Cost-of-living crisis widens regional-metro higher education gap
Trinity Nitschke is one of many regional high school students planning to move to a city for university. (ABC Riverland: Jackson Byrne)
In short:
The cost-of-living crisis is making it more challenging for regional students to move to a city for higher education.
The Country Education Foundation says only two in five of its supported students are eligible for government support.
What's next?
The foundation and regional families want more support to make the transition easier.
The gap between regional and metropolitan students accessing higher education is widening as the cost-of-living and housing crises worsen across the country.
While most students entering their final year of school are focusing on academic achievement, many regional students are already making plans to move out of home to pursue further education or training.
Loading...Year 12 student Trinity Nitschke, who lives in the Riverland region of South Australia, said she was lucky to have a blueprint to follow.
She watched her older siblings move to Adelaide and Melbourne for university in recent years.
"Now as I'm going through year 12 and looking at scholarships and degrees, I'm really seeing the groundwork that my brother and sister had to do to get where they are now," she said.
Trinity, 16, and her mum Paula Nitschke have already made multiple enquiries about accommodation, scholarships and education opportunities to allow her to study a degree in biomedicine in Melbourne next year.
Year 12 students often need to balance the demands of school with planning a move to the city. (ABC Riverland: Jackson Byrne)
"It's definitely challenging going from such a small community and a small high school to a big city where it's a lot busier with more people and … [is] more expensive," Trinity said.
While Trinity is fortunate to have her family's financial backing to try and secure board at a residential college in Melbourne, it is not a guaranteed option.
"Financially for us as a family, that's a significant cost," Ms Nitschke said.
"For [country kids] there's that added pressure for them to find employment and … to fund a lifestyle or go buy extra things, you actually need to go find a job.
"It's also negotiating things like public transport, understanding city life, where to go, how to cook for yourself … that adds pressure."
Trinity said navigating scholarship opportunities to reduce the financial impact on her family and fund the move was challenging.
The Country Education Foundation says more support is needed for regional students. (ABC News: Lucas Hill)
"Seeing how little there is to actually apply for, it's a bit daunting because there's so much that's out of my control when I'm applying for scholarships,"she said.
"I'm trying to do the best I can with volunteering and creating a community resume … so if there was an opportunity that came up, I [would be] ready for it."
Equal opportunity
The Country Education Foundation advocates for equal access to further education and career opportunities for rural and regional youth.
Trinity and Paula Nitschke are preparing for Trinity to move to a city for university. (Supplied: Paula Nitschke)
It supported about 800 students across Australia in 2025, 82 per cent of whom needed to leave home to pursue further education or training last year.
Chief executive Wendy Mason said the cost-of-living crisis was making things more difficult for young people from country areas.
She said only one in five of the students supported by her foundation received financial assistance from their families, and only two in five were eligible for government support.
"The majority of [students] who receive our support say … they wouldn't have been able to make the move [without it]," she said.
"The cost of finding that other bedroom, the one that's not in your home community, is significant and it is a real barrier.
"The vast majority of the students we support want to return to a rural and regional community with those qualifications to live and work and be part of a thriving rural and regional community in the future."
Wendy Mason hopes there will be more support for rural and regional students pursuing higher education in the future. (Supplied: Country Education Foundation)
Ms Mason said young regional people who needed to complete an unpaid placement as part of their course faced an additional setback, with half of the foundation's students being in that position.
"They're not able to necessarily be earning in a part-time role [during placement] … and may need to move and find finances to be able to do that," she said.
"Those funds are really often quite stretched."
Change on the horizon
Federal Education Minister Jason Clare said he would introduce legislation to expand the demand-driven funding system to include regional and remote university students in the next few months.
"It will mean if you get the marks, or you've got the skills, you will get a Commonwealth-supported place," he said.
Jason Clare says the Universities Accord has shown that by 2050, 80 per cent of workers will need a university degree or TAFE qualification. (ABC News: Ian Cutmore)
He said the program already existed for Indigenous students and expanding it was a recommendation of the Universities Accord.
Mr Clare said study hubs across the country and the government's Paid Prac initiative were also making change.
For Trinity and her mum, while the challenge of leaving home to head to uni in the "big smoke" was challenging, it was also exciting.
Trinity Nitschke is excited to see what big city life might offer. (ABC Riverland: Jackson Byrne)
"For my other children, it enhanced their learning … it's a great opportunity," Paula said.
The mum of three said the best way regional students could prepare for the experience was by speaking to other families who had already made the move.
"We all know someone that's going through that stage at this time or later on and supporting each other through that is a huge help," she said.