Frequently Asked Questions

Finding quality affordable accommodation is one of the most difficult aspects of student life. We receive hundreds of requests from our members for help with finding accommodation. In cases of extreme emergency we have a list of few Samaritan Australians who may accommodate people for up to two days (subject to availability). Please contact us for more information.

Ultimately, FISA is a voluntary organisation and there are limitations due to lack of funds. We are not supported or sponsored by Government to provide pastoral care services, nor do we charge anyone a membership fees. However due to an increase in demand for such services we are considering options.

We welcome you to come and help us be better.

We get hundreds of enquiries for feedback on the quality of courses and education providers. Australia has over 800 educational institutes catering to the international student market. Within them, they run over 2,000 courses and it is not possible for a self-funded organisation such as ours' to do a thorough research.

We however encourage you to enquire from your institute a series of questions. Answers to these questions may help you understand the pros and cons of choosing the education provider.

Please write to us for a sample list of questions.

FISA is a student organisation - run by students for students. In fact 100% of our members are volunteers and most of the time looking for a job themselves.

Sometimes, while they are in-between jobs they decide to contribute their time for the welfare of all students. We would strongly recommend that you consider working for FISA while looking for a job. This way you can get some real hands-on Australian work experience while having the satisfaction of making a difference to the lives of hundreds of other fellow students.

Please write to us at if you are interested.

Street crimes are a world-wide phenomenon. Incidents of mugging and vandalism are present everywhere including in Australia. Unfortunately some stupid people have decided to target Indians for umpteen reasons ranging from opportunity to colour. Having said that, majority of such incidents are specific to time and place.

For most part, if you reach home before 8:00 PM you may be safe. We have not heard of many cases of violent attacks before 8:00 PM. There are over 100,000 Indians in Melbourne, so don't worry too much. As long as you can afford to stay in a posh locality and not work in jobs where you have to work odd hours then you are 'statistically' safer.

You may be aware about our ongoing campaign around improving safety and security for Indians. We will continue to work until such time that complaints of Indians are heard, they are treated with dignity and every Indian feels safe.

FISA is a student organisation - run by students for students. In fact 100% of our members are volunteers and most of the time struggling to support themselves.

One need to be a licensed agent with some very complex licensing requirements to lend money. FISA does not have the capability of the license to lend money. We would also strongly recommend you to stay away from short-term money lenders and other non-bank lenders for as long as possible as their interest rates are much higher.

In most cases, some Christian groups such as The Salvation Army (popularly known as the 'Salvos') or the St Vincent De Paul Society (popularly known as 'Vinnies') may be able to help. You can also write to your education institute directly and request a fee extension or an installment plan.

Please contact us in case you feel that your application has not been dealt with properly by your education provider. We may allocate a volunteer to look into the matter, subject to availability of volunteers.