NEWLY arrived international students could be given priority for on-campus accomodation as one way of boosting safety, according to a position paper released on Thursday by peak body Universities Australia.

University Australia chief executive Glenn Withers stressed that priority should also be given to domestic students from regional areas and interstate who have to move to attend university.

However, barring any expansion of the supply of on campus accomodation, any improved priority for internationals students would come at the expense of domestic students wanting to live on campus but who are already living within the catchment areas of universities.

"We don't want to advantage international students over Australian students who also have to move," Dr Withers told The Australian. But he said people who have to move away from support networks, such as international and rural students, deserved priority.

Some universities already give priority to international students but it isn't uniform across the sector. Universities such as the Australian National University in Canberra and the University of New England in NSW guarantee an offer of on campus accommodation to all first year undergraduates. But Dr Withers noted that not all universities could be expected to offer such a gurantee given space shortage of space on some campuses.

The position paper on "enhancing" the international student experience and safety, also floats the idea of universities further pursuing public-private parternships to expand accomodation places.

The paper also supports extending student travel concessions to international students. Every state and territory except NSW and Victoria already extends the concession to international students.

The paper also argues that international students should be included in any move by the government to introduce a voluntary community service corps for students as floated by the 2020 summit last year.