’s travel details as soon as practical in OASIS if the arrival details change.
11.2.3. If a Program Area does not provide timely and accurate advice to the institution and
additional costs are incurred, the institution may seek to pass these onto the Program Area.
11.2.4. Awardees must notify the institution if their flight is delayed or where they
miss a connecting flight so the institution can change the airport pick-up arrangements and advise temporary accommodation accordingly.
11.3. Accommodation
11.3.1. Awardees are responsible for arranging their long-term accommodation and
for the costs of all accommodation in Australia for themselves and their family. Institutions will arrange initial accommodation for awardees for a period of at least seven days from when they arrive in Australia.
11.3.2. Awardees with disability may have special requirements in relation to
accommodation and this will impose different responsibilities on Program Areas and institutions (see Chapter 9 ).
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11.3.3. After the awardee has accepted their scholarship offer, they are required to
immediately contact the institution if they would like to be accommodated
on-campus (even if only for the first semester). Institutions may have a ballot system for on-campus accommodation and will require an early indication of interest.
Initial accommodation
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11.3.4. Awardees must notify institutions if they do not require initial
accommodation to be arranged for them. They must do this by email at
least three weeks before arriving in Australia. If they fail to advise the institution, the awardee will be responsible for all associated costs of that accommodation.
11.3.5. Awardees with accompanying family members may ask the institution to include the
family members in the initial accommodation booking. Institutions are not required to make accommodation arrangements for family members.
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11.3.6. The institution must arrange initial accommodation for awardees, unless
the awardee advises otherwise in writing.
11.3.7. The initial accommodation must:
i. be moderately priced
ii. be clean and secure
iii. be furnished and have heating or cooling as necessary iv. have access to cooking facilities or to appropriate food outlets.
11.3.8. Institutions should provide awardees with details of local shops, food outlets, public
transport and other services in the vicinity of the accommodation.
11.3.9. The institution may offer to help arrange initial accommodation for family members if
an awardee is accompanied. These expenses are to be paid by the awardee.
Long-term accommodation
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11.3.10. It is strongly recommended that awardees begin looking for accommodation before they leave their home country. However, they
should not enter into a legally binding contract or lease before arriving in Australia and without having viewed the accommodation.
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11.3.11. The institution must advise awardees about: