2025: Unpaid and Overstretched: Students in the Cost-of-Living Crisis

Claire wakes up at four thirty am to get ready for a long day working at the aged care facility. After she pays for parking and leaves her belongings in her locker, she works with elderly patients for eight hours and finishes the day off with a thirty-minute reflection. “I did that for two weeks every day,” she says. Her head lulls to the side as she hears the voices of her colleagues fading, too exhausted to pay attention. When she finally gets back to her car and checks her bank account, it’s at zero dollars. Because Claire is a university student studying a Bachelor of Nursing, and students doing placements don’t get paid. This is happening across Australia, with thousands of students going through hours of compulsory unpaid placements every day so they can graduate. Research by Griffith University shows that ‘Placement Poverty’ is more than just financial struggles. “95% reported… a significant hardship on wellbeing,” they said in an article published in the Australian Nursing and Midwifery Journal in 2024. “To work eight hours without even being paid…emotionally it was more frustrating, but physically I was very tired,” Claire says. With the cost of living rising rapidly, these students are extremely vulnerable to the challenges of financial hardship, and they need help to combat the pressures of paying for living expenses during hours of unpaid work.

Students undertaking unpaid placements bear an enormous financial burden. Research by Professor of Management Deanna Grant-Smith and Professor of Work and Organisation Paula McDonald suggests that practical placements are vital for students to engage in their future professions. “Unpaid work experience has become a compulsory rite of passage,” they said in their article, published in The Conversation in 2024. However, for some study areas, the excessive hours of these placements cut into time when students could be doing paid work. “[Hours] have been negotiated with the accrediting bodies and the industry. But during COVID…they had to cut back the number of hours or change the nature of the placements, and nobody’s suggesting that those students who graduated were any less competent than their peers before or after,” Deanna says. If the 800-1000 hours of placement can’t be negotiated, there should be some form of compensation for their hard work. “The more that a student is engaging in… work that benefits the organisation and work that someone would otherwise be paid to do, that’s when I think they absolutely should be paid,” Deanna says.

According to Fair Work, “Students completing placements are not considered to be employees and therefore are not entitled to the minimum wage or other entitlements provided under the FW Act.” However, research from the Government of Canada website in 2023 suggests that, unlike in Australia, Canadians pay their students for placement. “The Student Work Placement Program gives post-secondary students across Canada paid work experience related to their field of study.” If other countries allow students to be paid for placements, what’s stopping Australia from doing the same? Now, more than ever, students need to receive compensation so they can afford basic living expenses during the cost-of-living crisis.

The cost-of-living crisis in Australia affects everyone, but students are at higher risk because of their limited time to work paying jobs. Students who must also take on placement are at the complete mercy of this crisis and must rely solely on either their savings or others to help with expenses. Clinical and Health Psychologist Dr Peta Stapleton says, “Unless they have family support, then they may not have the funds to eat well and live somewhere that is conducive to working long hours.” Undertaking placement is similar to working a full-time job, and without receiving any funds from their long hours, they may not be able to pay for basic human needs. “The reality is that rents are higher, accommodation shortages are the norm, and everyday food items are more expensive now,” says Peta.

Most students don’t have any choice but to work during their placements to survive. But this comes with dangers, particularly in medical fields. “If the financial aspect is a burden and perhaps, they are also working outside of placement to support themselves, then it will definitely impact their work,” says Peta. Being physically and emotionally exhausted when working in a medical field, even during a university placement, is a major issue that impacts everyone in the workplace. If patients knew that these students were working night and day to support themselves, would they still be open to receiving their vaccinations? But, physical and emotional exhaustion is the only option for some students to be able to afford food and a roof over their heads during unpaid placement.

There are many possible solutions to Placement Poverty that can help students during a cost-of-living crisis. Deanna suggests that “[Placements shouldn’t] be time-based; they should be competence-based.” So much time would be saved if students were evaluated based on requirements instead of continuing to work the compulsory hours with enough experience to start in the workforce. “Some of my goals, I didn't even get to complete. That was probably the worst thing,” says Claire. This would allow students to have extra time to do paid work and continue their studies. Another solution could be to pay students based on their experience levels. Deanna says, “the level of contribution that a student can make is going be very different depending on the nature of the placement, the length of the placement, and also how far into their degree they are.” A great example of this is Apprentice Pay Rates in Australia, where the apprentice wage goes up depending on how many years they’ve been working. This solution may also encourage students to work harder to receive the benefits. Students undertaking university placement need assistance during the cost-of-living crisis, and these solutions could be the key to ensuring financial security.

Claire’s experience with her aged care placement was just the beginning of her journey with unpaid placement. She has 800 hours to complete, all of which will be unpaid. Although university placements are beneficial for practical learning, the physical, emotional and financial toll to these student’s well-being can’t be ignored any longer. Deanna says, “I think that this is a recognition that students do hurt and that we need to take that seriously.”