Cristobal Castro Barrientos

The government’s decision to scrap the one-year fees-free tertiary scheme in this month’s Budget will be contentious. Some will see it as a sensible saving, others as another blow to students facing high living costs. But the bigger question is not whether the scheme should survive. It’s why making a year of tertiary education free did so little to change how many people studied, or who studied. Our new research finds little evidence a fees-free year widened tertiary access.

International education exports – representing the total expenditure by overseas students on tuition and living costs – have climbed to $4.5 billion as enrollment numbers continue their upward trajectory. Embedded in the new Tertiary Education Strategy, the goals have become a cornerstone of government policy, rather than simply a sector ambition. Yet, numbers that work on paper don’t necessarily make for prudent policy.