Dai Le's plan to cut history and politics fees lapsed
Dai Le MP is an independent member of Parliament, not part of any party. She wanted subjects such as history and politics moved into a cheaper fee group. The most a student could be charged would have dropped from $15,142 to $4,124. The bill was dropped in March 2026.
Official name: Higher Education Support Amendment (Fair Study and Opportunity) Bill 2025
- Society and Culture subjects would have moved to the cheapest student fee group.
- The most a student could be charged would have dropped from $15,142 to $4,124. These are the bill's own figures.
- It would have covered subjects with a census date on or after 1 January 2025.
- The bill was dropped from Parliament's to-do list on 24 March 2026. It never got a vote.
Who it affects
- Uni students taking Society and Culture subjects: The most they could be charged for these subjects would have dropped a lot.
- Universities: They would have had a lower limit on what they could charge students for these subjects.
- Students who started under older fee rules: The cheaper fee would also have covered them.
Arts subjects cost the most
Many Australian uni students have a place partly paid for by the government. They pay a share of the cost of each subject. This share is called the student contribution.
Most students borrow it through a government student loan. They pay it back once they earn enough.
The law sorts subjects into fee groups. Each group has a top price. In 2020, the Morrison Government made changes called Job-ready Graduates. That was the Liberal and National government led by Scott Morrison. They moved many arts subjects into the most costly group.
Dai Le MP brought this bill. She says the aim of those changes was to push students toward science, tech, engineering and maths. She says it barely changed what students chose. Students kept signing up, but paid much more.
Her notes on the bill say "Australia needs Historians, Philosophers, and Policymakers as much as she does Chemists and Engineers."
Who brought the bill
This was a private bill. That means the government did not bring it. Dai Le MP brought it to the House of Representatives on 25 August 2025. That is the lower house of Parliament.
Society and culture made cheaper
The bill made one main change to the Higher Education Support Act 2003. That is the law that sets uni fees and student loans.
It took the "Society and Culture" field out of the most costly fee group. It put it in the cheapest group.
Society and Culture is the official name for a set of subjects. Dai Le's examples point to history, philosophy and the study of government.
Her notes say this would cut the most a uni could charge from $15,142 to $4,124. The cheaper group already has English and Visual and Performing Arts.
Say you study a politics subject. Under the bill, your uni could charge you the lower amount at most. So your student loan for it would be far smaller.
Students on older fee rules
Some students started before the fee changes. Older rules still cover them. The law calls them grandfathered students.
The bill moved Society and Culture into the cheaper group for these students too. It changed both sets of rules in the same way. So every student in these subjects would get the lower limit.
Planned start
The law would have started the day after it was signed into law. The Governor-General, the King's representative, signs bills into law.
The cheaper fees would have covered subjects with a census date on or after 1 January 2025. The census date is a set day each term. After it, you must pay for the subject.
That date had already passed when the bill came in. So the cut would have been backdated. It would have reached subjects that had already started.
Dai Le's notes say the bill would cost nothing. They do not say how the lower fees would be paid for.
Dropped after time ran out
Dai Le MP brought the bill on 25 August 2025. That day she also started the debate on its main idea.
The House never debated it or voted on it. On 24 March 2026, it was dropped from Parliament's to-do list. Under the House's rules, private bills not dealt with in time are dropped this way.
The bill will not become law in this form.
Its journey through Parliament
| 25 Aug 2025 | House of Representatives: Introduced and read a first time |
| 25 Aug 2025 | House of Representatives: Second reading moved |
| 24 Mar 2026 | House of Representatives: Removed from the Notice Paper in accordance with (SO 42) |