CDU international students reveal harrowing living conditions

Darwin’s international students have opened up about what it’s really like trying to put a roof over their head while they study abroad. See what you get for $100/week.

“I don’t feel safe at my house.”

The devastating words uttered by a Charles Darwin University student, who wants to remain anonymous, are reflective of an increasingly volatile environment in the Northern Territory.

The Millner-based international student lives just a five-minute walk from alleged murder victim Md ‘Sifat’ Isfaqur Rahman’s home and across the road from an alleged break in and car theft just last week.

“The incident can happen with me,” he said.

“I’m living only alone, because my roommate has gone back to Bangladesh for the visit.”

The scared student is searching high and low to find safer accommodation as he continues his studies.

“I’m looking for moving with roommates because … living alone is scary,” he said.

“I arrived in Darwin during February – so that time, I don’t hear of any incident.

“This time, I hear every day – incidents are happening anywhere in Nightcliff, Millner or city.”

One of the major issues the international student found with temporary accommodation was the inability to add his own security measures to his home.

Md ‘Sifat’ Isfaqur Rahman paid about $100 a week in rent for his home in Millner, which he shared with 12-13 people. The house is listed as a three-bedroom house with one bathroom.

Another student, who didn’t want to be named and is living with a Darwin family of three, said he appreciated having a working lock where others didn’t but being forced to live off-campus and out of student housing had left him scared for his life.

He said safe accommodation was often out of reach thanks to the price of private rent – even his own was “too high”.

“I’m not really feeling safe in the workplace, I’m not really feeling safe in my home,” he said.

“In the area that I’m living right now, almost every day, street home invasions have happened, so I’m not feeling safe.”

The student said purpose-built student accommodation on campus meant there would be safety in numbers, security and a reduced distance from class to home.

Md ‘Sifat’ Isfaqur Rahman paid about $100 a week in rent for his home in Millner, which he shared with 12-13 people. The house is listed as a three-bedroom house with one bathroom.

Bangladesh Student Association of CDU president Asman Asharza said stories of international students being forced into unsafe accommodation were common.

Mr Asharza said International House Darwin and the Uni Lodge were the first port of call for international students seeking a place to stay but finding a spare bed was tough.

“As for new students that don’t have any job or other things, they don’t have any good pay slips, they can’t apply for safer accommodation places so they have to go for those places that are not safe,” he said.

Mr Asharza said a new intake of students were planning their semester in Darwin and had reached out to the BSA for help finding safe accommodation.

“There’s no answer,” he said.

“We don’t know. What should we say to them?”

Property Council NT executive director Ruth Palmer said purpose-built student accommodation would take pressure off the private rental market.

Property Council NT executive director Ruth Palmer said the Uni Lodge was the only building of its kind in Darwin.

“Purpose-built student accommodation is a professionally managed, safe, regulated and 24/7 staffed option for students,” she said.

“To increase the supply of this secure housing option we encourage the government to work with the private sector to incentivise the development of this housing option.

“This would provide more beds custom-made for students and take pressure off the private rental market.”

As of May 2023, Darwin’s residential vacancy rate was 0.9 per cent.

Charles Darwin University vice-chancellor professor Scott Bowman said landlords needed to take on more responsibility for keeping tenants safe. Pic: Pema Tamang Pakhrin

Charles Darwin University Vice-Chancellor Scott Bowman said the university was working on several options to support and protect its students.

Given the lack of student housing, Professor Bowman said CDU was encouraging Territorians to open their homes to students with StudyStays.

“If people have got maybe a granny flat or even a spare bedroom, whether people would consider giving a home to a student,” he said.

“We are also looking at possibly running a bus between the campuses, so we’re doing a feasibility study on that … because there’s been a few instances of people feeling unsafe on buses.”

It comes as sharehouse spots in Darwin surge, with 232 Flatmates.com.au listing in Darwin City alone for the month of May.

On top of CDU’s plans to build new student accommodation centres, Professor Bowman joined the call for landlords to take on more responsibility for keeping their tenants safe.

Darwin Community Legal Service tenant’s advice service team leader Matthew Gardiner said it was a landlord’s responsibility to increase safety for a rental property if a tenant raised concerns.

Mr Gardiner said the Residential Tenancies Act required landlords to take “reasonable steps to provide and maintain the locks and other security devices that are necessary”.

“It should be noted that a tenant has a duty to report any issues and a landlord has a duty to repair if made aware of any issues,” he said.

“A tenant can get permission from a landlord to make reasonable modifications to ensure the security of their rental property and their possessions.

“A landlord may become liable for any losses if reasonable requests or permission is denied.”

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