Host a Student

A Rewarding Experience for Everyone!

Hosting an exchange student can be one of the most memorable and rewarding experiences for your whole family. Being a host family means opening your home, hearts and minds to a young person from overseas.

YFU exchange students are eager to learn about Australia and improve their English language skills.

YFU exchange students are eager to learn about New Zealand and improve their English language skills.

Our host families are open minded, flexible, tolerant and have a sense of humour. They are keen to learn about another country and culture and share their own lives and experiences with their student. The most important requirements are to:

  • make their exchange student feel genuinely welcome
  • help the student become part of their family and local community
  • support the student on their exchange journey
  • immediately inform YFU Student Exchange of any issues affecting the safety and well-being of the student.

All host families are required to have Working with Children checks and sign a Code of Conduct.

Hosting is voluntary. There is no reimbursement for meals and lodging. This is a strict requirement of the Australian regulatory authorities.

You can host a student for either 2, 3, 5 or 10 months. They all arrive with a basic level of English and are expected to participate in daily chores around the house. They have travel insurance and Overseas Student Health Cover (OSHC) and bring spending money for incidentals like toiletries and outings etc.

Student profiles can be found below – these profiles will give you a brief introduction and tell you a little about the students arriving in 2023.

A YFU Local Coordinator is assigned to each student and host family to act as the first level support for any questions or concerns that arise. Our professional staff are also available to assist and we encourage an open dialogue throughout the hosting experience.

How to become a YFU Host Family

If your family would like to become a host family, please make sure you meet the following requirements:

  • The student must have their own bed but they can share a room with a host sibling of the same gender.
  • The student must be provided with a place to study (can be the kitchen table) and three meals a day.
  • All adult host family household members must have Working with Children checks and sign a Code of Conduct.
  • Attend YFU events such as orientations which are an integral part of our exchange programs.
  • Ensure that the student adheres to the YFU rules and their visa regulations.

If you are keen to discover how you can open your family home and community to a secondary student from overseas more please complete the following form.

YFU Host Family

Inbound Student Profiles

Arriving in Australia January 2024

View the profiles of the YFU exchange students looking for a host family in Australia.

Santino

About Santino:

Santino, a 16-year-old boy from Paraguay who lives with his Mum, Dad. He describes himself as quiet, but easy going and nice. He’s respectful, loves his personal space and once he gets to know someone he opens up. Santino likes to spend time with his family, and they usually get along well. They watch movies and TV shows as well as cook and talk about life and their days.

While on exchange:

Santino hopes to grow as a person, find himself and would love to travel to different places. During this exchange he hopes to gain the experience and confidence to move and live abroad and open his mind & ideas for the future.

Santino's interests:

He likes to study, go on walks, go out to eat, watch movies at the cinema, hang out friend’s houses. Santino likes to draw and sometimes garden as he enjoys admiring his surroundings. He thinks gardening and drawing is relaxing.

Takada

About Takada:

Takada, a 16-year-old boy from Japan who lives with his Mum, Dad, grandfather and two siblings. He describes himself as a tidy person, and is hard working and funny. He also likes talking to people and always seeks out people who speak English as he’d like to excel at the language.

While on exchange:

He hopes that his exchange to Australia will open his eyes to a completely different world to Japan, he would like to see things from new perspectives, develop communication skills, and acquire a lot of knowledge.

Takada's interests:

He enjoys reading books, playing soccer, video games, watching movies, going on holidays, and taking photos. He doesn’t enjoy fishing, doing muscle training, or running a marathon! He really enjoys activities that relax him & he likes his own time alone as well.

Cedric

About Cedric:

Cedric, a 15-year-old boy from Switzerland who lives with his Mum, stepfather & younger sister in a small village. He describes himself as an open, respectful, and easygoing person with a good sense of humor. He is very open to new people and always finds new friends.

While on exchange:

When asked how the exchange will influence him, he says that he hopes he’ll become more independent, improve his English & grow as a person.

Cedric's interests:

Cedric likes to do multiple activities with his family including bike riding. He enjoys riding his scooter & is open to trying new things. He likes to watch scooter competitions & sometimes plays computer games. He also enjoys music and has also played the piano for 7 years.

Inbound Student Profiles

Arriving in New Zealand in 2023

View the profiles of the YFU exchange students looking for a host family in New Zealand.