Hollie Hughes (NSW, Liberal Party, Shadow Assistant Minister for Climate Change and Energy) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

A letter has been received from Senator Tyrell:

Pursuant to standing order 75, I propose that the following matter of public importance be submitted to the Senate for discussion:

Students shouldn't have to go broke doing practical placement to finish their studies.

Is the proposal supported?

More than the number of senators required by the standing orders having risen in their places—

With the concurrence of the Senate, I shall ask the clerks to set the clock in line with the informal arrangements made by the whips.

Tammy Tyrrell (Tasmania, Jacqui Lambie Network) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Students shouldn't have to go broke doing practical placements to finish their studies. Imagine if we told all politicians now: 'You're not getting paid for the next few months. You're still expected to do your full workload as normal, but we just won't pay you for it.' I don't think they'd go for that, and I reckon most people would think it's a pretty unreasonable thing to ask. So why do we expect students to do it?

Students doing degrees like nursing, teaching and social work are required to do a practical placement to finish their studies. We're screaming out for people to go and study these degrees. We should be doing everything we can to encourage people to take up these careers. You know what doesn't encourage people? You know what actually turns people away from finishing their degrees and entering these careers? It's making them choose between buying groceries and paying rent. It's making them turn down their regular part-time or casual job for three or so months, risking their future income. It's putting such pressures on them that they develop anxiety, which in turn affects their performance at uni and at work.

At the moment, we're saying to prospective nurses and teachers: 'Unless you can live with no income for a few months then you can't do the job.' I don't think that stacks up. The Australian Universities Accord is looking at this issue right now. The accord's interim report recognises that mandatory unpaid placements place significant pressures on students. Students from regional areas, like my patch in Tassie, can be some of the most disadvantaged. They often have to fork out for transport, parking and accommodation costs to do the placement on top of undertaking an unpaid placement. It's been said time and again that we are in a cost-of-living crisis. It's clear that we can't keep asking people to work for free when all they're trying to do is seek an education—an education that would lead them to fill critical workforce shortages.

The Universities Accord interim report suggests that we should consider some kind of financial support for students required to undertake a practical placement. Constituents have suggested that maybe we could look at expanding youth allowance or Austudy, but I think any increase like that would be marginal, and it wouldn't go far enough in supporting students and providers. And what about those students who can't access youth allowance or Austudy? Providers also need to be incentivised, because without quality practical experience in the field our students and industry suffer, and our broader community suffers.

So here's what I think we should do. The federal government should give funding directly to placement providers to pay students for their placement work. The providers can decide what wage they want to offer students, but they'd be required to pass on at least a minimum wage. I know what you're thinking: if we're telling businesses that they need to start paying for student placements on top of everything else, they're not going to be able to afford it. They'll just choose not to put on any students. So, part of the funding from the government should be a kickback to the provider for taking on student workers. The government already offers incentives for companies that take on apprentices, and this scheme could be similar. These payments would be passed on to both public and private placement providers, as long as these providers meet the required educational standards to host a placement.

Universities should adjust to a new model, too. If students are out in the field it means they're not sitting in the classroom, attending lectures and requiring university resources. Universities shouldn't be charging students the same fees for placement units as they do for units in the classroom. A cap of 25 per cent should be placed on universities for all practical placement units. This stops universities making money from students for units where the bulk of the learning is provided by an external organisation or institution.

It's pretty clear that we need to reform the way mandatory practical placements are done. Teachers, nurses and paramedics are some of our most essential frontline workers, and if we say they can do these jobs only if they can afford not to pay their rent for six to 12 weeks then why would anybody do it? If people want to work in these fields we should be rolling out the welcome mat, not making it impossible for them to succeed before they even start. Our first message to new students shouldn't be, 'You don't deserve to be paid.'

Sarah Henderson (Victoria, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Education) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I want to thank Senator Tyrrell for bringing this issue to the Senate. Cost-of-living pressures on university students is of course a very important issue. Many students are battling to pay the rent and to put food on the table. So I really appreciate your raising this issue, Senator Tyrrell. Certainly I have also spoken with many groups, including students, who have raised these concerns. Student placement so often occurs in the health sector. So, whether a student is studying nursing, OT or some other allied health course, often they are required to do a practical placement in the workplace, and of course with that comes a very significant cost.

That cost is made so much worse because under this government, because of Labor's cost-of-living crisis, we have seen a 7.1 per cent increase in HECS debts apply from 1 June. That has driven up the average cost of a HECS debt by $1,700 a year, and that is impacting more than three million Australians. We know that Australians right across this country are suffering under this government. The cost-of-living crisis, whether it's paying the rent, paying the mortgage, putting food on the table or paying the power bill, is excruciating. Frankly, it is the only thing people are talking about in the communities and in their families. So, as I said, I want to thank Senator Tyrrell for raising this issue.

I have to say, students in rural and regional communities face even greater cost-of-living pressures, because it's not just the pressures of day-to-day living. If you live in a city and go to university in that city, if you are a regional or rural student, or you come from a remote area, so often you are facing an additional cost of many thousands of dollars. Of course, there is support for students. There are a range of different supports for students that the government provides, but it is simply not enough. My concern, as the shadow minister for education, is that this is going to be more and more of a disincentive for students to take up study.

The government talks big on universities and the government talks big on opening the door to students, yet the government has failed to address this issue. The government has failed to even deal with the situation at the moment with the outdated HECS payments system. If you are a student at university and are repaying your HECS debt in real time, those payments are not being accounted for until the end of the financial year. That is appalling. I have raised this with the ATO commissioner. The education minister has promised and committed to do something about it, yet we have seen absolutely no action. Where is the HECS payment reforms that this government promised?

Before the last election the Labor Party were full of promises. They promised cheaper mortgages. They promised lower inflation. They promised not to touch franking credits and not to raise taxes. They promised to cut power bills by $275 a year. The reality is that, under Labor, all Australians are hurting. Under Labor, Australian university students are hurting. I condemn this government for its lack of action when it comes to cost-of-living relief for Australian university students.