SAA President Geoff Denison joined the Ōtautahi (Christchurch) Student Accommodation Forum at University of Canterbury in New Zealand, taking part alongside stakeholders from across the city's education, government and private sectors to discuss the future of student accommodation.
Geoff spoke about regional collaboration, drawing on his experience as a founding SAA National Committee member and his work guiding the National Property Accreditation Scheme (NPAS) from concept to a portfolio of more than 25,000 accredited beds nationally.
The Forum attendees described Geoff's session as interesting and thought-provoking. While the solutions taking shape in New Zealand will differ from those in Australia, the underlying drivers and student needs are the same, and that shared ground made for a useful discussion.
Christchurch's growing interest in minimum standards for student accommodation points to a shift happening across the region, and supports the value of the work NPAS has already done in Australia.
NPAS remains specific to the Australian market, where it supports Australia's reputation as a destination for quality international education. As interest in minimum standards grows across the Tasman, it's a good time for Australian education providers to get behind NPAS. Here's how:
✅ Promote the accredited national portfolio to prospective students
✅ Include it in pre-departure material
✅ Feature it on websites and across digital marketing
Education providers wanting help promoting accredited accommodation can contact SAA HQ on admin@studentaccassoc.com.au.
