UTAS Newnham: Masters students outraged at Austudy bombshell

Students in two new masters-level courses are demanding answers after learning they were ineligible for government support despite under severe financial stress. Read the uni’s response.

Students in two masters-level courses being offered at the University of Tasmania’s Newnham campus for the first time this year are demanding answers after learning midway through their first semester they were ineligible for government benefits.

The 35 students registered in the new Master of Physiotherapy and Speech Pathology courses, first announced in August last year under the uni’s Allied Health Expansion Program, are now being offered penalty-free withdrawals in response.

However, Professor Nuala Byrne, Head of the School of Health Sciences, denied the university should have done more to alert students, handballing the issue to the relevant professional accreditation bodies.

This has not washed with the outraged students, approximately 15 of whom on Tuesday lodged an official complaint via UTAS’s Student Advocate.

Students spoken to by the Mercury – some of who uprooted their lives interstate to chase their dream – say they only learnt in late-July via “word of mouth” they would be ineligible for government benefits.

They had enrolled fully expecting they would receive Austudy or Youth Allowance, in light of the lengthy contact hours and onerous placements.

One Master of Physiotherapy student, a Newnham woman who asked not to be named, said she quit her full-time job in advance of her clinical placement as she was “advised I would be unable to work more than five hours a week”.

“When we were told that we were not entitled to Centrelink, I was already at a point of financial distress, where I was just waiting for the first payment,” she said.

“I currently have no money for food, rent and bills, placing increased stress on my partner, which is negatively affecting my mental health.

“From this, I decided to get a job at the hospital, and with the one day a week I work, my studies are now being impacted; however, I literally cannot afford to not work.

“I feel like I am at a lose-lose situation, where I have to work but my studies are suffering, to the point where I thought it would be best to drop out.

“I am so disappointed that the university has not taken the students’ welfare into consideration regarding this issue.”

Another Master of Physiotherapy student, who relocated from Adelaide to study, also said she was at financial breaking point.

“We were told by our lecturers that we should not be working over 10 hours a week due to the large amount of content the course covers,” she said.

“How are we meant to support ourselves (pay rent, food and bills plus have a social life) working only 10 hours a week without the support of Centrelink?

“I am going into the small amount of savings I have and I’m not sure what I will do when this runs out.”

UTAS Newnham Campus. Picture: Chris Kidd

Professor Byrne told the Mercury students in the Master of Physiotherapy course would be eligible for government support from Semester 1, 2023.

“Unlike Bachelor degrees, only certain Masters courses are approved for accessing Centrelink payments such as Youth Allowance and Austudy,” Professor Byrne said.

“New courses are added to the Student Assistance (Education Institutions and Courses) Determination by application to the Social Services Minister in a process that is run by the department once a year.

“Only fully accredited courses will be approved.

“The Master of Physiotherapy was not fully accredited until April this year, after the application process for 2022 had closed.”

The situation regarding the Master of Speech Pathology was more “complex”, she said.

“Speech pathology is provisionally accredited and will remain so until the first cohort graduates. These are the requirements of the relevant professional accreditation body,” she said.

“Because only fully accredited programs are eligible for ministerial approval, this puts our students at a disadvantage in terms of the payments they can access through Centrelink.

“We are seeking to address this situation with the federal government.”

In an email seen by the Mercury, the university encouraged “students who are affected to contact either TUSA or the Student Financial Hardship Scheme to access the full range of support services available”.

“As mentioned last week, we understand that you may wish to consider deferment of your course without penalty. We will support students to withdraw without academic penalty,” the email said.

If students took up this offer, their enrolment in 2023 would be guaranteed.