The University of Queensland

After you have accepted your offer to study at the University of Queensland (UQ), you will receive an email notification when your invoice has been prepared.

Payments must be made through the Flywire payment method in UQ’s application portal. To avoid delays in processing, don’t use other methods of payment.

#OzTREKKTip: Do not pay by bank draft or cheque.

If you plan to pay your acceptance deposit via credit card, contact the credit card company and advise them that a large payment will soon be processed in Australia, in Australian dollars, as it may be deemed a possible fraud attempt.

These residences are student-specific but are privately owned and independently run. If you are going to live in managed accommodation, previous students have recommended against living right in St. Lucia. While they can be close to the university, there are very few amenities located close by.

UQ-approved Providers

UQ-approved accommodation providers deliver high-quality services and residences with a focus on enhancing the student experience.

Here’s what can you expect from an approved provider:

• Rooms can be prebooked before you leave home.
• Residents may be from other universities, not just UQ.
• Some providers may have a small number of non-student residents.

There are many managed housing options in Brisbane including Student One, Iglu, UniLodge and Scape. If you wish to live in a managed student apartment, these are great options and can be booked at any time. Please confirm whether WiFi is included in your rent.

Dorm-style Residences

There are many organizations who provide residential college-style student housing, where students occupy their own single study bedroom, and all meals are provided in a shared dining hall. These providers are located a single bus ride from campus.

Remember to read carefully. They do not come with any specific recommendation or guarantee by the university. To apply for the above off-campus housing options, you must visit the websites of these providers and apply directly to the owner/manager. Each website will explain how to apply as well as information on who to contact for further details.

Semester in Australia

Semester in Australia offers furnished 6-bedroom houses and 3- and 5-bedroom apartments in both Brisbane city and St Lucia, with rates starting at AUD$5,200 (share room) per semester (February to end of June; July to end of November).

2023 Intake Reviews

Counselling student
On-campus residence, St. Lucia $352/week. Arranged before arrival. Great community, but no AC which was horrible in February-April. Very close to campus and mostly students around, but can get quiet at night. If going with friends, try to stay in shared housing.

Dental student
Scape South Bank, $400 per week. Arranged before arrival. Very convenient and quick public transport to both campuses, the rooms are very nice and the area is arguably the nicest in Brisbane. There are an endless amount of restaurants, stores, and public transport options etc. but it can be fairly unsafe late at night. Getting to either campus at UQ is a 10-15 minute bus ride. For your first year I would recommended student accommodation so you can delegate all your time effort towards adjusting to living in Australia and not having to stress about finding cheap housing. After first year, it might be wiser to find cheaper options like housing with roommates, etc.

Dental student
Scape St.Lucia in Toowong, $360/week. Took 1 – 2 weeks to find. Get private accommodations. Like the accessibility of shopping. Live close to campus for the first year.

Dental student
Student-purposed, South Brisbane, $490. Took 3+ weeks to find. Its very close to the public transit stations and in between both campuses. Very nice amenities.

Dental student
Grace College, St Lucia Brisbane, $625/week. Arranged before arrival. There is no AC and the WiFi isn’t very good. But it is a great way to make friends outside of dentistry which is very important. I like that all the students live here and I am on campus. I dislike that I am far away from the dentistry campus. Renting an apartment with a friend is a lot cheaper than scape and res.

Dental student
Unilodge Herston $245/week. Arranged before arrival. It is very close to campus which is good but I would not recommend living here as it is not clean, the wifi is not great, neighbors are often very loud at night and play music from their speakers well into the AM hours, kitchen is always packed so it is almost impossible to cook for yourself unless you eat at different hours than normal. Very good public transport and close to my main campus, very quiet area if that’s what you’re looking for, nothing much to do in this particular suburb and public transport doesn’t run too late at this area so it’s difficult to have freedom of transport without a vehicle if you are out late at night. Find a place with good public transport and if you can speak to previous tenants before you move to ask them questions and if they recommend it that would be great.

Dental student
Private rental in Milton. it’s quiet and calm and relatively safe but not as well lit at night as i’d prefer. Took 3+ weeks to find. Arrive early if you want to rent private because regulations here are tighter and it takes longer to apply and get approved to rent a place here than Canada in my opinion.

Dental student
Brisbane city in Student One, $380/week. Arranged before arrival. It’s very good location since its beside everything u might need and close to the bus stations that go everywhere. I like how I’m so close to lots of shops and things like that. I dislike seeing so many people when I’m walking but its the middle of the city so it cant be helped. apply early.

Dental student
On campus, International House, St Lucia. $580 per week. Arranged before arrival. Great meal plan, good to make friends, harder to do things in the city and commute to Herston campus. Right beside St Lucia campus, very convenient for St Lucia classes. Not so convenient for Herston classes. Find something that you will be comfortable with.

Dental student
Student One, Brisbane City, $550 per week. Arranged before arrival. Good proximity to both campuses with many buses going wherever you need to go. The city is close to grocery stores, banks and retail stores. In general, the city is great to experience living first year. Like how its near the middle of both campuses with many retail/grocery stores and restaurants nearby. Most students I know all live in a private student building. It’s a good option because you can book a room before even being in the country and saves the hassle of finding one.

International relations student
Private rental, Fortitude Valley, $475. Amazing area. Took 3+ weeks to find. Love the area dislike the noise at night on the weekends and how far it is from campus. Use real estate apps and make friends with everyone.

Medical student
Unilodge Southbank, Brisbane, $454/week. Arranged before arrival. Very close to train and bus. Convenient to get to UQ and city. Lot of restaurants nearby. Building is clean. Rooftop bbq area is nice. Building staff are nice. Lots of restaurants. By river and running paths. One option is to do student accommodation for 6 months / 1 semester and then find a private rental. Private rentals are nicer and cheaper but hectic to find at the beginning of the year.

Medical student
Private rental, St. Lucia $270/week. 3+ weeks to find. I live in a private share house with a few of my Aussie friends. We live walking distance from campus, but also close by several bus stops to get into the CBD and other suburbs. Although our house is a little old, I think it’s reflected in the price. It just depends on what you’re willing to pay for! I would recommend it, although a little out of the way, I do find it’s best for my budget. I stayed in a student accommodation for the first few weeks prior to finding my more permanent residence. Although it was ridiculously expensive, I felt a lot of comfort knowing I had a place to stay once I arrived. I moved out after about 4 months.

Medical student
Private rental, Spring Hill, Brisbane. $455 per week. Took 2 – 3 weeks to find. I do not think my apartment is worth the rent but it was available and I needed somewhere to live. In general, its a quiet suburb within walking distance of the central business district (what I would call the city core). Start searching early and be prepared to visit a lot of places.

Medical student
Private rental, South Brisbane, $500/week. Took 2 – 3 weeks to find. Yes I thinking my building is great and the Aria buildings in general are really nice, and South Bank is a great central location close to campus via public transport, close to the city, shopping center, etc. I would recommend it, although a little out of the way, I do find it’s best for my budget. Can be easier to apply in accommodation where other international students already have a track record of getting approved. And in your application provide as much information as possible. In terms of location, it depends on budget, but I like South Brisbane since it is central to pretty much everything.

Medical student
Private rental, Brisbane, west end. $280/week.  Took 3+ weeks to find.  It’s going up in rent currently and do not love it. Love the suburb, tons of nice coffee shops, bakeries, right on the river, and lots of parks and athletics. If you have parent who can co-sign on the rental it would be easier to get approved, can be tough otherwise without pay stubs/employment.

Medical student
Private rental Highgate hill $270/week. Took 3+ weeks to find. Great commute to campus- ferry ride! Quiet, close to the ferry and restaurants in westend. Slightly farther from the hospitals. If you can, don’t go for student housing right away (more expensive and hard to break the lease). Take a couple extra weeks to go to inspections, and apply for private rentals.

Medical student
Private rental, Southbank $320/week. Took 3+ weeks to find. Top notch. Proximity to campus, affordability, amenities, study space. Give yourself lots of time.

Medical student
Fortitude Valley, 465 Benson $312.50/ week + about $50 in utilities per month. Took 1 – 2 weeks to find. This building is really close to the train station so its so convenient to get to campus, and if you’re placed at RBWH (hospital), its even more convenient (15 min walk). A very nice and clean building. It’s on the nicer side of Fortitude Valley, so it’s really nice! I would recommend this suburb, just depending on which side you’re on. The valley is famous for nightlife, but that’s only in one section of it. Move away from that and you’re fine and there are nice buildings and amenities. Start looking early, before you get here and secure some inspections for once you reach here. Also make sure you include a lot of documents/information in the financial section of rental applications for private rentals because its very competitive and being students it can be harder for us. Include your savings/pay slips/parents savings, a guarantor letter from your parents is also very helpful.

Medical student
Private rental, Milton. $750/week (my husband works full time). Took 2 – 3 weeks to find. Milton is a great suburb to be in, its quite close to the train station, city cat, and the 412 that goes straight to campus. Nothing to dislike, its a beautiful place to live. To look for accommodation when you’re here, its not hard! use Realtor.au and book inspections, and put in offers as soon as you’re interested.

Medical student
Private rental, South Brisbane, ~$600/week. Took 1 – 2 weeks to find. South Brisbane/West End/Southbank area is very convenient. Restaurants, grocery, and transit all easily accessible and close to the city. START EARLY. Like weeks early.

Medical student
Private rental at “The Milton” in Milton. $280/week. It’s right above the train station which is really handy. A quick ride to campus while avoiding the crowded boarding of Toowong Village. Close to the ferry as well! 5 minute train from the city. Cute suburb with lots of restaurants. The building is an apartment as well as a hotel so there are some good amenities like pool, bbqs. Unfortunately the gym is only a cardio gym with no weights. The sun can get realllyyy hot if you are on the sunny side of the building (which we are). With our view of Suncorp stadium we got to see concerts from Elton John, Ed Sheeran, Post Malone, and we could hear the crowd from the Women’s World Cup! The suburb is really cute and has a lot of life because of Suncorp stadium where there are sporting events and concerts. It can be a little bit noisy because of this but it’s not usually a bother for us. There are lots of transit options all within a 10 minute walk. Took 3+ weeks to find. If you have a parking spot and don’t plan on having a car you can usually rent that out for $50 a week which is nice. We used realestate.com.au to find our place. When we found somewhere we really liked we decided to over offer because we honestly had already offered on dozens of properties and we really wanted to get into a home. We were in hotels for about a month which was hard, we were expecting to be in a place within a week.

Medical student
Private rental in Brisbane, The One Apartment, $1000+100/week. Great facility. City center, good transit. Took 1 – 2 weeks.

Medical student
Private rental in Milton, $400 a person, we pay about $800 a week. Took 3+ weeks to find.  It’s really nice, clean, accessible to public transport. It’s really amazing, we are only 30 minutes from the city and about 20 min bus ride from the campus, we have the train station in the basement which makes it very easy to get places. If you’re planning on renting your own place: COME EARLY. Forget any hopes or dreams about finding a place in a week or two. My partner and I had to stay in a hotel for about 4 weeks until we found a place. Make sure you have an account with a decent balance (we had 20k in one of our accounts) so you can show that you have the financial abilities to pay the rent. Make sure you over offer: even 10 bucks a week is about $520 AUD a year which can attract the owner to your application. Make sure you DO NOT choose an east or west facing apartment. you will suffer from the heat in the morning or afternoon. Try to get a unit with a parking even though if you don’t have a car. You can usually rent it for 40-50 bucks a week.

Medical student
Private rental in Auchenflower $280/week. Took 1 – 2 weeks to find. Found it on flatmates its not as *legit* as unilodge/student accommodation but its been perfect if you are comfortable with a more casual lease situation. It’s about 40 minutes to campus which at times is not ideal but its a very quiet safe suburb, I can walk 3 minutes to my work and 10 minutes to some shops and restaurants which I really like. Have a safe/secure place to stay while you’re searching so you don’t feel rushed, I had all the luck through “flatmates” but ive heard good things about facebook market place too (be cautious as there are scammers on both of those so if it seems to good to be true it probably is), have an open mind when viewing places.

Medical student
Private rental in west end (Brisbane) $650/week. Arranged before arrival. West end is a great neighborhood but getting expensive. Student rentals can be easy when you first get there but are also really expensive. Great cafes, restaurants, grocery stores. If you live closer to cultural center bus station it’s an easy commute otherwise a bit longer to drive out. Be proactive, try to organize before, give yourself LOTS of time in January as it is a really popular time to be looking for an apartment.

Medical student
Unilodge on Gailey, $400/week. Arranged before arrival. Really close to school and public transit, very nice building manager, but I had a mould issue in my home for the first 6 months of living here, it was eventually resolved but it was nightmare for all my belongings. It’s close to school, it’s easy to get into the city, there are parks nearby. It’s really hard, be prepared to offer like 1-4 months rent upfront to get nice places, the market is super competitive and it’s difficult to find a place.

Medical student
Student One $460/week. Arranged before arrival. I love the building! I’m in a studio so I don’t share a room with anyone but I like most things about it. In live in CBD and I like that it’s close to everything! Consider staying at student accommodation to have one less thing to worry about (at least for first year?).

Occupational therapy student
Private rental, South Brisbane, $550/week. Took 1 – 2 weeks to find. It is really nice and comfortable place that has so many accessibilities around. However, it gets pricy. Everything is in nearby but it’s expansive. Research before you come here.

Physiotherapy student
Private rental, St. Lucia, $280/week. Took less than 1 week to find. I live in an off campus apartment that is great for me and my roommate who is in the same program. It’s close to public transit and campus, and the grocery store is not far! Definitely look into the transit lines when looking a properties. I like how accessible it is for me to get to campus (10 min walk) and that the neighbourhood is very nice and safe, but I don’t love how it feels like you live in a “student-bubble” and are a bit cut off from the rest of the city — this can easily be fixed be transiting for 15 min but still takes time. Make sure you look at your properties in person (it’s essential for applications), majority of them don’t come with a fridge or washing machine but it’s easy to find some on facebook marketplace (don’t buy your appliances from Kmart like I did). Be prepared to go over your budget as rent is increasing every year here, but remember that in the grand scheme of things paying a little more each week for rent is not a deal breaker. Look for neighbourhoods around your campus but also consider living closer to areas of activity. Arrange references / pay stubs / proof of funds before leaving home as these will be necessary for applications to off campus housing. And if you are looking for off-campus housing, always ask the real estate agent what you can do to make your application stronger/ more appealing. Also keep in mind that there is student-built housing that is great for the first couple months and getting settled, however it tends to be way more expensive than the regular housing market.

Physiotherapy student
Private rental, St. Lucia, $300/week. Took 1 – 2 weeks to find. I recommend my building based on convenience and independence, but there is no air-conditioning so that is a bit hard to manage and we had to fully furnish it. I like how quiet it (usually) is, very walkable and easy to get to transit. Just a bit far from the city when going out. Keep looking and go to every inspection possible. Take anything you can get.

Veterinary student
UQ Halls of residence (Gatton) $250 (for meals and the room), $170 for just the room. Arranged before arrival. Sharing a bathroom with multiple people means that it’s not the cleanest. You also HAVE to get a meal plan and they don’t have food options, and they only serve meals between certain hours. I wouldn’t recommend it because quiet hours START at 10:30PM making it very difficult to study, or rest if you’re sick. I would recommend it if you’re looking for ease of accessibility to your classes and if you don’t want to get a car right away. I dislike the lack of diversity, I like how quiet it is and all the animals. there’s a town a 7 minute drive away. If you have a car and want to pay for a full year lease then you can consider getting an off campus house, otherwise your best bet is to just live on campus.

2022 Intake Reviews

Dental student
I live at The one in Brisbane. close to bus station. $400 per week.

Veterinary student
Thynne — on-campus residence/college in Gatton. i like it except for the food. 1000 a month including food

Medical student
Private rental market in South Brisbane Oxley + Stirling Residences $400 per week. I love it, but it’s pricey ($750/wk for a fully furnished 2bd/2ba). That number does not include wifi/utilities/hot water/air conditioning, so when sharing with one roommate it’s $1500+/person/month before anything else. But, it comes with a parking space (that you can use, or rent out for $50/wk), a large rooftop infinity pool, a gym, BBQs, a theatre, a library, and a wine cellar. It is also the perfect location – views overlooking the river into the CBD, a 2 min walk to the bus to go to school (10 min away) or the city, or anywhere, a 5 min walk to a grocery store/shops, and a 10min walk across a pedestrian bridge to the city.

Medical student
I live at UniLodge (student-purposed privately managed) in Woolloongabba. It;s very convenient and super close to the university. Takes around 5-10 minutes to get to campus, definitely an easy way to get adjusted for your first year and move to private rental when you know where or who you want to live with. $269 per week. Arranged before arrival.

Medical student
Milton (private rental). I like it The weather is beautiful most days and the people are very friendly. $250 per week

Medical student
St Lucia (uq res) $300 per week its convenient

Medical student
UniLodge- student-purposed privately managed accommodation in Woolloongabba. very convenient location, lots of activities. $200 per week arranged before arrival

Medical student
Private rental market in South Brisbane, and formerly the Central Business District. formerly Student One on Adelaide–Student One was great for what we needed at the time, all utilities included except laundry. Adelaide’s units don’t have windows and we wanted a proper 1-bedroom (my partner and I were in a King Studio) so we moved to South Brisbane. Both CBD and South Brisbane have everything you’ll ever need in walking distance and are within a 20 minute transit ride to every UQ med campus or hospital. I looooove South Brisbane to bits though, the streets are more open with lots if greenery and parks. It’s a few blocks away from South Bank which I prefer for my living space as South Bank’s a bit busy for my liking, but I love exploring it when I go out. My partner and I pay about $585 for everything, so about $292 per person, not including groceries or phones.

Medical student
Private rental in St Lucia $225 per week.

Medical student
International House on-campus residence/college in St. Lucia. It was good experience, and super convenient first year to be on campus and near bus stops relevant for my commute (eg for hospitals, downtown, grocery store malls). ~280 per week. arranged before arrival.

Medical student
In Woolloongabba, Unilodge Park Central $269 per week. Good for cost – but small living space. Arranged before arrival

Medical student
In South Brisbane (private). so good $300 per week took about a week to find

Medical student
Private rental in Milton at $250 per week. The weather is beautiful most days and the people are very friendly.

Medical student
$300 per week Private rental in St. Lucia. it is walking distance to the university. The shops are only a 5 minute bus ride away. It is also very quiet and along the river.

Medical student
West end (private rental). Lots of space, great neighbourhood, close to everything (restaurants, gyms), easy to get to transport $650 per week

Medical student
Unilodge Park Central in Woolloongabba. There’s a lot of events and food and it’s conveniently located. The staff are a little hard to deal with sometimes, you have to advocate for yourself. $269 per week. Arranged before arrival.

Environmental sciences student
Student-purposed privately managed Scape Merivale in South bank. Arranged before arrival. $200 per week. My roommate is way to young and doesn’t know how to clean up after himself. The build staff aren’t the best at being inclusive you’re ether in the click or you’re not. They don’t care about the environment.