‘At the brink’: international students in Australia are ending up homeless and hungry

‘International students were a hugely vulnerable population during the pandemic – and there’s wider research its effects will have a long tail,’ says Monash University report co-author, Lucas Walsh. Photograph: Asanka Ratnayake/Getty Images

When Juliën Lubeek received a scholarship to complete his PhD at a prestigious Australian institution, he didn’t expect to be homeless and living through a pandemic.

After Covid delays forced him to extend his submission date at the end of 2021, his scholarship of $1,128 a fortnight ran out. For the next eight months, the international student experienced bouts of homelessness and of being unable to afford rent or food.