Financial pressures on tertiary-level students have increased substantially amid the current cost-of-living conditions and those required to do extensive unpaid internships say they are in trouble.
Protesters gathered at the University of New South Wales, rallying against mandatory unpaid internships for teaching and social work students.
Those at the event, such as third-year social work student Isaac Wattenberg, say these work experience requirements are pushing them into poverty.
Unions New South Wales warns Australia cannot attract the workers it needs in these critical industries without remunerating students for their work.
In Australia, social work students must complete 1,000 hours of vocational training as part of their studies, while undergraduate teaching students must complete at least 80 days in the classroom.
In new analysis from Unions New South Wales, they compared the number of hours students spent on vocational training against the national minimum wage, claiming that students are being denied the chance to earn up to $21,000 in wages.
A survey by the published earlier this year looked at the experiences of 700 social work students undergoing unpaid internships, as well as 500 educators and practitioners who facilitated the training.
Last December the federal government announced a $328 million National Teacher Workforce Action Plan to attract, train and retain more teachers.
The scheme includes $56 million for bursaries, which are scholarships awarded to teaching students on the basis of financial need.
