Student Housing Australia

What Student Housing Australia does

Student Housing Australia Pty Ltd is a privately held Melbourne-based property management company specializing in student rental accommodation, founded circa 2004 and operating from headquarters at 648 Elizabeth Street, Melbourne, with a secondary office in Caulfield North. The company manages a portfolio spanning 16+ Melbourne suburbs — including Carlton, Caulfield/Clayton/Parkville (Monash), Hawthorn (Swinburne), Footscray (Victoria University), Prahran, Brunswick East, Noble Park, and the Melbourne CBD — covering the catchment of 25+ tertiary institutions. Room inventory comprises studios ($235–$440/week), one-bedroom apartments ($315–$440/week), two-bedroom units ($400–$555/week), and three-bedroom shared apartments ($300–$320/week per bedroom), with some buildings including gas/water in rent while electricity is always separately billed.

The core operational technology is a web-based property management and tenant onboarding platform supporting a 12-step online application with digital document upload (student card, passport, bank statement, parental guarantee) and 24–48 hour property manager review. Supporting modules include property alert email subscriptions, online maintenance requests with after-hours emergency contacts, and integration with third-party service providers: Superloop for managed WiFi, YourPorter for utility connection, TICA for tenant screening, and RTBA Online for government bond lodgement. The wholly-owned subsidiary SHA Services Pty Ltd operates as an exempt energy retailer supplying electricity to eight specific buildings, creating a vertical extension into utility revenue.

Revenue is generated almost exclusively from recurring monthly rental payments on 12-month fixed tenancies aligned to the academic calendar (typically ending January/February), with a separate revenue stream from SHA Services electricity billing based on meter readings. Distribution is direct-to-consumer through the proprietary website (sha.com.au), supplemented by listings on realestate.com.au and Domain.com.au. The primary customer segment is full-time tertiary students — domestic and international — with secondary targeting of non-students and couples at selected buildings; multi-lingual web and staff support specifically addresses the international student cohort from China, Malaysia, Japan, and India source markets.

Name

Student Housing Australia

Legal name

Student Housing Australia Pty Ltd

Website

https://sha.com.au

Company type

Private

Founded year

2004

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Student Housing Australia is a privately held Melbourne property management company that leases student-only furnished apartments across 16+ suburbs near 25+ universities, generating recurring monthly rental revenue on 12-month tenancies with ancillary electricity sales via its SHA Services subsidiary.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Student Housing / Purpose-Built Student Accommodation

NAICS

Rooming and Boarding Houses, Dormitories, and Workers' Camps (72131), Rental and Leasing Services (532)

SIC

Operators Of Apartment Buildings (6513), Services-To Dwellings & Other Buildings (7340), Hotels, Rooming Houses, Camps & Other Lodging Places (7000)

akta.pro primary industry

Student Housing Property Management (BPAJAFAF)

akta.pro secondary industries

Off-Campus Student Rentals (Scattered-Site/Single-Family) Management (BPAJAJAC), Off-Campus Housing Support & Landlord Relations (EDALACAJ), Off-Campus Shared Student Houses (Room-by-Room) (THAMAGAC)

Keywords

• Student accommodation
• Rental property management
• Furnished apartments
• Purpose-built student housing
• Residential tenancy services

Headquarters

HQ city

Melbourne

HQ country

Australia

HQ region

Oceania

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Supply Chain

Revenue model

1. Student Rental Income: Monthly rental payments from student tenants occupying apartments. Rent is charged per calendar month on the same day each month. Standard tenancy agreements run for 12-month fixed terms ending in January/February. Some buildings include utilities (gas, water) in rent while others charge separately.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Student Housing Australia rents fully and partially furnished apartments to tertiary students across 17+ Melbourne suburbs, offering studios, 1-bedroom, 2-bedroom, and 3-bedroom configurations on 12-month fixed-term leases aligned with the academic calendar. Tenants apply through an online application system with property manager review, and the company also supplies electricity to selected buildings through its SHA Services subsidiary and supports tenants with maintenance, utility connections, and internet access.

Product overview

Student Housing Australia operates a student accommodation rental platform offering fully and partially furnished apartments across 17+ Melbourne locations near major universities. The core offering is student-only rental apartments with room types including studios, 1-bedroom, and multi-bedroom apartments. Supporting services include an online application system, SHA Services electricity provision for select buildings, property alert subscriptions, and maintenance management. The company uses third-party integrations for internet (Superloop), utilities (YourPorter), tenant screening (TICA), and bond management (RTBA Online).

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• SHA Services: Exempt energy retailer subsidiary providing electricity supply services to SHA-managed properties including buildings at Camberwell, Carlton, North Melbourne, Brunswick East, and Malvern East.

Products and services

• Student Accommodation Rental Rental of furnished studios, 1-bedroom, 2-bedroom, and 3-bedroom apartments to tertiary students across 17+ Melbourne suburbs on 12-month fixed-term leases aligned to the academic calendar, with property managers assigned per building.
• Online Tenancy Application System Web-based application platform enabling students to apply for apartments online, upload required documentation, and complete digital signature steps before property manager review and landlord approval.
• SHA Services Electricity Supply Exempt energy retail service providing electricity to residents in selected SHA buildings, with monthly billing based on actual meter readings plus service and connection charges.
• Property Alerts Subscription Subscription-based email notification service that alerts students when properties matching their preferred bedroom count, location, and building criteria become available.
• Property Maintenance Management Property maintenance service for SHA tenants including online maintenance request submission, after-hours emergency contact routing, and dedicated property managers per building.

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration4 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• YourPorterminorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerFree utility connection service for SHA residents. YourPorter assists with connecting water and electricity services when tenants move in. They contact tenants within 24 hours of receiving application from SHA.

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Emerging players

• Student.com: Global online marketplace that helps students find and book purpose-built student accommodation. Comparable as a digital channel into the international student housing funnel, though operating as a marketplace rather than a property manager.

Broad incumbents

• Domain Holdings: Major Australian residential real estate platform on which SHA lists its properties. Comparable as a broad residential rental marketplace reaching Melbourne students, though operating at a much larger scale and across all residential segments.
• REA Group (realestate.com.au): Australia's largest residential property portal, also a key listing channel for SHA. Comparable as a broad incumbent reaching student renters in Melbourne, though serving all residential segments well beyond student-specific housing.

Regional players

• The Pad: Student accommodation brand focused on the Victorian/Tasmanian market with a presence in Melbourne. Operates in a similar geographic catchment to SHA but with a different building format and pricing tier.

Direct peers

• Atira Student Living: Australian student accommodation provider with Melbourne properties. Directly competes for SHA's tertiary student demographic; similar multi-lingual, international-student orientation but operating a smaller owned portfolio.
• Iglu: Major Australian PBSA operator with central Melbourne flagships (Iglu South Yarra, Iglu Melbourne City). Competes with SHA for the same tertiary student tenant base in inner-Melbourne suburbs, differentiated by newer purpose-built product.
• Urbanest: PBSA provider operating multiple high-rise student towers in Melbourne (e.g. Urbanest Carlton, Urbanest Melbourne Central). Direct competitor for student tenants in the same Carlton/Melbourne CBD micro-markets where SHA has a concentration of properties.
• Campus Living Villages: Student accommodation provider with Australian university partnerships. Comparable as a tertiary student housing specialist; mostly regional/university-campus based rather than inner-city Melbourne.
• Scape Australia: Large-scale student accommodation operator with Melbourne assets near University of Melbourne and RMIT. Directly comparable in serving the same international and domestic tertiary student market, though via owned, purpose-built assets.
• UniLodge: Australia's largest purpose-built student accommodation (PBSA) operator with multiple Melbourne properties near major universities. Directly comparable as a Melbourne student housing provider, though UniLodge owns and operates newer, amenitized buildings versus SHA's scattered-site model.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/studenthousingaustralia
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/student-housing-australia

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Student Housing Australia