The illusion of progress: Australia's students left behind

In a country that prides itself on the ideal of a "fair go", Australia is failing a significant number of its students. The economic fallout from the pandemic and skyrocketing living costs have pushed student poverty to a crisis point that can no longer be ignored. 

With an increasing number of university students unable to afford basic living essentials, the government's pledge of "no one held back or left behind" rings hollow. The recent 2024-25 Federal Budget presented a pivotal moment to tackle the pressing issue of student poverty, but the proposed solutions fell short, failing to address the deep-rooted systemic challenges at the core of the problem. 

The Australian Government's approach to student placement poverty seems to disregard the "fair go" ideal. The new Commonwealth Prac Payment (CPP) scheme, introduced in the Budget, offers a weekly support payment for nursing, teaching and social work students, while excluding numerous professions like allied health and medicine, where students are mandated to undertake hundreds of unpaid clinical placement hours. 

This inequitable treatment deters individuals from pursuing critically needed jobs and risking substantial workforce shortages in the long-term. 

For eligible students, the weekly support payment of $319.50 offers merely a pretence of assistance, equating to $8 per hour for nurses, $8.50 per hour for teachers and $8.30 per hour for social workers. For context, these student placements are mandatory course requirements, ranging from 800 to 1000 hours – equivalent to full-time work. By comparison, the $8 hourly rate is six times less than the remuneration received by trainee police officers in New South Wales.

For those who meet the means-test criteria, the reality is still bleak. When combined with existing Austudy or Jobseeker payments, the average student would still receive 60 per cent less than the baseline starting salary in their chosen profession.¹ The $319.50 weekly placement payment alone is a mere 20 percent of the typical entry-level wage in these fields. 

Ultimately, the underpaid and unpaid placement conditions not only exploit student labour but also exacerbate financial hardship, disproportionately impacting students from marginalised communities and disadvantaged backgrounds. 

Australia's high cost of living is worsening the student poverty crisis. It is more expensive than 94 per cent of countries worldwide, with a single-person household's monthly cost estimated at $5292, translating to a weekly cost of $1221. Students who sacrifice their employment for paid placements and receive $319.50 will be 47.52 per cent below the Henderson Poverty Line of $609 weekly for a single working person. Evidently, the CPP scheme barely scratches the surface of addressing student placement poverty

Notably, the Fair Work Act’s (2009) exemption for unpaid "vocational placements'' has become a loophole for exploiting student labour. Although student placements are often advertised as valuable learning experiences, the reality can be quite different. Students placed in these roles are frequently expected to mimic full-time employees, handling heavy workloads with minimal guidance due to the under-resourced state of these already in-demand professions. 

In turn, this situation prioritises cheap labour over genuine educational opportunities. While some may defend the "vocational placement" exemption as necessary to facilitate on-the-job training opportunities, this justification merely perpetuates the exploitation of student labour under conditions that would be unacceptable for other workers. Similarly, arguing that the CPP Scheme is “better than nothing” directly contradict the core principles of the Fair Work Act.

As Australia grapples with the student poverty crisis, the country continues to lag behind its international counterparts. For example, nursing students in Ireland receive 80 per cent of the starting professional wage, along with accommodation allowances. The UK offers salaried teacher training programs, with a minimum £30,000 (AUD$57,623) salary for postgraduate student placements. The European Union's recent ban on unpaid traineeships serves as a wake-up call that such practices are globally unacceptable.

Clearly, Australia's approach to addressing student poverty and exploitation undermines its commitment to a world-class education system that nurtures its future workforce. We must prioritise the well-being and financial security of students. Access to quality education should be a fundamental right, not a privilege reserved for the affluent; it's time to let Australian students have a “fair go”.