Australia’s purpose-built student accommodation (PBSA) sector is set for its strongest period of growth in years, with new data showing the national supply of student beds will reach 144,300 by 2027.
The latest Urbis Student Accommodation Benchmarks, released in partnership with the Student Accommodation Council, reveal that 1,045 new beds are expected to be delivered this year, with a further 11,200 beds due between 2025 and 2027.
A total of around 39,000 beds are currently in the pipeline.
The release of the benchmarks comes as the federal government recently announced that public universities will be allowed to grow international student enrolments in 2026 if they can demonstrate the delivery of additional housing for students.
The policy shift is tied to a 25,000-place increase to the National Planning Level for international students, lifting the 2026 allocation to 295,000, up from 270,000 in 2025.
Student Accommodation Council Executive Director Torie Brown said the new data reflected renewed confidence in the sector.
“With the election behind us, investors in student accommodation are looking at Australia with confidence again,” she said.
“A strong wave of new supply is set to go live in the coming years, with the number of student beds estimated to reach 144,300 by 2027.”
Brown said the link between international student growth and new accommodation would encourage stronger collaboration between universities and private providers.
“With the ability of universities to grow their international student intake now linked to providing accommodation, this strong pipeline should give the university sector confidence that it can partner with the private student accommodation sector,” she said.
“The private sector has the scale, expertise and experience to deliver high-quality housing that supports both international and domestic students.”
While supply growth is concentrated in the traditional east coast markets, momentum is building elsewhere.
“Supply is largely focused on the traditionally bigger markets on the east coast, though Western Australia is gaining momentum with new supply on the horizon,” Brown said.
“Victoria has more beds in the pipeline, but the bulk of this is yet to begin construction. New South Wales, by comparison, shows a steadier pipeline, with developments progressing across multiple stages.”
She cautioned that Victoria’s high land tax could stall new projects.
“Victoria’s numbers may look good on paper, but the state’s prohibitive tax regime means many of these approved projects are yet to begin construction,” she said.
“Without reform to Victoria’s land tax – much higher than any other state – it risks falling behind in attracting new investment and housing supply for students.
“We need governments to treat PBSA as an asset class of priority and make it easier for projects to get out of the ground.”
The benchmark data highlights differing levels of PBSA provision across the country. Australia has an average of 6.7 full-time on-campus university students per PBSA bed.
The ACT has the strongest provision, at 2.7 students per bed, while Western Australia lags behind at 9.2 students per bed.
Victoria has overtaken New South Wales for the number of future beds in the pipeline, recording 9,338 compared to NSW’s 9,285. Queensland follows with 8,839, while South Australia (4,561), Western Australia (6,500) and the ACT (378) round out the current development outlook.
