'Trying to survive': students skip meals to afford regional placements

Jess left an abusive relationship and goes without food during her interstate, unpaid nursing placements. Isaac lived off his partner's disability pension.

Known as 'placement poverty', the policy affects thousands of students who must undertake unpaid placements to secure their degrees.

To drop out, or go without?

When nursing student Jessica Gale left an abusive relationship in June 2022, she didn't expect that she would have to survive off staff room biscuits.

The 29-year-old now sleeps on her brother's couch in Melbourne and travels to the Gold Coast for her nursing placements, often going for one or two days without food.

Students studying teaching, social work, nursing, physiotherapy and medicine are among those affected by placement poverty.

"I never thought in my life that I would ever have to worry about [what I am] going to eat," she said.

"Generally something's gotta give, just so that bills and rent are actually paid."

Nurses must undertake at least 800 hours of unpaid placement, equating to almost six months of unpaid work.

A 2021 study of 2,359 Australian nursing students found that 97 per cent had experienced a loss of regular income during placement with almost half reporting a complete loss of income.

Ms Gale must undertake placement in rural, regional or interstate locations.

"The financial hardship, it has a domino effect on everything," she said.

"I have really had a lot of dark lonely moments going through my placement, it can be really hard to see the light at the end of the tunnel."

Ms Gale is considering deferring her course for the second time because of the "impossible" living conditions.

Milly Lynch will spend winter nights in her van as she completes her social work degree which requires six-months worth of unpaid placement.

The 20-year-old from Port Macquarie in NSW had her first taste of placement poverty when she drove 10 hours to Wagga for a compulsory intensive unit in April.

She couldn't afford food, used a friend's dormitory shower and lingered in the library to charge her laptop.

"I'm pretty cold during the night, just not very comfortable," the Charles Sturt University student said.

"I'm just trying to survive it."

She has 1,000 hours of unpaid social work placement ahead of her and expects to spend many a night in her van.

"I'm going to have to spend more time doing unpaid work, when I'm already trying to do casual work that I'm missing out [on]," she said.

She and thousands of students and industry workers have been lobbying the federal government to include placement funding in the federal budget in May.

"I'd prefer if the government wouldn't see me as a student, but as a whole person who is currently sleeping in a van," Ms Lynch said.

Students Against Placement Poverty spokesperson Isaac Wattenberg has experienced the struggles he is campaigning about.

"In my own personal experience, I was required to live off my partner's disability pension for six months," Mr Wattenberg said during a senate committee hearing.

"I'm sure everyone here is aware that a disability support pension is not necessarily sufficient to pay for two people and rent in Sydney."

The University of New South Wales social work student has been organising rallies and meetings with government officials.

"When we first met with them, it wasn't even on their radar," the 24-year-old said.

The Australian University Accord Final Report was published by the Albanese Government in March and recommends the federal government "work with higher education providers and employers to introduce payment for unpaid placements".

Mr Wattenberg hopes the review's recommendations will be acted upon and gathered with other campaigners in Sydney CBD on April 12 to lobby the issue ahead of the budget.

"I unfortunately don't have a magic ball into the future ... there's a lot of people competing for different things, but we are optimistic that after all the meetings we've had with [federal minister] Jason Clare and the university accords that something will come out of it."

Federal education minister Jason Clare said that "the Government will respond to the Accord's final report shortly".

"The Accord has made recommendations around how we can help students address the challenges of affordability, including paid student placements," he said.

The Accord acknowledged the challenges of unpaid placements particularly on students from low socioeconomic backgrounds and the regions, as well as students with caring responsibilities, the government said.

Queensland University of Technology head of social work Professor Christine Morley said the situation was "absolutely at crisis point" but was hopeful the budget would include the recommended funding.

She said that "we'll have schools with no teachers, hospitals without nurses" if the issue is not addressed.

"We really can't afford to have a civil society without these very fundamental professions."

"Paid placements would make a huge difference," she said.

Lobbyists are also calling for changes in the Fair Work Act to make unpaid placements illegal.