Young women studying at universities are set to benefit from new government announcements that will provide financial support during prac placements and change how indexation is applied to HECS-HELP debts.
“Placement poverty” has placed significant financial burdens on teaching, nursing and social work students at tertiary education institutions, who have had to complete hundreds of hours of unpaid work to receive their qualifications.
Majority of those have been women: according to statistics from the Workplace Gender Equality Agency (WGEA), women make up almost three quarters of education (73.9 per cent) and health (74.4 per cent) students at Australian universities.
But a new proposal from the Albanese government, based on recommendations from the Women’s Economic Equality Taskforce and the Universities Accord, will give students a weekly payment to make up for lost income whilst they complete their placements.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese made the announcement yesterday that, from 1 July 2025, eligible students can receive payments of $319.50 per week throughout their placement periods.
“We’re proud to be backing the hard work and aspiration of Australians looking to better themselves by studying at university,” Albanese said.
“We’re funding support for placements so our future nurses, teachers and social workers can gain the experience they need.”
The announcement has been welcomed by unions and organisations representing the highly feminised industries that will ultimately benefit from the government’s proposal.
CEO of the Australian Association of Social Workers Cindy Smith said the announcement shows a “genuine commitment to student welfare” in social work, where more than 80 per cent of workers are women, according to Labor Market Insights. But Smith also said it is important the government maintains “ongoing dialogue” with the industry to ensure they are meeting the challenges faced by students and workers in social work.
“We applaud this initiative, recognising it as a positive step towards addressing the challenges encountered by students in social work and related fields,” Smith said.
“It’s a promising start, and we look forward to further collaboration to enhance support mechanisms.
“While we celebrate this milestone, we emphasise the importance of ongoing dialogue and collaboration with industry stakeholders. Our expertise and insights can significantly contribute to developing comprehensive solutions that address the range of challenges students face.”
In nursing, nearly 90 per cent of the workforce in Australia are women, according to statistics from the Department of Health and Aged Care. The Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation has advocated for prac student payments for a long time, and federal secretary Annie Butler said the government’s announcement is “a big win for our student nurses and midwives”.
“Whilst on placement, students not only lose their income from their usual paid work, but are then forced to pay for a range of other out-of-pocket costs, such as travel and tolls, finding an affordable rental property, parking, childcare, uniforms and other accessories needed for their mandatory training,” Butler said.
“This new payment will help alleviate these costs and better support students who need to complete their clinical placements before starting their career. Alleviating financial burdens will also encourage more students into the nursing and midwifery workforce – supporting them through their, often, challenging courses.”
Teaching students will also be eligible for the payments. More than three quarters (76 per cent) of Australian teachers are women, according to the Australian Institute for Teaching and School Leadership.
The Federal President of the Australian Education Union Correna Haythorpe said the organisation welcomed the government’s announcement, but recognised there is still more to do to support teaching students.
“For too long students have carried the financial burden of their practicums, often having to give up part time work and experiencing placement poverty for weeks on end while finishing their studies,” Haythorpe said.
“We are very pleased to see this announcement by the Albanese Government today as it is a first step towards building a strong teaching profession.
“However much more needs to be done, including addressing chronic workloads, fully funded professional development and mentoring programs to support teachers as they begin their profession.”
The Griffith University Student Representative Council conducted a survey in September and October last year and heard from more than a thousand students – 86 per cent of whom were women.
Out of the students who were required to complete mandatory placement during their studies, more than 98 per cent of students reported being adversely affected by financial difficulties during placement.
Eighty per cent said they experienced increases in expenses during the placement period, including fuel, parking and tolls.
Loss of income was experienced by 96.5 per cent, with an average reduction of 78 per cent. Almost half said they had completely lost their income.
HECS-HELP debt
Over the weekend, the government also announced it would be wiping up to $3 billion of student debt by reducing the HECS loan indexation.
Based on the Australian Universities Accord review earlier this year, the student HECS loan indexation will now match the much lower wage price index (WPI), instead of the consumer price index (CPI), which the student loan program has followed for almost 35 years.
This means last year’s 7.1 per cent increase in HECS debts for students across the country will now be reduced to match the WPI of 3.2 per cent.
Minister for Education Jason Clare says this will “wipe out around $3 billion in student debt from more than three million Australians”.
This announcement will significantly benefit Australian women, who represent around 59 per cent of students in higher education.