New political party fights for free education in Australia
For many in Australia, choosing to gain tertiary education means choosing to enter into thousands of dollars of debt. A new political party is on a mission to change that.
On 27 January 2026, Free TAFE Free Uni’s political party submitted registration with the Victorian Electoral Commission. Their party’s goal is simple: to make education free.
Ambitiously, the party is aiming to run candidates in every lower house seat in the November Victorian state election and to register federally in May.
Founder and secretary of Free TAFE Free Uni, Thomas Dolan says, “Whatever the major parties say, every name on the ballot paper is printed the same size. And in November, Free TAFE Free Uni will be on more ballot papers than any other party. Voters will be able to send a message that’s hard to ignore. By running candidates everywhere, we’re giving voters a simple way to say: education matters, and the current system isn’t working.”
So, what is the current system?
The Higher Education Contributions Scheme (HECS) was established in 1989, introducing university fees and student debt. Initially, all degrees had an equal price of $1800 a year. Now, bachelor’s degrees sit at around $5000 to $18000 a year¹ and more than 3 million Australians hold a student debt². While this debt is interest-free, it is indexed.
In recent years, the government has worked to lessen the weight of student debt for Australians, applying a 20% reduction to student debt that existed as of 1 June 2025, and adjusting the HECS-HELP indexation system to use the lower of the Consumer Price Index (CPI) or Wage Price Index (WPI).
However, Dolan argues that this is not nearly enough. He says, “Right now, graduates lose almost 5 per cent of their income to student loan repayments. Those in their 30s are struggling to get their first mortgage because of student debt. Others delay university altogether, or choose a different career, because they can’t justify the debt.”
Dolan recounts the moment he was personally impacted by the current system, saying, “I applied and got into a Bachelor of Commerce at the University of Melbourne, and thought hey, this is great. Then I got to the fees section and realised I’d be starting adult life with $45,000 in debt.”
Is free higher education in Australia a realistic goal?
There are several countries that offer free or nearly free tertiary education to domestic students. Some of these include Germany, Norway, Denmark, Finland, Sweden, Austria, Slovenia, Iceland, Greece, Brazil, Argentina, Mexico, and Cuba.
The Free TAFE Free Uni party argues that Australia could be one of them too.
Critics of free tertiary education raise concerns that eliminating fees may be financially unsustainable for government budgets and come at an unfair cost for non-university educated taxpayers.³
However, Dolan says, “We can make education completely free and forgive all student debts while actually lowering the tax on individuals and small businesses. Funding is a question of prioritisation. Right now, student loan repayments contribute more money to the tax office than taxes on fossil fuel exports”.
In 2023-24, students paid $5.1 billion on HECS/HELP repayments while petroleum companies paid $1.1 billion through the Petroleum Resources Rent Tax (PRRT), almost five times less despite generating a $70 billion revenue.⁴
Additionally, some major gas exporters have paid little to no tax, with gas firms reporting years of zero tax on tens of billions in revenue.⁵
“What we need are representatives who haven’t sold out to the mining industry,” Dolan says.
Is forming a political party solely to fight for free higher education necessary?
Free TAFE Free Uni is not the only Australian party to support free higher education, with the Greens being the most prominent.
However, Dolan argues being a single-issue political party allows a simpler support. “I’ve watched One Nation voters and socialists bond over education at our trestle table,” he says. “People instinctively know that education is a right, and that we need to vote to make it happen.”
Independent polling has shown that a majority of Australians support free university and TAFE and believe that student debt levels are too high.⁶
Dolan argues that going beyond protests and petitions by creating a political party is necessary to place enough pressure on the government to enact change.
What would the success of Free TAFE Free Uni mean?
Election night would be a success to Dolan if pro-education representatives are sitting in the lower house and Free TAFE Free Uni candidates are holding two seats in the upper house.
On a deeper level, success for the party would mean an Australian parliament more open to the idea of universal access to education.
“Your life shouldn’t be influenced by fear of debt,” Dolan says. “No one should have to mortgage their future, especially at the age of 18.”
He believes that for many, the price of the current system discourages risk-taking and restrains ambitions, encouraging students towards ‘safe’ pathways over those that better align with their passions and talents. He argues this is depriving society of what they might have offered.
Looking towards the future
The party is currently seeking candidates, members, and volunteers, with Dolan saying it is 500 members away from federal registration. Those interested or searching for further information can visit their website at www.freetafefreeuni.org.
Whether Free TAFE Free Uni succeeds in their election aspirations or not, their formation reflects a growing frustration over the cost of tertiary education and a questioning of whether the current system is the right one for Australia.
References
1. Department of Education. (2025). 2026 Allocation of units of study to funding clusters. Australian Government. https://www.education.gov.au/higher-education-loan-program/resources/2026-allocation-units-study-funding-clusters
2. Ey, C. (2023, June 9). HELP debt – the evolution of higher education contributions. Australian Parliament House. https://www.aph.gov.au/About_Parliament/Parliamentary_departments/Parliamentary_Library/Research/FlagPost/2023/June/HELP-debt
3. Koster, A. (2025, April 25). ‘Crumbs off the table’: Why some students say they feel left behind this election. SBS News. https://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/the-coalition-wont-back-labors-plan-to-wipe-student-debt-saying-its-unfair-to-tradies/oos11zr1h; Franki, G., & Rajapaksa, T. (2017, October 1). Face-off: Should tertiary education be free? Honi Soit. https://honisoit.com/2017/10/face-off-should-tertiary-education-be-free/#:~:text=The%20push%20for%20free%20tertiary,significant%20role%20in%20university%20attendance.
4. Australian Taxation Office. (2024). Commission of Taxation Annual Report 2024-2025. Australian Government. https://www.ato.gov.au/about-ato/commitments-and-reporting/annual-report-and-other-reporting-to-parliament/annual-report
5. Australian Taxation Office. (2025). 2023-24 Report of Entity Tax Information [Data set]. https://data.gov.au/data/dataset/corporate-transparency/resource/491b366b-aa6f-4b1c-b39d-cebaeeb6f874
6. Logernan Research. (2023). Close to half of Australians think the current student loan system is unfair. https://lonerganresearch.com.au/news/close-to-half-of-australians-think-the-current-student-loan-system-is-unfair-the-green-student-debt-research
Writer: Shannarra Lupardo
Editor: Elizabeth Porporis