Dragging Their Heals on Tertiary Fee Reform

There is the saying that a week is a long time in politics.  Well, what about 4 years?   That is how long it’s taken (so far) for the Albanese Government to do something about a policy it supposedly hates - the former Morrison Government’s “Jobs Ready Graduates” scheme.

Introduced in 2021, the highly controversial scheme saw a massive increase in fees for tertiary students studying in areas such as arts, business and law.  Conversely, courses in teaching, nursing, engineering and IT had a reduction in fees as these were considered by the government to be “jobs ready” courses, and clearly students were being encouraged to enrol in them.  Quite apart from the fact that such a policy ignores the value of research for research sake (how many of the world’s great inventions have resulted from this approach), the policy is blatantly unfair.  As journalist Andrew Probyn points out in a recent episode of the ABC’s Insiders, the policy taxes people according to how their brains function.

According to The Conversation, by 2027 a standard 3 year arts degree will cost students more than $54000 whereas a nursing degree will cost less than $15000.  A government report on higher education in 2024 found the scheme had failed.  The Australian Tertiary Education Commission is supposedly exploring alternatives to Jobs Ready Graduates, but is not expected to report back to the government until the second half of 2027.

The Higher Education Contribution Scheme (HECS) was introduced in 1989 by the Hawke Government, the aim being to raise revenue to support higher education in a manner that was fair and equitable, which is the last thing that can be said about Jobs Ready Graduates.  The Albanese Government has at least raised the repayment threshold for student loans, below which a student is not required to make repayments, but more needs to be done.

There is the suggestion that we should return to the original HECS concept of a single, annual contribution fee.  This would involve an increase in fees for some courses and we all know the political challenge of raising fees that were previously lowered - especially in areas such as nursing and teaching.  

As a footnote, it was the Whitlam Labor Government which abolished tertiary fees in 1973 and I can remember the time when Whitlam was asked to comment on the Hawke Labor Government’s decision to reintroduce them.  “I’m not going to comment on a person (Hawke) who gains his own tertiary qualifications under the free regime I provided and then reintroduces fees afterwards.  I’m not going to comment on that at all”.

References;

The Conversation

The Insiders - ABC TV