Uni fee overhaul ‘a blow to nation’s mental health’, psychologists claim

The top psychologists’ group wants the overhaul scrapped, saying students will avoid the field at a crucial time for mental health.

Education Minister Dan Tehan says more psychologists are needed after the bushfires and COVID-19. Picture: AAP

The nation’s top psychologists’ group has urged the Morrison government to scrap its overhaul of university fees, as students may have to pay up to $25,000 more for psychology degrees despite the field being singled out as a post-pandemic job creator.

Education Minister Dan Tehan last week said the nation needed more psychologists to help Australians recover from the summer bushfires and the COVID-19 pandemic.

The student cost of postgraduate psychology degrees will fall by $3104 per year under the government’s new scheme but the undergraduate units will increase by $7696.

Over a typical six-year course, psychology graduates could see their overall HECS debt go up by $25,000 under the new system.

Registered psychologists in Australia must complete a Masters of Clinical Psychology to work and they can only get into that course with a Bachelors in Psychology or Behavioural science.

Australian Psychological Society chief executive Frances Mirrabelli told The Australian the fee changes will lead to fewer psychology courses and fewer graduates.

“The unfortunate knock-on effect of this is not only that we may see fewer students going through to postgraduate study, but that it may become unviable for universities to continue offering undergraduate psychology programs,” she said.

“Australians have experienced immense challenges to their mental health this year as a result of the bushfire crisis and COVID-19, and we are deeply concerned that these funding changes will ultimately mean we end up with fewer psychologists.

“We are calling on the federal government to reconsider these funding changes and truly demonstrate its commitment to the mental health of our nation.”

The Education Minister confirmed on Wednesday that undergraduate psychology students would have to pick units in other job-creating subjects, such as maths, IT, and languages if they wanted to decrease the costs of their overall degree.

“These reforms are incentivising students to take the final step to become a registered psychologist,” Mr Tehan said.

“Under our package, students are encouraged to break down the traditional undergraduate degree ‘silos’ and choose units of study across disciplines to give them skills in areas of expected job growth and reduce their student contribution.

“Under our reforms, every university has the autonomy to charge below the rate cap for psychology or any other course unit.”

Some higher education experts — including HECS scheme architect Bruce Chapman — have warned that students are unlikely to follow price signals and pick units outside their preferred field because they do not have pay for their time at university until they move into the workforce.

Opposition education spokeswoman Tanya Plibersek slammed the psychology fee changes.

“Communities that have suffered through the terrible summer bushfires deserve so much better than this. The minister has been caught out — far from making it cheaper to study clinical psychology, he’s jacking up fees by a massive $25,000,” she said.

“It’s just like everything this government announces — you get a fancy marketing slogan one day, then a whole lot of nasty detail the next.”