Newly arrived students face many challenges in Australia

A new survey from Universities Australia has found about one in seven students in 2017 regularly went without food and other necessities because they could not afford them. For regional students and those from low socio-economic backgrounds, that figure rises to one in five, while one quarter of Indigenous students went without because of financial hardship.

Newly arrived student might face challenges Source: Pixabay

The Universities Australia Student Finances Survey 2017 - released Monday - found that while the financial circumstances of students have slightly improved overall, this is because students are spending less, rather than earning more.

The survey - run out of the Melbourne Centre for the Study of Higher Education - found that, while the vast majority of those at university support themselves through paid work, around one third of full-time students have estimated expenses that are greater than their earnings.