People unwilling to take on debt will be disadvantaged by increased fees foreshadowed at Western Australia's top university, unionists say.
The University of WA (UWA) says it will charge 30 per cent more on current prices if the federal government deregulates high education.
In a submission to the Senate standing committee on education and employment, UWA says it will charge a flat annual fee of $16,000 for undergraduate degrees from 2016 when the Commonwealth plan is in place.
Fees for a full medical degree at UWA could cost more than $100,000.
National Union of Students national president Diana Taylor said the price of higher education would make people decide very differently about what and when they studied.
"Degrees of this cost will lead to an impact on access to higher education for disadvantaged West Australians. I have no doubt that will be the case," Ms Taylor told AAP.
"We're going to see an impact on mature age students, rural and regional students ... people unwilling to take on that debt."
UWA deputy vice-chancellor Alec Cameron said the higher fees were not a barrier to entry given the fees were deferred and studies showed degrees paid for themselves many times over once the graduate was in the workforce.
He said the flat rate for undergraduate degrees gave prospective students certainty.
"Students will make choices of their areas of study ... not influenced by different prices per unit of study but instead their choices will be academically motivated by their interests and their career plan," he told ABC radio on Tuesday.
Professor Cameron said whether the higher fees would put prospective students off UWA would depend on its competitiveness compared with other universities.
"We don't expect we will see any significant drop-off in demand," he said.
National Tertiary Education Union (NTEU) Jeannie Rea said UWA's fees reinforced what the NTEU had been warning since the federal budget, and increased debts and charges were only the beginning.
"It is very clear that entry to UWA will now be based on ability and willingness to pay, not merit," she said.
But Education Minister Christopher Pyne said UWA's submission had left the Labor-NTEU scare campaign on university fees in tatters.
"Labor and the NTEU claim university fees will increase to more than $32,000 a year," Mr Pyne said.
"(UWA) has set fees at half of that figure, exposing Labor's shameless scare campaign."
Opposition education spokesman Kim Carr said Labor remained opposed to the government's "morally bankrupt and reckless plan to destroy one of the best and fairest higher education systems in the world".
Edith Cowan University and Murdoch University say they are reviewing their fee structures.
UWA is yet to decide how to adjust its postgraduate pricing.
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