Australian fee changes could benefit NZ universities

The federal government of Australia is doubling the annual domestic fee for humanities degrees and slashing the cost of courses it says are in demand in the workforce such as teaching and nursing, in a move that is expected to affect New Zealand students and universities, writes John Gerritsen for RNZ.

From next year, new students enrolling in subjects including communications, social studies and law would pay AU$14,500 a year (NZ$15,500 or US$10,000), while those in programmes including English, languages, maths and agriculture would pay AU$3,700 (NZ$4,000 or US$2,500) a year. The changes apply to fees for domestic students and are expected to include New Zealand students in Australia, who are charged the same fees as Australians.

The president of Australia’s National Union of Students, Molly Willmott, said the announcement sparked outrage and could affect a lot of New Zealanders. She said it was too early to know if the increase would drive Australian students to enrol at New Zealand universities, but it was a possibility.
Full report on the RNZ site