Apartments Near Australian Universities: 4 Campus Clusters for Families With Students

For 2026 the Australian government has set a planning level of 295,000 new international student commencements, 25,000 more than in 2025, while the student visa fee has risen to AUD 2,000. For a Vietnamese family with a child at an Australian university, buying an apartment near campus can replace four years of rent and then be let out after graduation. Foreign persons, students included, can only buy new homes. NAC has picked six projects around four university clusters: Macquarie Park, Carlingford, Bankstown and central Melbourne, priced from AUD 612,000 to AUD 1,231,000 with estimated rents of AUD 2,500–4,725 a month. Proximity is not enough on its own: vacancy around the University of New South Wales in Kensington reached 4.8% in August 2026.

Many Vietnamese families start investing in property abroad the same way: a child goes to study, the parents add up four years of rent and wonder whether to buy instead. It is a sensible question, but buying near campus only pays if other tenants want to live there after your child graduates. The six projects below are all scored in the NAC Residence Index rankings, and each is a train or tram ride from a major university.

Student Flows Turn After Two Years of Tightening

On 4 August 2025, the government announced a 2026 National Planning Level of 295,000 new international student commencements. According to the International Education Association of Australia (IEAA), that is about 25,000 more than in 2025 but still 8% below the immediate post-COVID peak. Public universities can apply for larger allocations by showing progress on two priorities: engagement with Southeast Asia and student accommodation. Study Australia stresses that the level is a visa-processing priority system, not a hard cap.

Costs and visa risk have also risen. ICEF Monitor in April 2026 described the AUD 2,000 student visa fee as the highest in the world and reported that student visa applications fell 32% from the 2023 peak to 2025. Higher education held up, with 2025 enrolments up 9.7%.

Macquarie Park, Where Half the Students Are at University

Macquarie Park in Sydney's north is the clearest example of a university-centred suburb. Macquarie University, its hospital, the Macquarie Centre and a business park of technology and pharmaceutical firms all sit along the metro line. ABS 2021 Census QuickStats for Macquarie Park show that 51.3% of people attending an educational institution there were at university, more than three times the national 15.4%. 65.8% of households rent and 89.5% live in apartments.

Rents have climbed steeply since the pandemic. SQM Research's series for postcode 2113 shows unit asking rents rising from AUD 465 a week in October 2020 to AUD 858 in early October 2026, roughly flat on a year earlier. Vacancy stood at 1.9% in August 2026.

In NAC's portfolio, Natura Macquarie Park was completed in 2025. Per NAC's listing data it starts at AUD 1,231,000 with an estimated gross yield of 4.6%, a NAC score of 72/100 and an estimated rent of AUD 4,725 a month. Trilogy, also completed in 2025, starts at AUD 1,158,000, yields 4.6% and scores 73. On a smaller budget, Parkside MQ starts at AUD 767,000, but handover is not expected until early 2033, too late for a student starting first year now.

Buying near campus only pays if other tenants want to live there after your child graduates.

Carlingford and Bankstown: Two Cheaper Options

A short distance west of Macquarie Park, Carlingford is a quiet family suburb known for its schools. According to Transport for NSW, the Parramatta Light Rail has linked Carlingford with the Parramatta CBD, home to a Western Sydney University campus, since 20 December 2024. The Carling in Carlingford starts at AUD 612,000, the lowest of the group, yields 4.9% and scores 71, with handover expected in late 2027.

When new student numbers stall, areas that rely only on students feel it first.

In the south-west, Bankstown has a new Western Sydney University campus in its centre. Spring Square in Bankstown is completed, starts at AUD 712,000 and carries an estimated 5.5% yield and a NAC score of 78, both the highest of the six. The rail line through Bankstown is being converted to metro; as of June 2026, Sydney Metro had not confirmed an opening date for that section.

Central Melbourne, and a Lesson From Kensington

In Melbourne, the University of Melbourne and RMIT sit beside the CBD inside the free tram zone. According to the Premier of Victoria, the Metro Tunnel opened at the end of November 2025 with five new stations, including Parkville in the university and hospital precinct. The 640 project in the Melbourne CBD starts at AUD 658,000 with a 4.7% yield and an estimated rent of AUD 2,575 a month, but is not due until 2029.

Being near a university does not guarantee easy letting. Around the University of New South Wales in Kensington, Sydney, SQM Research's vacancy rate rose from 1.1% in August 2022 to 4.8% in August 2026, even as unit asking rents held at AUD 936 a week. When new student numbers stall, areas that rely only on students feel it first. NAC currently has no project in Kensington.

All figures above are estimates in NAC's listing files, and several projects have no official developer price list. Other Sydney and Melbourne suburbs are in NAC's Australian property listings.

How Students and Parents Can Buy

Students hold temporary visas, so they count as foreign persons under Australia's investment rules. Under FIRB's Guidance Note 6, version 5 of 1 July 2026, foreign persons are generally banned from buying established dwellings from 1 April 2025 to 30 June 2029. Temporary residents used to be able to buy one established home to live in; that door is now closed. New dwellings remain open, with no limit on how many.

Foreign owners must lodge an annual return and pay a vacancy fee if the home is not occupied, or genuinely available for rent, for at least 183 days a year. A child living there while studying, then tenants after graduation, meets that test. The FIRB fee for a new dwelling up to AUD 1 million is AUD 15,600; NSW adds a 9% surcharge purchaser duty and Victoria 8%.

Buying property also does not lead to a visa. NAC's Australia residency brochure summarises the investor pathway that has closed and the options that remain for families.

A practical strategy for Vietnamese investors

Match handover to the start of study. Natura, Trilogy and Spring Square are complete. The Carling is due in late 2027, 640 in 2029 and Parkside MQ in 2033.

Choose areas with tenants beyond students. Macquarie Park has offices and a hospital; Bankstown is a major commercial centre. Demand there does not rest on the university alone.

Decide carefully whose name goes on the title. Parent or child, both are foreign persons under FIRB, but the choice affects tax, lending and inheritance. Take legal advice before signing.

Run the numbers for year five. Once your child graduates, the apartment has to rent on its own. Compare the estimated rent with strata fees, insurance and land tax surcharges.

Explore on NAC

Natura Macquarie Park🇦🇺 Sydney · from A$1.2MYield 4.6%Trilogy🇦🇺 Sydney · from A$1.2MYield 4.6%Parkside MQ🇦🇺 Sydney · from A$767KYield 4.6%The Carling🇦🇺 Sydney · from A$612KYield 4.9%Spring Square🇦🇺 Sydney · from A$712KYield 5.5%640🇦🇺 Melbourne · from A$658KYield 4.7%

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See also: Compare residence programmes

Frequently asked questions

Can a Vietnamese student buy an apartment in Australia?

Yes, if it is new. FIRB bans temporary visa holders from buying established dwellings until 30 June 2029, but they can still buy new apartments, subject to the FIRB fee and each state's surcharge.

Does owning an apartment near campus help with the student visa?

No. Owning property in Australia has no bearing on a student visa decision and does not create residency rights.

Which area near a university yields best in NAC's portfolio?

Per NAC's listing data, Spring Square in Bankstown has an estimated gross yield of 5.5%, the highest of the six projects here. The Macquarie Park projects sit at 4.6%.

NAC strategic insight

At nine in the morning at Macquarie University station, the crowd leaving the train splits in two: students with backpacks turn towards the lecture halls, workers with coffee turn towards the office towers. An apartment between those two crowds will still have tenants once your child has graduated. For Vietnamese families, the question is not only whether the apartment is close to campus, but who will rent it four years from now.

NAC scores every project on one yardstick so Vietnamese families can compare university neighbourhoods across Sydney and Melbourne fairly. If you'd like to know which unit fits your child's study plans, book a consultation with NAC.

Sources

• IEAA — Australian Government announces 2026 National Planning Level (2026)
• ICEF Monitor — Australia: data indicators signal further declines (Apr 2026)
• SQM Research — Weekly rents, postcode 2113 (Oct 2026)
• ABS — 2021 Census QuickStats, Macquarie Park (2022)
• FIRB — Guidance Note 6: Residential land, v5 (Jul 2026)