Know that the goal of the Homestay Program is to bring the diversity of international students together with the diversity of Australian homes and families with the hope that this shared experience will inspire lasting friendships and learning. Living with a host family will give you an advantage with your English studies as it has been clearly identified that students living in host situations are approximately 30% better off in regards to their English language skills.
We are responsible for managing the expectations of the student, host and other related parties with respect to maximising the opportunity for a successful Homestay Placement .
Please feel welcome into our homes. Do not be afraid to ask questions about anything you do not understand. Speak openly and participate in regular family activities. Please be courteous and respectful of the family and home. This means, for example, keeping your bedroom clean, and bathroom clean and dry; letting your homestay know if you will not be home for dinner or if you will be late coming home at night; being careful of how much noise you make when others are sleeping; learning the ‘house rules’ or special needs of your homestay.
Transport
Your hosts are responsible for showing you how to get to the college on your first day.
- They might do this by driving you there or going with you on public transport. Make sure you ask questions about where to catch public transport and where to go if you don’t understand. Your hosts will be worried if you get lost and don’t come home on time.
- All students are responsible for paying for their own transportation.
Arrivals and Departures
- At the time of booking you need to decide whether you want to be picked up at the airport or make your own way to the host family. If you wish to be picked up, we will arrange this for you. Your host family will wait for you at their home. They are not the ones to pick you up.
- If you are delayed, you will need to ring and let your host family know. Their details will be on the profile sent to you and/or your agent.
Bedroom
- Your room will have a bed, wardrobe, desk and chair.
- Adequate heating and cooling equipment will also be provided during winter and summer.
- However, you MUST make sure that you do not abuse this facility. Remember to switch the lights off before you go to bed and before you leave any room or the house itself. Please note that electricity in Australia is expensive so please be considerate of your host’s good nature.
- Lights must be switched off before you go to sleep.
- You CANNOT eat in your bedroom. You need to eat in the dining room provided. It is unhygienic to eat inside the room as it attracts insects such as cockroaches, ants, etc.
Meals
- If you have requested Standard Full Board Homestay:
- You will have seven (7) days of breakfast and dinner, plus lunches on the weekend, provided.
- Breakfast is self serve, e.g. toast, cereals, milk and yoghurt
- Lunch is only provided on weekends and it may be a light meal such as sandwiches.
- Dinner is the most important meal of the day. Dinner should offer the following: carbohydrate (bread, rice or pasta), protein (meat, poultry or fish), vegetables and fruits. Evening meals are normally served around 6.30 pm -7 pm.
- If your hosts have evening commitments and they cannot sit with you at dinner, they will normally leave your meal in the fridge for you.
- If you don’t come home for dinner, as a courtesy you need to let your host know as soon as possible. The earlier the better as they will be preparing dinner for you otherwise.
- Dinner is the best time to get to know your family and share your experience with them. It is your responsibility to come home at the time allocated by your host for dinner if you wish to interact with them.
- Do not expect your host to wait until you come home around 8-9 pm to have dinner with you.
- Do not expect your host to cook for you after 9 pm.
- If you missed dinner, the host will normally leave the food in the fridge and you can just heat it up in the microwave.
- You need to make sure you wash your dishes after dinner. Remember that in Australia, most households don’t have servants. By helping, you are showing goodwill to your host family.
If you have requested Half Board Homestay:
- You will have the opportunity to cook your own meals and the host will provide the kitchen facilities.
- You will have to provide your own ingredients to cook your meal, for example you must supply your own cooking oil, salt and pepper, etc,
- You need to keep the kitchen neat and tidy after using it.
Key
- You will be given a set of keys to enter the house. You need to make sure you look after the keys and return them upon leaving your homestay. If you lose the keys, you need to replace them or pay to have them replaced.
- When you enter or leave the house make sure you lock the door. Although Australia is a relatively safe country it is customary for the doors to be locked.
- Smoking is NOT allowed inside the home at any time. You are liable or responsible for stains or damage caused by your smoking inside. Please smoke outside only.
Housekeeping
- Your host will provide you with adequate bed linen and towels. For hygiene, make sure you change the bed linen once a week.
- Personal toiletries, such as shampoo, soap, etc, are your responsibility.
- Toilet paper will be always supplied by the hosts.
- There should always be sufficient hot water for a bath or shower at least once a day. The allowable time for a shower is normally around 10 minutes. There is a focus in Australia on using water wisely as it is a limited resource.
- Please consider others when using the bathroom by keeping it clean, neat and dry after use.
- You are responsible for keeping your room neat and tidy at all times. The host family will provide you with a vacuum cleaner and cleaning supplies so that you can clean your room. Sometimes your host will offer to clean your room but this is not always the case. If you prefer to clean your own room, you just need to let them know.
- If you share the bathroom with other guests, it is expected that you and the other guest(s) take turns cleaning the bathroom.
- Laundry can be done once a week only. Make sure you understand how to do laundry and ask your host to show you if you don’t know how.
- If more assistance than usual is required of your host by way of housekeeping or support for you, we reserve the right to charge an additional fee for your homestay
Courtesy and Supervision
Students are expected to tell the host parent where they are going and what time they will be home. Please give your host your mobile number so that they can contact you any time.
Telephones and Internet
In Australia charges apply for Internet and phone usage. You will be expected to pay for the services you use and this can be very expensive.
Your Internet usage
- Internet access and usage is NOT included in your homestay accommodation package.
- The availability of Internet access might vary depending on the family. If your family has limited Internet access at home one solution could be pre-paid dongles. Your host will assist you with the process of purchasing the dongle and teach you how to use it.
- If you share Internet access with your host family, your host will normally charge $10 per week. You can use the Internet for browsing, emailing and chatting.
- However, downloading movies and music and conducting video conferencing is not usually included.
- You are strictly forbidden from accessing inappropriate websites on the Internet, such as adult material, during your homestay.
- You are responsible for complying with the arrangements made with your host family.
Damage
If you damage anything in the house, you need to let your hosts know. You are responsible for paying for the cost of the damage done.
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For further information and support, please contact our OSHCstudents team via email info@oshcstudents.com
