Cairns student accommodation centre at capacity, says Healy

For the first time since opening in March, Cairns student accommodation centre ‘Mi Haven Student Living’ will be at 100 per cent occupancy this week.

Member for Cairns Michael Healy said the fact every one of Mi Haven’s 42 rooms were full was a testament to the strong growth in the region’s international education sector.

“This is a great milestone for Cairns and proves what we’re doing in this space is working,” he said.

“We’ve identified international education as a growth industry for Tropical North Queensland over the next 10 years.

“That’s why we’re working closely with education providers in Cairns to make sure we’re filling student accommodation centres like Mi Haven.

“Over the next week, 200 students from across the country will arrive in Cairns for a conference to give the government feedback on the student experience in Australia.

“International education currently supports around 300 jobs in Cairns but we think we can more than double that number in the next 10 years.

“The student experience is crucial. We know that working with partners like Mi Haven is an important part of achieving our goal.”

Tourism Industry Development Minister and Ministerial Champion for International Education Kate Jones will today arrive in Cairns to chair a meeting of the state’s peak advisory council on international education.

It will be only the second time in history the International Education and Training Advisory Panel has convened outside of Brisbane.

“We’re making a statement by bringing our advisory panel to Cairns – we are committed to growing the international education sector in Tropical North Queensland,” Ms Jones said.

“It’s great to see Mi Haven going from strength to strength. This goes to show Tropical North Queensland is a growth market for visitors who want to live and spend money in Cairns while they get a world-class education.

“The Palaszczuk Government is investing more than $25 million in international education in coming years because we’re committed to growing this sector and creating jobs in higher education.”

Mi Haven director Sarah Mort said demand for student accommodation in Cairns was growing. 

“Queensland is one of the best places  in the world to come and get an education. The fact that we’re are attracting strong future bookings within three months of opening just shows that students are recognising that. And we are particularly excited this week reaching 100% occupancy supported by the CISA and IET events being hosted in Cairns,” she said.

“We invested around $7.6 million to get this project off the ground and we’ve been absolutely thrilled by the support we’ve received from the Queensland Government.

“The private sector are also realising the potential for growth in international education in Cairns - we have a wide range of social impact investors across the country who have backed us in to deliver Mi Haven Student Living and we have strong plans to expand in the future .”

ENDS

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