What is Rural Host?

Rural Host is a program that is designed to alleviate the financial stress for thousands of students who face hardships when looking for accommodation needed for their mandatory placements away from home, typically in regional and rural parts of Australia.

In late 2024, Dr Kelly Lambert, an Academic Program Director in Nutrition & Dietetics at the University of Wollongong, released a paper describing a phenomenon of 'Placement Poverty' and why it is an urgent issue for the next generation of health and education professionals in Australia.

She describes the issues with the current model, where students have to complete their placements —typically away from friends and family — and work full-time hours without being paid. This places a heavy strain on students, as they often have to give up their casual work and find short-term accommodation with very little notice, causing huge financial burdens on top of the HEC debt they are accumulating. This cycle is typically repeated several times for multiple weeks before they are qualified to complete their degree.

Rural Host aims to eliminate placement poverty by providing affordable and accessible accommodation options for university students who must complete unpaid rural or regional placements.

Services That we Provide

Remove Financial Barriers for Placement

Rural Host aims to eliminate “placement poverty” by providing affordable and accessible accommodation options for university students who must complete unpaid rural or regional placements.

Strengthen Regional Workforce Pipeline

Rural and Regional Centres feel the squeeze of a lack of professionals the most. By ensuring placements are more affordable and comfortable, Rural Host encourages more students, especially in healthcare, education, and social work, to complete their placements in regional areas and increases the likelihood they’ll return after graduation.

Rural Host isn’t just about students; it’s a community-driven model. If students don't have a good time on placement, they won't want to come back. By leveraging partnerships with Rotary Clubs, councils, and local hosts, it strengthens social ties, activates unused housing capacity, and keeps value within regional towns.

Empower Communities and Professionals

The Circular Model