Higher Education Support Amendment (Fair Study and Opportunity) Bill 2025: Dai Le's Push to Cut Student Fees for Society and Culture Degrees

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Higher Education Support Amendment (Fair Study and Opportunity) Bill 2025: Dai Le's Push to Cut Student Fees for Society and Culture Degrees

The Higher Education Support Amendment (Fair Study and Opportunity) Bill 2025, introduced by Independent MP Dai Le on 25 August 2025, seeks to amend the Higher Education Support Act 2003 to reduce the maximum student contribution amount for Commonwealth supported places in units of study classified under the 'society and culture' field of education. The bill takes aim at the Morrison Government's Job-ready Graduates Package, which from 2021 substantially increased student contributions for humanities, social sciences, law, and communications degrees — the very subjects captured by the 'society and culture' classification — while reducing fees for courses deemed to have stronger employment outcomes such as teaching, nursing, and STEM. Under the current fee structure, students in society and culture disciplines face maximum annual student contributions of approximately $16,323, compared to $4,445 for teaching and nursing. Le's bill would directly amend the funding clusters in the Higher Education Support Act to lower the maximum contribution amount for these subjects, though the specific reduced rate would be specified in the bill's text and accompanying schedules. At the time of writing, the bill remains before the House of Representatives, having been introduced and had its second reading moved on 25 August 2025. It has not been debated or voted upon. As a private member's bill from a crossbench MP, its passage would require government or broad cross-party support.

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Evidence review

What the Bill Proposes

The Higher Education Support Amendment (Fair Study and Opportunity) Bill 2025 is a private member's bill that would amend the Higher Education Support Act 2003 to reduce the maximum student contribution amount for Commonwealth supported places in units of study within the 'society and culture' field of education. This field encompasses a wide range of disciplines including political science, sociology, law, economics, communications and media studies, history, philosophy, languages, criminology, and human welfare studies.

The bill's central mechanism is an amendment to the student contribution amounts specified in the Act's funding clusters. Under the current framework, student contributions are divided into four bands based on the government's assessment of the national priority and employment outcomes of each discipline. Society and culture subjects sit in Band 4 — the highest band — with maximum annual contributions of approximately $16,323 for a full-time study load in 2025. By comparison, Band 1 subjects (teaching, nursing, clinical psychology, English, mathematics, and agriculture) have contributions capped at $4,445 per year.

Le's bill would alter the applicable maximum contribution rate for society and culture subjects, though the exact reduced amount would be specified in the bill's schedules. The bill does not appear to alter Commonwealth contribution amounts — the government subsidies that accompany student contributions — meaning universities' total funding per place in these disciplines would decrease unless offset by increased government contributions.

Evidence review

Background: The Job-ready Graduates Package

The student contribution structure targeted by Le's bill was established by the Job-ready Graduates Package, legislated in October 2020 and taking effect from 1 January 2021. The package was the most significant restructuring of higher education funding since the Dawkins reforms of the late 1980s, fundamentally reshaping the balance between student and Commonwealth contributions across disciplines.

Under the package, student contributions for society and culture degrees increased by approximately 113 per cent, from a pre-2021 maximum of around $6,804 per year to the current level. At the same time, fees for 'national priority' areas such as teaching, nursing, and STEM were reduced. The government's stated rationale was to incentivise students towards disciplines with stronger employment outcomes and to reflect the private benefit graduates receive from their education.

The package was controversial from its inception. Universities Australia, the National Union of Students, and various academic bodies argued that the changes were not evidence-based and would deter students from humanities and social science disciplines that are essential for a well-functioning democracy, legal system, and public service. Multiple reviews — including by the Productivity Commission and the Australian Universities Accord — have since recommended either reforming or replacing the Job-ready Graduates fee structure.

Evidence review

Who the Bill Affects

The primary beneficiaries of the bill would be domestic undergraduate students enrolled in Commonwealth supported places in society and culture disciplines at Australian public universities. This is a substantial cohort — according to Department of Education data, society and culture was the most popular broad field of education in 2023, accounting for approximately 22 per cent of all domestic undergraduate enrolments.

Universities would be directly affected through changes to their funding arrangements. If the bill reduces student contributions without increasing Commonwealth contributions, universities would receive less total funding per place in affected disciplines. This could create financial pressure on humanities and social science faculties, potentially affecting course offerings, staffing, and research capacity — though these effects would depend on how universities and the government respond to any funding gap.

The bill also has implications for students from lower socioeconomic backgrounds. Research has shown that the Job-ready Graduates fee increases disproportionately affected students from disadvantaged backgrounds, who are more likely to be debt-averse and sensitive to the cost of study. Reducing fees for society and culture subjects could improve equity of access, though this depends on the magnitude of the reduction and whether it addresses the broader cost-of-living pressures facing students.

Evidence review

Legislative Status and Remaining Steps

As of July 2026, the Higher Education Support Amendment (Fair Study and Opportunity) Bill 2025 remains before the House of Representatives. It was introduced and read a first time on 25 August 2025, and the second reading was moved on the same day by MP Dai Le. There has been no second reading debate, no referral to a committee, and no vote.

For the bill to become law, it must pass the House of Representatives (its originating house), pass the Senate, and receive Royal Assent. As a private member's bill without government backing, the path to passage is narrow. However, the bill addresses an area of higher education policy that has attracted significant political attention. The Australian Universities Accord final report, released in February 2024, recommended that the government develop a new funding model to replace the Job-ready Graduates structure, and the government has indicated it is considering reform options.

The bill could also be referred to the House Standing Committee on Employment, Education and Training or a joint select committee for inquiry. A committee process would allow universities, student groups, employer organisations, and the public to provide evidence on the impacts of the current fee structure and the merits of the proposed reform.

Evidence review

Sponsor: MP Dai Le and the Politics of the Bill

Dai Le is the Independent member for Fowler, a diverse electorate in western Sydney with a significant proportion of residents from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds and below-average household incomes. Le was first elected in 2022, defeating Labor's candidate in what had historically been one of the safest Labor seats in the country. Her electoral platform included a strong focus on education equity, economic opportunity, and representation for her community.

Le's sponsorship of a bill to reduce fees for society and culture degrees is consistent with her advocacy for her electorate, where many residents are first-generation university students or from families where university attendance is not the norm. High student contributions can be a barrier to participation for these cohorts, and the concentration of society and culture enrolments among students from diverse and lower-SES backgrounds makes the fee structure a matter of equity.

Politically, the bill also functions as a marker for the broader debate about the Job-ready Graduates package. By introducing a specific legislative proposal, Le provides a concrete alternative around which parliamentary and public discussion can coalesce, even if the bill itself does not pass. This is a common function of private members' bills in the Australian Parliament — they set out a position and invite the government to respond.

Evidence review

Evidence Gaps and Unanswered Questions

Several important details of the bill are not available from the official summary provided on the Parliament website. The exact reduced student contribution amount is not stated, and the basis on which it has been calculated is unknown. It is also unclear whether the bill proposes transitional arrangements for students who have already commenced degrees under the current fee structure.

The bill does not address the Commonwealth contribution side of the funding equation. If student contributions are reduced without a corresponding increase in Commonwealth grants, the total funding per place would fall, with potential consequences for university budgets and the quality of education. The bill's explanatory memorandum (available on ParlInfo) may discuss this interaction, but a full assessment of the financial implications would require modelling by the Parliamentary Budget Office or the Department of Education.

There is also an open question about whether reducing fees for one broad field of education would create pressure for fee reductions in other fields, and how this interacts with the government's broader higher education reform agenda, including the implementation of the Universities Accord recommendations.

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