Aussie student says he is ‘forced’ to live in car to study, reveals $10 daily food budget: ‘Rent has gone crazy’
A 26-year-old psychology student on Australia's Gold Coast says he has been forced to live in his car in order to keep studying, after a sharp rent increase left him unable to afford housing on his government support payments. Jadon Lukas moved out of his share house in July after his rent rose by $80 a week, and now survives on a strict $10 daily food budget while relying on the Austudy welfare payment to fund his degree. The case highlights growing concerns about the affordability of student living costs in Australia amid rising rents and living expenses.
Mr Lukas receives $750 a fortnight through Austudy and plans to remain living in his car for at least another two months while completing the second year of his degree. He limits himself to two meals a day, often heating cheap food such as tinned tuna and microwavable rice in convenience store microwaves, and uses gym or beach facilities to shower. He said he studies 50 to 60 hours a week, leaving no time for paid work, and although he could move in with his mother in New South Wales, he has chosen to stay and finish his studies, adding that he does not want pity as others face harder circumstances.
In short
- Gold Coast student, 26, lives in his car to afford studying
- Rent rose $80 a week; now on $10 daily food budget
- Relies on $750 fortnightly Austudy payment, no time to work
Steelman: both sides, in good faith
The strongest fair case each way — we don't pick a winner.
The case for
Advocates for stronger student welfare argue that Mr Lukas's situation exposes a genuine policy failure: Austudy payments have not kept pace with rents and living costs, leaving full-time students – especially those without family support nearby – unable to secure basic housing even while studying diligently and avoiding needless spending. They contend that a system requiring young people to sleep in cars while carrying 50 to 60 hours of weekly study is failing its basic purpose of enabling access to education, and that raising payment rates or providing targeted housing support is a reasonable and necessary response to rising rents outpacing wages and benefits.
The case against
Others take a more cautious view, noting that welfare payments like Austudy are designed as partial support rather than a full living wage, and that individual circumstances – such as choosing to remain on the Gold Coast rather than move in with family, or prioritising full-time study over part-time work – are personal trade-offs rather than evidence of systemic failure. They argue that while the hardship described is real and sympathetic, using one person's anecdote to justify broad increases in welfare spending risks overlooking other options already available (such as relocating, adjusting study load, or accessing existing hardship services) and that policy should be guided by comprehensive cost-of-living data rather than individual cases alone.
Explained simply
Jadon Lukas, a 26-year-old psychology student on Australia's Gold Coast, says he has had to move into his car because he can no longer afford rent while studying. He left his share house after his weekly rent jumped by $80, and now relies on Austudy, a government payment for full-time students, to cover his costs.
Austudy is a welfare payment made to eligible Australian students to help fund living expenses while they study, but the amount is fixed regardless of how much rents rise. Lukas receives $750 a fortnight through the scheme and says this is not enough to cover both housing and food, leaving him budgeting just $10 a day to eat.
His situation has drawn attention as an example of a wider pattern in Australia, where rents have risen sharply in many cities while student and welfare payments have not kept pace, leaving some students unable to afford stable housing while continuing their studies.
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