Xan

I'm Xan from Namoo Edu, a Sydney-based education company that has placed South Korean students with local families since 2004. We work with 100+ host families across Sydney and support both hosts and students throughout the stay.

About our students 🎓
Year 12 scholarship recipients, aged 17 to 18, here on 4 to 12-week TAFE programs funded by the South Korean government. They study English, complete vocational courses, and finish with 2 to 4 weeks of real work experience. Students are interviewed and vetted before arrival. Programs run July to December.

We understand that being a homestay host is not the right fit for everyone, however for some folks it is a great set up for their home and family. Homestay isn't a rental, and that difference works in your favour:

🧾 Payments for up to two homestay students are generally treated as cost recovery rather than assessable income (ATO ID 2001/381). Unlike renting a room commercially, it also doesn't affect your main residence CGT exemption. Worth confirming with your accountant.

🔑 No lease and no tenancy process. If a placement isn't working, please let us know, and we can move the student out within a few hours or by midnight. Compare that to removing a flatmate under residential tenancy law.

💰 Guaranteed payment and guaranteed occupancy. We pay you directly and fortnightly. No chasing rent, no advertising, no gaps between stays, no interviewing strangers off the internet.

📅 Short and reversible. 4 to 12 weeks with a departure date set before arrival. You can try it once and decide from there.

📞 We're here to help both hosts and students! We help hosts and students have a smooth homestay experience with our support line 24/7.

🏡 Students are out from early morning until evening, so it's low impact on your day-to-day.

Who can host
Anyone with a spare room. Families, couples, singles, retirees, empty nesters, friends in their 30s+ living together. No Korean required. Just a welcoming home where English is the main spoken language.

Meals
🍳 Breakfast DIY. Students make their own before school, so you just keep the basics stocked (bread, cereal, milk, spread, fruit).
🍽️ Dinner together at least 4 to 5 nights a week, with conversation in English
🥪 Weekends Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner (Students will often be out and about exploring Sydney during the weekend and will notify you if they are eating out instead!)

Payment
💰 $330 per student per week, paid fortnightly and always on time. 2 students minimum per home, so $660/week, or $990 for three.

Requirements
- Tidy, well-kept, smoke-free home
- Within 75 minutes travel from front door to TAFE Ultimo
- Wifi
- Host must live in the same home ( Granny flats welcome if students have common area access and join daily dinners.)
- Valid Working With Children Check for every adult in the home
- 2 to 3 students per placement, sharing or in separate rooms
- One single bed per student (bunk beds welcome)
- Study desk and chair in the bedroom, or dining table access for study
- Wardrobe, closet, or drawers for storage
- Clean, freshly washed bedding on arrival

What we expect from students
- Tidy up after themselves and clean their bedrooms at least twice a week.
- Teachers check in twice a week via FaceTime.
- Students can do their own laundry if you prefer.
- Starting Curfew is 5PM. Well-behaved students with good behaviour from students and teachers can earn a later curfew, up to 7pm, or 8pm on Thursdays.
- No drinking, smoking, parties, or clubbing.

💡 New host tip
Best room setups: a high metal bed frame with under-bed storage, or sturdy bunk beds. Both keep the floor clear and give students somewhere to store their suitcases.

The program
- Phase 1: English classes at TAFE Ultimo. Students leave by 8am, home 3 to 5pm.
- Phase 2: Vocational classes at TAFE. Students specialise in a trade (hospitality, cooking, baking, hairdressing, welding and others) and follow their own full-time timetable, home 5 to 6pm.
- Phase 3: Work experience at workplaces across Sydney. All finish by 5pm, home 5 to 6pm.

Not all groups do all three phases. Program length varies from 4 to 12 weeks.

On weekends 🗺️
Students take part in guided weekend missions with their roommate. Think Amazing Race, but relaxed. They explore Sydney's neighbourhoods, museums, galleries, and trending spots together.

Want to verify us first?
Ask for our ABN or Instagram handle and search us up before replying. Or just look us up NAMOO EDU CONSULTING PTY LTD. No links, no personal details needed.

Happy to answer any questions!