Why Aussie student, 19, is on the 'verge of homelessness' in 2025

Daily Mail​

6 days ago

A university student has opened up about the struggles of living, working and studying in an 'unliveable' Australian city.
'My name's Gemma, I'm 19 years old and I'm on the verge of homelessness,' the NSW woman said in a TikTok video earlier this month.
Gemma explained she used to commute for over two hours from the Central Coast to Sydney to attend two university classes each week.
But this year she has to attend classes four days a week so she thought moving to Sydney to shorten her commute would be more practical.
'Imagine commuting two hours to uni and two hours back, four times a week. When is there time to do anything else like work and make money to make a living?' she said.
Gemma said finding a job and a home in Sydney had been 'unbelievably hard'.
'Someone reached out on Flatmates.com and said I could have a place for $350 per week, including bills, and that's where I am now,' she said.
After getting a job, she was stunned to learn her new roommate - who she is subletting the room from - wanted to charge her more.
'Since getting a job, my roommate has decided that because I have a job I can pay more rent,' she said.
'It's not the case because I have next to no money because I'm spending it on rent and car fuel.
'I don't know where he got this idea that I can suddenly pay more rent.'
Gemma started looking at other places to live and applied for a few before she got a message from her roommate saying she owed him $700.
'I pay him the $700, look in my bank account, and I've got $400 in there,' she said.
'Rent is $350 and I have an appointment to get my pink slip done which is $50. I can't postpone that otherwise I could get pulled over and fined. So my only option is to move out. My shifts at work start at 5am, so moving back home is not an option.'
She said her options for a new home were 'not looking amazing'.
'I was hesitant to share this because it's personal and not glamorous but that's why I decided to talk about it,' she said.
'We all know that Sydney is one of the most unliveable cities to live in, in the world.
'I have until Sunday morning to find somewhere to move into, otherwise I will probably be sleeping in my car.'
Some viewers gave Gemma advice in the comments.
'If you're a full-time uni student definitely look into Centrelink payments. You'll get extra if you live away from home. It depends how much your parents make, but if you qualify it's something like $500 a fortnight,' one wrote.
'Honestly, I'd give up the car, that is a huge expense,' another said.
But Sydneysiders didn't have a lot of sympathy, particularly about her previous commute from the Central Coast.
'Wait until you get a job and commute two hours each way in Sydney five days a week,' one person wrote.
'Girl, no hate but most people that live in Sydney have a one to two-hour commute each way to work five days a week,' another said.
A few others pointed out that she wasn't actually about to be homeless.
'You are on the verge of "homelessness" because you don't want to move home. For many that's not an option because we don't have a home or aren't from this country. Technically, you won't be homeless because you can go home,' one person said.
The average weekly rent for a unit in Sydney is around $700, according to SQM Research figures released in April.
The total number of vacant residential properties nationwide rose to 39,378 in April 2025, up 18.7 per cent from 33,177 in April 2024.
In Sydney, the vacancy rate increased to five per cent from 1.2 per cent in April 2024, with vacancies increasing 20.8 per cent to 10,784 properties.