This Bill amends the Higher Education Support Act 2003 by repealing the fee increases introduced in the Higher Education Support Amendment (Job-Ready Graduates and Supporting Regional and Remote Students) Act 2020. Specifically, Item 1 in Part 1 of Schedule 1 replaces section 93-10’s table of maximum student contribution amounts for Law, Accounting, Administration, Economics, Commerce, Society and Culture, and Communications, reverting them to the amounts they would have had on 1 January 2026 if the 2020 amendments had not commenced (as indexed under Division 198). Under Item 2, these changes apply to any unit of study with a census date on or after the Bill’s commencement (the later of 1 January 2026 or the day after Royal Assent), regardless of when the course began.
Access to higher education should not depend on a student’s chosen discipline. By reversing punitive fee hikes for arts and social sciences, the Bill dismantles financial barriers that disproportionately deter students from lower-income backgrounds. This promotes equal opportunity across all fields of study, ensuring that prospective students can pursue Law, Accounting, Administration, Economics, Commerce, Society and Culture, or Communications without facing inflated debts.
Moreover, education is a public good that yields broad societal benefits beyond individual earnings. The job-ready graduates pricing model distorts student choice by privileging short-term labour market signals over long-term civic, cultural and intellectual gains [Judgment]. Restoring the original contribution rates realigns government policy with the right to education, enhancing discipline equity and supporting a diverse, well-rounded workforce.
The job-ready graduates fee structure was designed to align student incentives with national workforce needs by pricing degrees according to estimated graduate earnings and public benefit. Repealing these hikes risks reducing enrolments in areas of high labour demand—such as STEM and regional fields—and may worsen skill shortages in critical sectors, ultimately harming overall societal welfare [Judgment].
There is limited evidence that rolling back fees will significantly boost the quality or breadth of humanities education; lower costs may increase demand, but without sufficient teaching capacity or labour market absorption, this could lead to graduate underemployment and greater taxpayer subsidies for degrees with weaker employment outcomes [Judgment]. From an epistemic standpoint, any reform should be backed by robust modelling of enrolment patterns and workforce projections before reversing a policy aimed at improving labour market alignment.
2025-11-25
Senate
Before Senate
FARUQI, Sen Mehreen
Unspecified
Education, Social Support / Welfare, Discrimination / Human Rights