Swinburne University Of Technology Accommodation

Swinburne University of Technology was founded in 1908 as the Eastern Suburbs Technical College and achieved full university status in 1992. The main Hawthorn Campus sits on John Street, Hawthorn VIC 3122. Around 14,387 higher education students study here, of whom approximately 6,250 are international students, making up around 43% of the total.

Swinburne is the only academic institution in Melbourne offering pilot training as part of its aviation degrees. Other strong faculties include Design, Architecture and Building, Engineering with a focus on advanced manufacturing, Film Television and Media, and Business Law and Entrepreneurship. The university ranks 291st globally in the QS World University Rankings 2027.

Swinburne Student Union (SSU) runs clubs, societies, advocacy, and campus events across all campuses.

The Swinburne Student Union (SSU) represents students across all campuses and runs a calendar of clubs, societies, and events. Academic groups include the Swinburne Coding Society and Swinburne Business Society. Creative communities include the Swinburne Design Society. The Swinburne International Students' Association provides a specific social network for the large international student community. The SSU organises O-Week activities and market days at the start of each semester.

Swinburne Sport and Recreation provides on-campus gym and fitness facilities at Hawthorn alongside club sport and casual recreation programmes. Students who want outdoor activity beyond the gym have the Yarra River trails and Studley Park in nearby Kew within cycling or running distance.

Glenferrie Road is the immediate social strip: cafes, bars, and takeaway food within a short walk of campus. For a bigger evening out, Richmond is a direct train ride from Glenferrie. Bridge Road and Swan Street in Richmond cover dining, bars, and live sport access near the MCG. Victoria Street's Vietnamese food strip in Richmond is one of the better value eating streets in Melbourne's inner suburbs. The Melbourne CBD is 20 minutes from Glenferrie by train and covers everything else.

Camberwell Junction's Sunday Market is a regular weekend destination for students who like markets, a short train ride away. For everyday grocery shopping, the Glenferrie Road supermarket is walkable from most Hawthorn accommodation.

Swinburne's Design Factory and student exhibition spaces host regular showcases. The Hawthorn Arts Centre, a short walk from campus, runs community and student-relevant events.

International students must hold Overseas Student Health Cover (OSHC) for the duration of their visa. Verify Swinburne's specific on-campus health provider and services directly with the university.

Hawthorn is a leafy inner-eastern Melbourne suburb with a genuine neighbourhood infrastructure. Glenferrie Road, the main local strip, has supermarkets, cafes, bars, and takeaway food within walking distance of campus. That removes the need for most students to travel for daily errands. The surrounding suburbs on the Lilydale, Belgrave, and Alamein train lines extend the realistic living range considerably.

Hawthorn (VIC 3122)

A 0 to 1km walk from campus, roughly 5 to 15 minutes. Share room rents run approximately AU$270 to AU$400 per week. Living in Hawthorn means zero daily transport cost for the campus commute and immediate access to Glenferrie Road's amenities. For students who want the shortest possible commute and a walkable daily environment, Hawthorn is the obvious starting point.

Glenferrie (VIC 3122)

About 1km from campus, a 10-minute walk or one train stop. Same rent range as Hawthorn at approximately AU$270 to AU$400 per week for share rooms. Glenferrie is essentially the retail and cafe core of Hawthorn, built around the station. For students who use the train regularly for city trips, being at the station has practical daily value.

Kew (VIC 3101)

About 3km from campus, reachable by bus or train and walk. Whole house rents here run from approximately AU$650 to AU$1,000 per week for a three to four-bedroom property. Kew is a prestigious, quiet heritage suburb with Studley Park and Yarra River trails nearby. It suits postgraduate students or those who want a calmer residential environment and are comfortable with the slightly longer commute.

Camberwell (VIC 3124)

About 4km from campus, served directly by trains on the Lilydale, Belgrave, and Alamein lines to Glenferrie station. Two-bedroom unit rents run from AU$450 to AU$550 per week; three-bedroom houses run from AU$800 to AU$950 per week. Camberwell has an established inner-eastern suburb atmosphere and the famous Sunday market at Camberwell Junction. Students who want a train-connected suburban base with good local amenities find it practical.

Richmond (VIC 3121)

About 4km from campus, reachable by train and a short walk. Share room rents run approximately AU$300 to AU$430 per week. Richmond is one of Melbourne's more energetic inner suburbs: Bridge Road and Swan Street shopping strips, the Vietnamese food precinct on Victoria Street, and proximity to the MCG give it a character very different from Hawthorn's leafy residential streets. Students who want a livelier daily environment and access to Melbourne's inner-city social scene without CBD prices find Richmond a strong option.

Melbourne costs require careful planning. Excluding rent, Swinburne students should budget AU$340 to AU$500 per week.

Groceries run from AU$110 to AU$160 per week. Hawthorn students benefit from the Glenferrie Road supermarket and shops within walking distance of campus, which removes the transport cost associated with grocery shopping in locations where students need to travel to find affordable options.

Transport runs from AU$45 to AU$55 per week using Melbourne's myki system for a five-day commuting week. Students who walk to campus from Hawthorn spend significantly less. Always verify current fares on ptv.vic.gov.au, as myki pricing is subject to adjustment.

Household bills in a shared house run approximately AU$45 to AU$65 per week per person. Purpose-built student accommodation typically bundles bills into the weekly rate.

Socialising runs from AU$65 to AU$110 per week. Glenferrie Road's student-friendly cafes and bars are affordable for casual evenings. Richmond's dining options, particularly Victoria Street's Vietnamese food strip, give good value for eating out. Melbourne's CBD is 20 minutes by train from Glenferrie for anything more substantial.

Mobile subscriptions run from AU$15 to AU$25 per week for a prepaid or SIM-only plan.

Course costs average AU$10 to AU$20 per week amortised across the year for textbooks and study materials.

For international students on a Student visa (subclass 500), the Australian Government's financial capacity requirement is AU$29,710 per year for the 2026 intake, approximately AU$571 per week. This is a visa eligibility benchmark covering all living expenses including rent, not a market-basket cost-of-living figure.

Swinburne's on-campus residences offer college rooms, shared apartments, and studio apartments, which covers the main room type range without students needing to look at the private market. For students in private or purpose-built accommodation, the same types apply.

A shared room, where two or more students share a bedroom, is the most affordable option and suits budget-focused students who are comfortable with low privacy. This is more common in larger student accommodation complexes.

A private room in a shared flat or house gives you your own bedroom and shared access to kitchen, living room, and bathroom. This is the most common format in Hawthorn and surrounding suburb share houses and represents the standard living arrangement for most students outside university residences. Share rooms in Hawthorn run from approximately AU$270 per week.

An en-suite room adds a private bathroom. More common in purpose-built accommodation than in private terrace share housing.

A studio flat is fully self-contained and offers the most independence. Studio options in the PBSA listings start from AU$620 per week at UKO Melbourne Central. They suit postgraduate students or anyone who needs full privacy and quiet.

An entire property rented by a group is common for students in later years. Whole houses in Kew run from AU$650 to AU$1,000 per week split between the group.

House of Student lists five properties for Swinburne students. All are in Melbourne but none are in Hawthorn itself, which means every listed property involves a commute from a different part of the city.

UKO Melbourne Central is 8.97km from the Hawthorn campus, a 25-minute transit. Rooms start at AU$620 per week. CBD location with a manageable train commute via Glenferrie station. The shortest transit time in the list.

West Tower Melbourne Quarter is 10.25km from campus, a 30-minute transit. Rooms start at AU$700 per week. Docklands precinct, modern facilities.

Caulfield Place is 7.27km from campus, a 32-minute transit. Rooms start at AU$820 per week. Caulfield is served by different train lines from those that stop at Glenferrie, which is worth checking before assuming the commute is straightforward.

The Archive Residential Living is 9.85km from campus, a 40-minute transit. Rooms start at AU$990 per week. Southbank location, premium specification, highest starting price in the list.

Indi South Bank is 8.61km from campus, a 46-minute transit. Starting price not supplied. Also Southbank.

For Swinburne students, private share housing in Hawthorn or the surrounding eastern suburbs gives better proximity at lower cost than any of these PBSA listings. The PBSA properties listed are more relevant for students who want CBD or South Bank living as their primary environment and are comfortable with the train commute to Glenferrie.

The affordable section includes properties in Preston and at La Trobe University's Bundoora campus, which are 11 to 15km from Swinburne Hawthorn with transit times of 61 to 78 minutes. The La Trobe properties are primarily relevant for RMIT Bundoora or La Trobe students. Students who specifically attend Swinburne Hawthorn and choose these properties are accepting a long daily commute in exchange for the lowest possible rent.

Campus Melbourne in Preston starts at AU$266 per week, 11.89km from Swinburne, a 61-minute transit. This is the lowest starting price of any property in the list.

La Trobe University Glenn College starts at AU$270 per week, 15.25km from campus, a 75-minute transit.

La Trobe University Menzies College starts at AU$295 per week, 15.48km from campus, a 78-minute transit.

WeAreLiving Preston starts at AU$455 per week, 11.65km from campus, a 62-minute transit. The price difference between WeAreLiving Preston and Campus Melbourne is AU$189 per week for a similar commute distance. That gap is significant over a semester.

UKO Melbourne Central at AU$620 per week is included in the source's affordable section as a relative comparison. Its 25-minute transit is considerably shorter than the Preston and Bundoora options, which explains the price difference.

For students whose budget is below AU$450 per week and who want to minimise commute time, the private share housing market in Hawthorn and Glenferrie, starting from approximately AU$270 per week with a walking commute, is likely a better option than any of the above properties.

Glenferrie railway station sits directly next to the Hawthorn campus. The Lilydale, Belgrave, and Alamein lines all stop here. That makes the campus one of the best-connected suburban university campuses in Melbourne. Students living anywhere along those eastern train lines have a direct, single-seat commute to the campus without needing a bus or tram connection.

From Hawthorn and Glenferrie, the walk to campus takes 5 to 15 minutes depending on specific address. No myki cost involved for that commute.

From Camberwell, the train to Glenferrie takes a few minutes. From Richmond, the journey involves a train to Glenferrie on a direct line. From Kew, a bus or walk connects to Glenferrie station.

For students living in CBD properties like UKO Melbourne Central, the outbound train from Flinders Street or Melbourne Central to Glenferrie takes around 20 to 25 minutes. That is the reverse of the typical student commute direction, which runs inbound to the city, but the train frequency on these lines is good in both directions.

Cycling through Hawthorn is practical. The inner-eastern bike lane network extends into Hawthorn and Richmond. Students who cycle from Hawthorn and nearby Richmond remove daily myki costs entirely.

For intercity travel, Southern Cross Station is the main hub for V/Line regional and interstate services. It is reachable from Glenferrie by a direct train into the city, then a short connection or walk.

Melbourne Airport (Tullamarine) is served by SkyBus from Southern Cross Station in the CBD. A dedicated airport rail link has been planned. Verify current status with PTV before travel. All Melbourne public transport uses the myki card. Check ptv.vic.gov.au for current fares and journey planning.