Students

Labor is for Students

Labor is giving extra support to students and young Australians to help them make ends meet.

We know it can be tough for young people to keep up with living costs – especially if they’re at university, TAFE or just starting out in the workforce.

That’s why Labor is giving students the opportunity to earn more without affecting Youth Allowance payments. Young people who work can now earn up to $405 per fortnight and still get full Youth Allowance.

Students on Youth Allowance, Austudy or ABSTUDY will get an upfront extra payment of $1025 in July to help with the costs of going back to university. And from January this year Labor has given students a permanent boost to their fortnightly student payment.

Labor has thrown open the doors of Australia’s universities, with 190,000 more Australians now attending university. This means, for the first time, any Australian with the ability and the commitment will be able to attend university.

An ambitious target has been set by Labor that by 2025, 40 per cent of all 25-to-34-year-olds will hold a bachelor's degree or above, and 20 per cent of undergraduate enrolments will be disadvantaged students from low socio-economic backgrounds. We're well on our way to achieving both.

Labor is investing a record $9 billion over the next four years in skills and training like TAFE in the face of savage cuts by Liberal state governments, because quality education and training is the key to a better job, a better career and a better pay packet.