FAQ For Schools

The Australian Homestay Network (AHN) is the leading and most successful homestay program in the world!

Our mission is to provide the safest, most successful homestay experiences for our students. We understand the concerns and issues from the perspectives of the families, the educators, and the agents. Our company was formed by a team of seasoned professionals who are all dedicated to the successful outcome of each and every homestay experience; we have the systems, processes, and overall approach in place to realise our objectives, as well as those of the students, hosts, agents, and educators.

We accomplish this goal through our proprietary processes of selecting and approving host families and matching students to the right hosts, as well as our provision of online training for hosts and students to prepare them for this unique multicultural experience. AHN’s homestay placements provide more than rooms for rent; we are raising the standards of homestay across the country.

AHN provides a comprehensive suite of services that extend to everyone affiliated with our company. Our agents, students, educators, and hosts all have private access to an online communication portal, ensuring that we can efficiently and effectively manage the complexities of a national homestay business while adhering to our Homestay Policy.

AHN have been the industry leaders in homestay standards throughout Australia. In Australia, we’ve earned government commendation for raising the safety and standards of the industry.

We’re a little different than more direct, peer-to-peer services in that we provide a full service approach to hosting. That means that we know exactly who hosts and students are staying with and what their background is. It also means that students and hosts have our support 24 hours a day in case there is a problem or emergency. We also handle billing and most collection activities for a hassle free homestay. We provide training on cultural understanding and making international guests and our hosts comfortable.  Our processes ensure we prepare hosts and students to have the best experience possible in Australia.

Click here for full details of the standards we adhere to.

Educators who work with AHN receive the benefits of the decades of experience, processes, and systems we have accumulated over the years.

We understand the importance of successful homestay placements for your international students. Many students find that a homestay is the best way to achieve both language and cultural immersion as they launch their studies in Australia.

AHN has been acknowledged by both government and industry for having the appropriate standards and raising the standards of homestay in Australia.  AHN has also assisted in lifting homestay standards globally through contracted relationships with hundreds of education agents as well as through related affiliations with groups such as StudentRoomStay (SRS) in the United States.

AHN has developed special proprietary processes and system designed especially for the approving of appropriate host families and the matching of students to the right hosts through our own (Homestay Management System) HMS™ technology. This system provides private access to track your students’ progress with their applications, their homestay host matches, and their arrivals, as well as a complete history of all communications relating to their homestay experience. The system automatically makes routine email contact with the student and the host to ensure that the homestay is going smoothly.

Please contact your local AHN office to discuss partnering opportunities and a non-exclusive contract.

In return for the promotion of AHN homestay to agents, parents and students, education providers will receive:

• Student homestay application management
• Agent homestay relationship management
• AHN system access, support and training for institution and agents
• AHN host management
• AHN homestay incident management
• AHN homestay payments management
• AHN homestay insurance as specified on the website for host and student
• Provision of reports as reasonably required by the institution
• Ongoing support (including marketing) as appropriate and required
• Clearly documented policies for best practice homestay operations

We have programs for high school, pathway, college and university students which can be both short and long term. Generally, we do not accept students under the age of 12 years unless travelling as part of a study tour (these will be reviewed on a case by case basis).  All new students over 18 years old who are arriving for their first term of study are recommended to spend a minimum of 4 weeks in a properly managed AHN homestay prior to making longer term accommodation arrangements.

While we mostly cater to international students, AHN can arrange homestays for domestic students and guests as well as interns, working holidaymakers, etc. from overseas. If you the guest is in Australia to study, work or participate in other pre-arranged activities – we can find a homestay host for them.

Our service offerings are comprehensive and provide a compelling reason for educators to work with AHN. Our program includes:

• Sophisticated matching for hosts and students
• The most comprehensive, automated homestay business-management software that manages all aspects of the transaction, including private communication portals for students, hosts, educators, and agents
• Numerous payment options
• Proprietary, rigorous background and screening process
• Airport transportation services
• Online cultural host training and testing
• Online student orientation
• 24/7 critical-incident support line

AHN have a growing community of homestay hosts in many cities across the country. Please see our locations page or contact us to discuss your specific geographical homestay requirements as we are continually expanding our business.