Applying for Griffith accommodation starts with registering an account on Griffith's Accommodation Portal, submitting the New Student Application, and paying a non-refundable $80 application fee. From there, places are allocated by application date and offered in rounds, with regional and remote applicants (domestic or international) given priority over local applicants, and new students favoured over returning residents.
There is no single published cutoff date. Griffith's own advice is to apply as early as possible, commonly around September for the next year's intake, and well before you receive a confirmed QTAC offer. Rooms at Brisbane South (Nathan) run from $195 to $210 a week plus two per-trimester levies, and demand regularly outstrips supply at both the Nathan and Gold Coast campuses.
This guide sets out the application steps in order, who gets priority, what you need ready before you start, and what to do if you are waitlisted or miss out entirely.
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Quick facts: Griffith accommodation applications
| Detail | What applies |
| Where you apply | Griffith Accommodation Portal (StarRez), using your Griffith student login or a portal account for non-students |
| Application fee | $80, non-refundable, paid at submission |
| When to apply | As early as possible; Griffith suggests around September for the next year, before your QTAC offer arrives |
| Allocation method | By application date, offered in rounds; unsuccessful applicants in a round are waitlisted for the next |
| Priority groups | Regional and remote applicants (domestic or international) ahead of local applicants; new students ahead of returning residents |
| Nathan weekly rent | From $195/week (Barakula) to $210/week (Bellenden Ker, Carnarvon) |
| Added fees | Maintenance and Development Levy $130/trimester, Residential Life Levy $130/trimester |
| If you miss out | Waitlist for a later round, or apply to a Griffith preferred partner (Unilodge, Scape, Student One, Uniresort, Tribune, Genesis 1 in Brisbane; University Square, University Village, Metro on Central on the Gold Coast) |
Source: griffith.edu.au accommodation and FAQ pages, checked 22 October 2026.
Step by step: how the Griffith accommodation application actually works
Griffith's on-campus application runs through its Accommodation Portal, built on the StarRez platform. The process has five stages.
- Register an account. Current Griffith students log in with their student ID and password. If you have not yet enrolled, you register on the portal with your email address and a password you choose, and you can do this before you hold a confirmed offer from QTAC.
- Log in to the Accommodation Portal. This is a separate system from your student enrolment portal, so bookmark it once you register.
- Select New Student Application and complete the form. You will list your preferred college (Bellenden Ker, Barakula or Carnarvon at Nathan, or the Griffith University Village at Gold Coast) and your preferred contract length.
- Pay the $80 application fee. This is non-refundable and charged at submission, regardless of whether you are later offered a room.
- Watch the email address on your application. Offers, waitlist notices and requests for further information all go to that inbox, so check it regularly, including spam folders, during peak application periods.
Once your application is assessed, Griffith emails you to log back in and view your offer. Accepting it requires confirming your academic enrolment, so an unconditional or conditional course offer needs to be close to settled before you can lock in a room.
Who gets priority for Griffith accommodation
Griffith allocates on-campus rooms primarily by application date, but two groups move up the list ahead of others:
- Regional and remote applicants, whether domestic or international, are prioritised over applicants from the local Brisbane or Gold Coast area. Griffith is explicit that this does not guarantee a place, only that it carries weight in the allocation.
- New residents are favoured over students who already lived on campus and want to return, because Griffith's stated aim is to help first-time arrivals settle in.
Beyond those two factors, Griffith's published FAQ does not list course level, scholarship status or citizenship as separate priority tiers. If you are moving from overseas or from regional Queensland, New South Wales or further afield, say so clearly on your application, since that is the detail Griffith uses to apply the regional and remote priority. If a provider's marketing claims international or first-year status alone guarantees a place, treat that as a simplification rather than Griffith's stated policy.
Documents and information you need before you start
Griffith's application does not require a long document checklist, but having these ready speeds things up:
- A registered Accommodation Portal account (student ID and password for current students, or an email and chosen password for new applicants)
- Your course and campus details, even if your QTAC offer is not yet finalised
- A payment method for the $80 non-refundable application fee
- Your preferred college or building, and a backup preference, since allocation depends on availability at the time your application is assessed
- Contact details you check often, since offers and waitlist updates arrive by email with a response window attached
International students should also keep their visa application status in view, because accepting a room offer does not remove the risk of a delayed visa outcome affecting your move-in date. If your visa is running behind schedule after you have already paid a deposit, our guide on what to do if your student visa is delayed after paying a deposit covers the practical steps.
Costs once you are offered a room
At Brisbane South (Nathan), weekly rent depends on the college:
| College | Room type | Weekly rent from |
| Barakula | Six-bedroom flat | $205 |
| Barakula | Seven or eight-bedroom flat | $195 |
| Bellenden Ker | Single bedroom | $210 |
| Carnarvon | Four-bedroom flat | $210 |
On top of rent, Griffith charges a Maintenance and Development Levy and a Residential Life Levy, each $130 per trimester. Electricity, water, gas, Wi-Fi and on-site laundry access are included in the weekly rent at Nathan. Gold Coast's main on-campus option, the Griffith University Village, is run by Campus Living Villages rather than Griffith directly, and lists utilities as included in its one-bedroom studios and shared apartments; current pricing sits on the Campus Living Villages site rather than Griffith's own pages.
You pay a confirmation amount plus six weeks' rent upfront when you accept an offer, and there is no separate bond, though rent has to stay paid in advance for the length of your contract. Changing rooms once you have moved in costs $140, and cancelling your agreement before your contract ends triggers a $360 Cancellation of Accommodation Agreement fee, on top of four weeks' required notice using the Notice to Terminate Residency Form. For context on what these costs mean against the wider cost of living in the city, see our guide to the cost of living for students in Brisbane.
Timing: when applications open and when to apply
Griffith does not publish a fixed closing date for accommodation applications on its FAQ or on-campus pages. Instead, it tells applicants to apply as soon as possible, and specifically mentions around September as a sensible time to apply for the next year's Trimester 1 intake. Offers go out in rounds rather than all at once, so an application submitted early in a round has a better chance of landing a preferred college before rooms run out, while later applicants in the same round are more likely to be waitlisted and carried into the next one.
For Trimester 1 and 2, 2027 at Nathan, Griffith's listed contract runs from 21 February to 24 October 2027, with single-trimester contracts running 21 February to 27 June (Trimester 1) or 4 July to 24 October (Trimester 2). If you are planning around a specific trimester, align your application timing with these dates rather than assuming a generic academic year window. For a broader look at how application timing fits into the rest of your move, our guide on booking student housing before you arrive in Australia walks through the sequence.
What to do if you miss out on on-campus housing
Missing out on a Griffith on-campus room is common given the gap between application volume and bed numbers, and Griffith does not leave you without a path forward.
Join the waitlist. If no room is available when your application is assessed, you are placed on a waitlist rather than rejected outright, and you are carried into later allocation rounds as rooms open up through cancellations or new availability.
Apply to a Griffith preferred partner. Griffith maintains a list of off-campus providers it recommends by campus: Unilodge, Uniresort, Scape, Tribune, Student One and Genesis 1 around Brisbane South (Nathan) and Mt Gravatt; University Square, University Village and Metro on Central on the Gold Coast; and UniCentral Griffith at Logan. Some of these offer discounted rates specifically for Griffith students, but only if you apply through Griffith's own accommodation website rather than booking directly with the provider, since direct bookings can miss the discount or promo code. Your accommodation agreement in these cases is with the private provider, not with Griffith, so read that contract separately. One Brisbane option worth checking against Nathan's commute times is Unilodge Toowong.
Look at private rentals. Share houses and private rentals around Nathan, Mt Gravatt, South Bank and the Gold Coast give you more control over move-in dates and contract length than a waitlist does, though they usually need a bond, references and, for international students without a local rental history, a guarantor or larger upfront payment. Weigh this against purpose-built options by reading our comparison of university halls versus private PBSA.
Reconsider homestay. The Australian Homestay Network places students with host families in Brisbane and on the Gold Coast, and it is worth checking availability even if your first instinct is purpose-built accommodation, particularly if you are arriving for your first trimester and want a settled household from day one.
If you are weighing these alternatives against on-campus living generally, our overview of the types of student housing available in Australia sets out how each option compares on cost, contract flexibility and distance to campus.
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Frequently asked questions
Is there an application fee for Griffith accommodation? Yes. Griffith charges an $80 non-refundable application fee at the point you submit your New Student Application, whether or not you are later offered a room.
Do international students get automatic priority for Griffith housing? Not automatically. Griffith prioritises applicants from regional and remote locations, whether domestic or international, over local applicants, and favours new residents over returning students. International status alone is not listed as a separate priority category.
When should I apply for Griffith accommodation? Griffith advises applying as soon as possible and suggests around September for the next year's intake. There is no single published deadline, and offers are released in rounds, so earlier applications in a round have a better chance of securing a preferred college.
What documents do I need to apply? A registered Accommodation Portal account, your course and campus details (even before a finalised QTAC offer), and a payment method for the $80 fee. No separate supporting documents are listed on Griffith's FAQ.
What happens if I'm waitlisted? You stay in the system and are carried into later allocation rounds as places open up through cancellations or new availability, rather than needing to reapply from scratch.
What if I don't get an on-campus room at all? Apply to one of Griffith's preferred off-campus partners through Griffith's own accommodation website to access student discounts, consider a private rental or share house near Nathan, Mt Gravatt or the Gold Coast, or look into homestay through the Australian Homestay Network.
How much does Griffith on-campus accommodation cost? At Nathan, weekly rent runs from $195 to $210 depending on the college and room type, plus a $130 Maintenance and Development Levy and a $130 Residential Life Levy, each charged per trimester.
Bottom line
Applying for Griffith accommodation is a five-step process through the Accommodation Portal: register, log in, submit the New Student Application, pay the $80 fee, and watch your email for an offer. There is no fixed deadline, so applying early, ideally around September for the next year, matters more than any specific date. Regional and remote applicants get priority over local ones, and new residents are favoured over returning students, but neither factor guarantees a place given demand. If you miss out, a waitlist spot, a Griffith preferred partner, a private rental or homestay are all workable next steps rather than dead ends.