“A slap in the face”: Placement poverty payment doesn’t go far enough, unions say

In response to the federal government’s Commonwealth Prac Payment, which has been described as “a slap in the face”, Greens Senator Mehreen Faruqi will host a shared event discussing increasing student debts and unpaid placements.

Together with Students Against Placement Poverty (SAPP), the union group at the forefront of the change, the “no holds-barred” conversation will focus on “skyrocketing human debts and the burden of unpaid placements.”

After years of student unionisation and political campaigning, the Albanese government announced on Monday that they would establish a payment aimed at tackling placement poverty.” But many are saying that the plan doesn’t go far enough.

From July 2025, teaching, nursing and social work students doing non-paid work placements will be able to receive a Commonwealth payment of $319.50 a week, if they pass the means test.

University students in teaching degrees must do 16 weeks of unpaid practical experience, which equates to about 600 hours, while nurses must complete 20 weeks (800 hours), and social workers 26 weeks (1000 hours).

But even if a student is eligible for the means-tested payment, the government’s full “prac payment” still falls well below minimum wage – about $8 an hour.

In comparison, police trainees get about $1300 a week for their 16 weeks of study. And as of March 2024, student police officers at the Goulburn Police Academy will earn a salary of about $30,984 over that period of study.

Faruqi, also the education spokesperson for the Greens, said the announcement was yet another Labor solution that wouldn’t touch the sides of the cost-of-living crisis.

“Students should be paid at least minimum wage for their work on placement, not a lesser supplementary amount,” Senator Faruqi said in a statement.

“Who knows how many students will be screwed over by means testing? The devil is in the detail.”

She also said it was “a slap in the face” to ignore the many students experiencing placement poverty now, and that the payment should be universal and not limited by degrees.

Veterinary students, for instance, do 52 weeks of unpaid placement throughout their studies, and won’t receive any financial assistance from the government.

Speaking for the roughly 3000 vet students in Australia, Dr Diana Barker, President of the Australian Veterinary Association (AVA), said the announcement was “a huge blow.”

“The fact that their more than 52 weeks of mandatory placement haven’t been recognised in the Federal Government’s placement payments, is a significant oversight,” she continued.

“This does not recognise the essential work veterinarians deliver for individuals and communities across Australia.”

Students undertaking mandatory work placements often have to quit their jobs or even move to another location,

James Sherriff, spokesperson for SAPP, said, “Without a living wage now, students remain in placement poverty despite winning an important concession from the government.”

“Students Against Placement Poverty notes that this change will do very little to alleviate placement poverty in the vast majority of cases, and urges that more drastic change is needed immediately.”

Tonight’s event will take place at St Peters Town Hall at 6:30pm. Addi Road Community Centre has also provided shelf stable food for attendees to take home. Pizza and refreshments will be provided.