In previous decades, aspiring poets, historians, and writers in Australia could reasonably anticipate repaying their arts degrees within a decade, contingent upon securing stable employment. However, the current financial landscape paints a starkly different picture, with many graduates facing the prospect of lifelong debt.
For the first time, the cost of an arts degree in Australia is projected to exceed $50,000, prompting experts to caution that some students may never be able to fully repay their debts. This development aligns Australia with the UK and public colleges in the US, marking a significant shift since the controversial introduction of the Jobs Ready Graduates (JRG) scheme five years ago.
According to recent data from the Department of Education, the student contribution for degrees in fields such as society and culture, communications, law, and economics will surge to $16,992 annually starting in 2025. This represents an increase of approximately $650 from the previous year, attributed to indexation, and a staggering rise of over $10,000 compared to humanities courses in 2020, prior to the Coalition’s policy implementation. The JRG scheme, introduced by the Morrison government, reduced the government’s contribution to degrees from 58% to 52%, thereby increasing student contributions to 48%.
The JRG scheme also elevated fees for certain courses, including humanities, to subsidize fee reductions in other areas and to fund an additional 39,000 university places by 2023. The scheme has faced widespread criticism from the university sector, including the Group of Eight, Universities Australia, student bodies, and academics. The University Accord interim report indicated the scheme’s failure and called for a redesign to prevent long-term and entrenched damage to Australian higher education. The final report, released in January, emphasized the need for urgent remediation. Before the 2022 federal election, Labor also condemned the JRG, with then-shadow education minister Tanya Plibersek labeling it a “total fraud.”
The continuous fee hikes have rendered studying in Australia more than twice as expensive as in Canada. Data from Quacquarelli Symonds, a higher education analytics firm, indicates that undergraduate humanities courses in Canada average C$5,542 (A$6,028) per year for domestic students. In contrast, all domestic courses in the UK are capped at £9,250 (A$17,900) annually. University fees in the US vary significantly, ranging from US$12,320 for public colleges to $50,000 annually at elite private institutions.
Meanwhile, several European countries, including Austria, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, Greece, Iceland, Luxembourg, Norway, and Sweden, offer free education for some or all courses. Harrison Brennan, president of the University of Sydney’s Student Representative Council and a politics and philosophy student, already owes $33,000. He expressed frustration, suggesting that Labor aims to “prolong the attack on critical thinking.” Brennan highlighted the palpable anger among students who feel they have been deceived, forced to pay more for an education that many in parliament received for free.
In response to questions about when the federal government would address the increased costs for affected courses, as recommended in the accord, Education Minister Jason Clare indicated that reforms extend beyond a single budget. He noted the establishment of an Australian tertiary education commission to steer reform, including course fee settings.
Andrew Norton, a professor in higher education policy at Australian National University, described the JRG as a “booby trap” for the subsequent government, necessitating a temporary fix before the education commission’s implementation. Norton’s modeling suggests that arts graduates with median career earnings may never fully repay their debts under the current rates, even with low indexation. He advocates for a system where charges are based on an individual’s capacity to pay, though the education commission is not expected to commence work until mid-2025, with potential changes not anticipated until 2027.
Under the Hecs/Help scheme, it was never intended for individuals with normal incomes to remain in debt indefinitely. Norton emphasized that many debts might never be repaid, rendering lifelong debt an impractical policy.
Greens deputy leader and higher education spokesperson, Mehreen Faruqi, criticized Labor’s reluctance to eliminate the fee hikes, exacerbating the student debt crisis. She argued that soaring student debt is already impeding access to the housing market, further education, and family planning. Faruqi contended that young people are finding it increasingly difficult to distinguish between Labor and the Liberals due to the Albanese government’s support for Morrison’s university fee hikes and the growing student debt crisis.
