It seems everything I read recently is about the increase in cost/price; whether it’s the ridiculous price of property, fashion or more recently the cost of University Education.

Most recently Turnbull’s government introduced a revamped university package that includes $2.8 billion cuts to universities, ultimately resulting in students paying more for their degrees. Under the planned changes students studying a four-year bachelor degree will pay between $2,000 and $3,600 more over the duration of their course. In addition to this added pressure, the repayment threshold for a HELP/HECS loan will be lowered to $42,000 p/a from the current $55,000 p/a threshold!

To put things into perspective Australia is one of the most expensive place to study university with a six-year medical degree costing a student approximately $75,000.

The cost of degree’s vary significantly between courses, states and universities; here are a few costs of common areas of study

• Bachelor degree:                                 $15,000 – $33,000
• Master’s degree:                                 $20,000 – $37,000
• Doctoral degree:                                 $14,000 – $37,000

Regardless of the high (and increasing) cost of our education, Australian university’s still boasts the world’s highest concentration of international students (with the USA still by far the most popular destination for international students).

Average tuition fees for American Universities are:

• Public four-year college $9,650
• Private non-profit four-year college $33,480

Tuition fees in the UK are considerable expensive as well for example:

• Undergraduate degree:                 >$16,000

These figures show that on a global scale our fees clearly aren’t the most expensive nor should they be. If Australia’s university’s ranked high in the world standards absolutely charge us an ‘arm and a leg’, but the truth is they don’t and the disparity between the cost of university tuition in Australia and the level of education provided is significant.

The government needs to support our students, they are our future leaders. Let’s encourage further education and not make it an unfavourable and unattainable option. There are too many young candidates coming to my office seeing to gain full time employment post-secondary school as opposed to embarking on a university qualification. Australia will need educated individuals but without support and a system of encouragement I fear this may not exist; particularly in a market of constant price rises, high cost of living and stagnant employment salaries.