Universities Australia is calling on the Albanese Government to deliver new cost-of-living relief for university students, including concession cards for all domestic university students and equal access to student public transport concessions for international students.
The call comes as students face steep increases in everyday costs, with Universities Australia analysis showing student rents have risen by around 40 per cent since 2021, groceries by 27 per cent, utilities by 39 percent and fuel by 43 per cent.
Research published this year by the Australian Centre for Student Equity and Success also found one in three university students surveyed were experiencing financial insecurity.
“Students are doing it tough and there are practical things the Government can do right now to ease some of that pressure,” Universities Australia Chief Executive Officer Luke Sheehy said.
“Giving every domestic university student access to a concession card would help with the everyday costs that keep going up.
“And international students shouldn’t have to pay more than the student sitting next to them to catch the same bus or train to university.
“These changes won’t solve every cost-of-living pressure students face, but they would make a real difference.
“Opening the door to university is only half the job. Students need to be able to afford to stay once they get there.”
Concession cards can reduce the cost of essentials including medicines, public transport and utility bills. Some domestic university students qualify for a Health Care Card through income support or other eligibility rules, but being a student alone does not guarantee access.
UA wants every domestic university student to have access to a concession card while they study.
Public transport concessions for international students are also inconsistent across Australia, with access varying between states and territories.
UA wants international students to receive the same access to student public transport concessions as domestic students, regardless of where they study.
“You can have two students sitting next to each other in the same lecture, paying the same rent, buying the same groceries and catching the same bus to campus,” Mr Sheehy said.
“One gets the concession. The other doesn’t. That makes no sense when students are already counting every dollar.
“If you’re a domestic university student, you should get the concession card.
“The same principle should apply to public transport for international students. They study in the same classrooms, live in the same communities and face the same rising costs.
“If you’re a student, you should get the student fare.”
Mr Sheehy said making university more affordable was critical to Australia’s ambition to get more people into higher education and build the skilled workforce the country needs.
“For our nation to thrive in the future, we need more university graduates, and we know where much of that growth has to come from.
“We need more students from low-income families, regional and remote communities, First Nations Australians and families where nobody has been to university before.
“But asking more of those Australians to go to university means making sure they can afford to stay there. This isn’t separate from the equity challenge: it’s a big part of the equity challenge.
UA is also, for the first time, calling on the Albanese Government to adopt the Australian Universities Accord recommendation that 55 per cent of Australians aged 25 to 34 hold a bachelor degree or higher by 2050.
The target would complement the Government’s existing ambition for 80 per cent of working-age Australians to hold a tertiary qualification by 2050.
Jobs and Skills Australia projects Australia will add almost two million jobs over the decade to 2035, with more than one million of those jobs expected to require a bachelor degree or higher.
“If Australia needs more university graduates, we should be prepared to set the ambition and make sure more Australians have the opportunity to achieve it,” Mr Sheehy said.
