 |
Media Release
STUDENTS FINALLY FREED FROM COMPULSORY UP-FRONT FEES - VOLUNTARY STUDENT UNIONISM LEGISLATION PASSES
9 December 2005 MIN 2064/05
University students across Australia will no longer have to pay compulsory union fees or be forced to join student unions, with the Australian Senate today passing the Higher Education Support Amendment (Abolition of Compulsory Up-front Student Union Fees) Bill 2005.
From 1 July, 2006, no student will be forced to join a student organisation, union or guild. In addition, no student will be forced to pay a fee to an institution for non-academic amenities, facilities or services.
Australian students currently pay between $100 and $590 a year in union fees as a condition of enrolment. These fees are unrelated to students’ academic courses and are charged with no regard for their ability to pay.
In 2005, student unions acquired more than $160 million in compulsory fees from Australian full-time undergraduate students. The list is topped by the University of Sydney, whose 26,517 students were forced to pay $14.19 million, with yearly fees up to $590. Monash University students were next, having been forced to pay $13.4 million in compulsory fees. (see attached list of all universities)
Part-time students and external students, who may never set foot on a campus, are also required to pay compulsory fees for services they do not use.
Why is it that a single mother training to be a nurse should be forced to pay for the canoeing or mountaineering club when all she wants is a degree? However, any student who wants to be part of a sporting or social club should have the right to do so and this legislation will allow those students to pay for those services if they make that choice.
The Howard Government does not believe that students who enrol at Australian universities to study for a degree should be forced into union membership and forced to pay compulsory union fees.
I would like to thank Senator Steve Fielding of Victoria for his thoughtful deliberations throughout the passage of the Bill. The average university student and their family has much cause to also thank Senator Fielding for his efforts on behalf of their interests.
The Government has also committed $80 million to a three year funding package to support Universities’ recreational and sporting infrastructure and maintenance during the transition period.
Australian university students will finally enjoy the same rights on campus as they enjoy off campus. This legislation will give them those rights.
Media Contact: Dr Nelson’s Office: Yaron Finkelstein 0414 927 663
COMPULSORY UNIVERSITY GENERAL SERVICE AND AMENITIES UP-FRONT FEES 2005
|
Institution |
Indicative Max. Annual Fee (U/grad F/Time, 2005) |
Total F/time U/grad Students, 2004* |
Estimated Total Compulsory Fees 2005 |
|
Charles Sturt University |
$ 272.00 |
12,390 |
$ 3.37m |
|
Macquarie University |
$ 356.00 |
12,712 |
$ 4.53m |
|
Southern Cross University |
$ 349.80 |
5,896 |
$ 2.06m |
|
The University of New England |
$ 370.00 |
6,088 |
$ 2.25m |
|
The University of New South Wales |
$ 502.60 |
20,146 |
$ 10.13m |
|
The University of Newcastle |
$ 364.00 |
13,429 |
$ 4.89m |
|
The University of Sydney |
(new) 590.00 |
26,517 |
$ 14.19m |
|
(continuing) 481.00 |
|
|
|
University of Technology, Sydney |
$ 420.00 |
14,580 |
$ 6.12m |
|
University of Western Sydney |
$ 364.00 |
19,959 |
$ 7.27m |
|
University of Wollongong |
$ 351.50 |
11,013 |
$ 3.87m |
|
NSW Sub-total |
|
|
$ 58.68m |
|
Deakin University |
$ 261.00 |
16,406 |
$ 4.28m |
|
La Trobe University |
$ 360.00 |
16,311 |
$ 5.87m |
|
Monash University |
$ 441.20 |
30,366 |
$ 13.40m |
|
Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology |
$ 500.00 |
22,534 |
$ 11.27m |
|
Swinburne University of Technology |
$ 304.00 |
7,767 |
$ 2.36m |
|
The University of Melbourne |
$ 392.00 |
25,656 |
$ 10.06m |
|
University of Ballarat |
$ 258.00 |
4,413 |
$1.14m |
|
Victoria University of Technology |
$ 295.00 |
10,725 |
$3.16m |
|
Victoria Sub-total |
|
|
$ 51.54m |
|
Central Queensland University |
$ 264.00 |
10,062 |
$ 2.66m |
|
Griffith University |
$ 306.00 |
20,095 |
$ 6.15m |
|
James Cook University |
$ 275.00 |
8,445 |
$ 2.32m |
|
Queensland University of Technology |
$ 242.00 |
23,772 |
$ 5.75m |
|
The University of Queensland |
$ 272.00 |
22,894 |
$ 6.23m |
|
University of Southern Queensland |
$ 360.80 |
7,277 |
$ 2.63m |
|
University of the Sunshine Coast |
$ 210.00 |
2,475 |
$ 0.52m |
|
Queensland Sub-total |
|
|
$ 26.26m |
|
Curtin University of Technology |
$ 110.00 |
21,475 |
$ 2.36m |
|
Edith Cowan University |
$ 100.00 |
13,069 |
$ 1.31m |
|
Murdoch University |
$ 140.00 |
7,069 |
$ 0.99m |
|
The University of Western Australia |
$ 120.00 |
10,937 |
$ 1.31m |
|
Western Australia Sub-total |
|
|
$ 5.97m |
|
The Flinders University of South Australia |
$ 362.80 |
7,940 |
$ 2.88m |
|
The University of Adelaide |
$ 326.70 |
10,820 |
$ 3.53m |
|
University of South Australia |
$ 273.50 |
16,650 |
$ 4.55m |
|
South Australia Sub-total |
|
|
$ 10.96m |
|
University of Tasmania |
$244.00 |
10,892 |
$ 2.66m |
|
Tasmania Sub-total |
|
|
$ 2.66m |
|
Charles Darwin University |
$ 216.00 |
1,956 |
$ 0.42m |
|
Northern Territory Sub-total |
|
|
$ 0.42m |
|
The Australian National University |
$ 220.00 |
7525 |
$ 1.66m |
|
University of Canberra |
$ 270.00 |
5453 |
$ 1.47m |
|
ACT Sub-total |
|
|
$3.13m |
|
Australian Catholic University |
$ 310.00 |
7,182 |
$2.23m |
|
Multi- State Sub-total |
|
|
$ 2.23m |
|
TOTAL |
|
|
$ 161.84m |
*NB: Amounts were calculated on 2004 u/graduate full-time enrolments and do not include compulsory up front fees collected by universities from p/graduate or p/time students.
|
