Menu
  • All Courses
    • Accounting
    • Arts
    • Business
    • Business Administration
    • Counselling
    • Education
    • Financial Planning
    • Health
    • Hospitality
    • Information Technology
    • Journalism
    • Management
    • Marketing
    • MBA
    • Nutrition
    • Project Management
    • Psychology
    • Science
    • Sports & Fitness
    • Web Development
    • Work Health and Safety
  • Search Courses
  • Education Providers
  • Training.com.au
  • Training.co.nz
  • TAFECourses.com.au
  • Course Providers
    • Open Universities
    • Swinburne Online
    • Southern Cross University
  1. Home
  2. News
  3. May Budget Release: Changes to University Fees and HECS Threshold Set to Hurt Students
Career AdviceInternational StudyNewsStudy Tips
Published 5 May 2017

May Budget Release: Changes to University Fees and HECS Threshold Set to Hurt Students

by Amber Kirkwood

The Turnbull Government’s budget is set to cut University funding by millions, leaving the hundreds of thousands of University students in Australia to cop the full impact. 

may budget release changes to university fees and heck repayment

Despite universities pleading that they couldn’t withstand more cuts, the government’s higher education reform package is set to cause more pain and lead to higher fees for students.

Education Minister, Simon Birmingham delivered the changes at the start of May in what he described as being a ‘measured, modest and balanced’ reform, something of which is being highly debated by university students nationwide.

The changes to university fees have seen a significant reduction in the HECS repayment threshold, the minimum earnings per year that a student must earn before they are to pay back their student loan.

Previously, a student had to be earning close to $55,000 per year to start repaying their student loan, which has been reduced to an income level of $42,000.

This reduction of $13,000 in the HECS minimum threshold will likely drag close to 200,000 students into paying off their loan earlier than anticipated.

Despite the severe drop in HECS repayments, the government has issued a reduction in the loan repayment amount of 1% for minimum threshold earners, though this repayment can be as great at 10% for top earner thanks to the new reform.

Student fees in the budget are set to increase by 8% starting in January 2018, with a four-year course increasing by up to $3,600 more than the current course cost.

Medical degrees will be the most affected, with a price hike to six-year degrees setting students back up to $75,000.

The changes to the University fees are expected to save the government close to 2.8 billion, with students now paying 46%  of their courses and taxpayers making up the rest.

The previous Federal budget under the Abbott government caused Universities to wait in a state of limbo after the considered ‘full-fee deregulation’ policy failed to pass the Senate.

With concerns over the likelihood of degrees costing up to $100,000 under the previous government, the Turnbull government’s Federal Budget, while preventing this, still has a serious impact on Universities and their students through partially deregulated fees, as Universities are forced to raise costs to cover funding cuts.

The cuts were lower than the speculated 25% reduction in funding, but still, has major consequences for the higher education system in Australia.

This isn’t the first time students have been impacted by government changes, with the recent push to discontinue penalty rates, a change which is set to affect the many students currently employed on a casual basis.

The new proposal to now have students start paying off their loans much earlier on in their career has been met with greater conflict, as those affected under the new changes come to terms with the extra burden of repayment.

7b54b32249d519821f44a84e7b281ce9?s=96&d=mm&r=g
Amber Kirkwood

Amber is the Content Marketing Manager for universitycourses.com.au and is passionate about everything and anything to do with the English language. Whether on the job or in her free time, you'll always find her reading, writing and editing everything from essays to creative pieces.

Want to read more?

Here's some more articles similar to this one.

Study Tips

The Ultimate Guide to Making the Most of Your University Experience

University may seem full of assignments, lectures and study groups; and while that is often the case, the social side of Uni is where all the fun is. If you want to…

7b54b32249d519821f44a84e7b281ce9?s=45&d=mm&r=g by Amber Kirkwood 2 May 2017
International Study

7 Tips to Settle into Australia: A Newcomer’s Perspective

Moving the Australia to study can be as daunting as it is exciting – it’s an amazing opportunity to gain an excellent education in a country famed for its hospitality, good weather…

538670c30531e28d7f8c1f379f9a7554?s=45&d=mm&r=g by Ben Conway 11 Oct 2017
Career Advice

How to Make Your Dream of Being a Nutritionist a Reality

As far as careers with a future go, being a nutritionist is definitely up there. The need for professionals passionate about good food and nutrition are needed now more than ever, to…

7b54b32249d519821f44a84e7b281ce9?s=45&d=mm&r=g by Amber Kirkwood 2 May 2017

Latest Articles

7 Tips to Settle into Australia: A Newcomer’s Perspective

Moving the Australia to study can be as daunting as it is exciting – it’s an amazing opportunity to gain an excellent education in a country famed for its hospitality, good weather…

538670c30531e28d7f8c1f379f9a7554?s=45&d=mm&r=g by Ben Conway 11 Oct 2017

The 6 Top Qualities of the World’s Greatest Leaders

Want to join the ranks of the world’s best leaders? If so, start acting like one, because the secret to successful leadership often comes down to a few simple habits. Regardless of…

d26d101357ab276e5edc8ed6b7dba9f0?s=45&d=mm&r=g by Greg Wilcox 7 Sep 2017

What Are the Best Universities in Australia? The QS World Rankings Are In!

Every year, the Top Universities’ QS World University Rankings are released, one of the most comprehensive and in-depth analysis of universities worldwide. Not only does it show how Australia is competing on…

7b54b32249d519821f44a84e7b281ce9?s=45&d=mm&r=g by Amber Kirkwood 22 Aug 2017

More from Student Hub

Career AdviceInternational StudyNewsStudy Tips

Newsletter sign up

We'll email you updates on job trends, career advice, study tips, news and more.
Share
© 2018 UniversityCourses.com.au About Contact Privacy Terms Training.co.nz

This website uses cookies to provide you with the best browsing experience.

Find out more or adjust your settings.

Universitycourses.com.au
Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies so that we can provide you with the best user experience possible. Cookie information is stored in your browser and performs functions such as recognising you when you return to our website and helping our team to understand which sections of the website you find most interesting and useful.

Strictly Necessary Cookies

Strictly Necessary Cookie should be enabled at all times so that we can save your preferences for cookie settings.

If you disable this cookie, we will not be able to save your preferences. This means that every time you visit this website you will need to enable or disable cookies again.

Additional Cookies

This website uses the following additional cookies:

(List the cookies that you are using on the website here.)

Please enable Strictly Necessary Cookies first so that we can save your preferences!