Education Minister Christopher Pyne has been forced to clarify parts of the federal government's controversial higher education reforms, which he concedes may not all survive the Senate.
Mr Pyne and Prime Minister Tony Abbott appeared to stumble on details of planned deregulation of university fees and changes to HECS debt repayments during separate radio interviews on Wednesday.
Both men claimed the changes will only affect students enrolling in courses from 2016, when in fact the budget papers suggest they will affect students immediately.
Mr Pyne was forced to clarify on Thursday, saying that students who were enrolled before last week's budget will not have their fees changed at all - unless they change to another course.
Those who enrol after January 1, 2016 definitively will face fees under the new regime - provided the budget measures pass.
Anybody who enrols from May 14 will potentially face deregulated fees from 2016.
Individual universities may allow students to continue on the fees that they enrolled under before 2016.
"Universities might well say to those students: you can continue beyond the 1st of January 2016 under the arrangements under which you enrol," he added.
Mr Pyne was speaking to reporters after a speech to an Australian Council for Private Education and Training conference in Sydney on Thursday.
A small number of riot police gathered at the venue amid fears - ultimately unfounded - of further student protests over the government's reforms, following rallies on Wednesday.
Mr Pyne told the conference that he was confident that most - but not all - the reforms would pass the Senate.
"I think most of it will pass," he said.
"Our job is to get as much of this through as possible - I want it all through.
"And I can see that there's a very fair chance that almost all of it will get through."
Labor Senator Kim Carr spoke at the same conference earlier in the day and said Labor would not vote for the reforms, which he labelled "a shambles".
Senator Carr claimed further deregulation of the higher education sector could also allow "criminals, charlatans and crooks" to set up fake colleges and 'degree mills'.
Share
