At Hawthorn-Melbourne, we have special structures in place to protect the welfare of students who are under 18 years of age. These are extra to our commitment to caring for every Hawthorn-Melbourne student with our range of advice services and academic resources.
All student visa holders who are under 18 must have appropriate accommodation and carer support. This might be with relatives or organised by Hawthorn-Melbourne.
If you or your child are under 18 and hold a student visa, you have four accommodation and welfare options:
If you are a parent of a student under 18, you must let us know your preferred accommodation and welfare arrangement when confirming the enrolment.
The options are explained in more detail below.
Option 1: You can live with your parent/s or legal custodian.
A parent, legal guardian or suitable relative can apply for a Student Guardian visa. You will need to submit the Nomination of a student guardian form 157N when applying for the student visa.
For this option, Hawthorn-Melbourne does not need to issue a Confirmation of Appropriate Accommodation and Welfare (CAAW) letter.
Option 2: Nominate Hawthorn-Melbourne as the carer
If you do not have a suitable relative to care for your child in Melbourne, you can nominate Hawthorn-Melbourne as the official guardian. This option is only available to students aged 14 – 18 years.
For this option, Hawthorn-Melbourne will place your child with one of our registered host families. We will issue a Confirmation of Appropriate Accommodation and Welfare (CAAW) letter. You must present the letter to the DHA when you apply for the student visa.
The CAAW will start 7 days before your child is scheduled to start their course at Hawthorn-Melbourne. It will end 7 days after the enrolment end date or on your child’s 18th birthday, depending which comes first. The DHA will issue your child’s visa according to the CAAW dates.
If your child is planning to study at another institution after Hawthorn-Melbourne, you may need multiple CAAW letters. There cannot be a gap in the CAAW dates.
Option 3: Nominate Hawthorn-Melbourne as the carer with the request that the student lives with a friend or family member in Melbourne
If you choose this option, Hawthorn-Melbourne will initiate the process to register your friend or family member as a homestay host. This option is only available to students aged 14 – 18 years.
The friend/family member must meet our host family requirements. That is, they must:
The process of applying for Police Checks and Working With Children Checks can take some time. We recommend your friend or family member starts this process early.
They can contact our accommodation office for a Host Registration Pack to be emailed to them.
There is some extra work involved in this option, and an additional Host Registration Fee is payable.
If the friend/family member meets our requirements, we will issue a Confirmation of Appropriate Accommodation and Welfare (CAAW) letter. You must present the letter to the DHA when you apply for the student visa.
The CAAW will start 7 days before your child is scheduled to start their course at Hawthorn-Melbourne. It will end 7 days after the enrolment end date or on your child’s 18th birthday, depending which comes first. The DHA will issue your child’s visa according to the CAAW dates.
If your child is planning to study at another institution after Hawthorn-Melbourne, you may need multiple CAAW letters. There cannot be a gap in the CAAW dates.
If your friend or family member does not meet the requirements above, we will place your child with one of our registered host families. All our hosts for students under 18 must meet the requirements above, so you can be confident your child’s welfare will be looked after.
Some students come to Hawthorn-Melbourne with different visas, including visitor visas, tourist visas and temporary resident visas. If a student under 18 is travelling on a visa other than a student visa, we cannot provide homestay accommodation or meet them at the airport.
If your child does not have a student visa, you will need to provide us with:
Please provide these details as part of the Hawthorn-Melbourne application process.
If you do not have family or friends in Melbourne to care for your child, there are independent, experienced companies that provide these services. These include:
Guardianship Services
Homestay Placement
You can contact our accommodation office for a Host Registration Pack, or if you have any questions about registering to host a young friend or family member planning to study at Hawthorn-Melbourne.
For more information on our services for students under 18, please contact the Hawthorn-Melbourne accommodation office.
accommodation@hawthornenglish.edu.au
+61 3 9815 4033
