🗞️Cost-of-living adjustments for nursing, teaching, and social work students are welcomed by unions.

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The ACTU welcomes the Albanese government’s announcement to introduce a Commonwealth Practice Payment to support nursing, teaching, midwifery, and social work students. These students must complete mandatory placements to gain university and vocational qualifications.

Australians studying to be teachers, nurses, midwives, and social workers face financial challenges during their placements. This contributes to long-term workforce shortages in these critical fields.

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The Commonwealth Practice Payment will help 68,000 higher education students and over 5,000 VET students each year. It will be means-tested and available from 1 July 2025.

The federal government declared over the weekend that it intended to significantly alter the way HECS debts are indexed.

From July 2025, eligible students will be able to access $319.50 per week (benchmarked to the single Austudy rate) while they’re undertaking a placement.

The payment will be means-tested to target students who need it the most.

For higher education students, the Government will work with the higher education sector to introduce this new assistance payment, to be delivered through eligible higher education providers.

For VET students, the Government will administer the payment through the Department of Employment and Workplace Relations (DEWR). 

Program Guidelines will be developed in collaboration with stakeholders, including First Nations people to ensure the payment is accessible.Since the Higher Education Contribution Scheme, or HECS, is the most popular type of student loan programme in Australia, millions of people may be impacted by these changes.

The Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation (ANMF) has commended the Albanese Government on new support payments for student nurses and midwives undertaking clinical placement training.

ANMF Federal Secretary Annie Butler said the payments would finally recognise the financial and social pressures student nurses and midwives face while completing their studies and completing mandatory clinical placements, for those studying to become registered nurses, this includes a minimum of 800 hours in placements.

“The ANMF has long-advocated for paid support for students undertaking mandatory clinical placements, which is why this is a big win for our student nurses and midwives,” Ms Butler said.

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