Leila Clarke is in her third year of a double degree in law and international relations at the Australian National University.
When she graduates, she will have a HECS debt of about $80,000 plus indexation.
It's a sum on par with a small house deposit and, while she didn't allow herself to dwell on this when deciding what to study, the task of paying it off feels daunting.
"To be honest, it was, 'I'll deal with that later'," Ms Clarke told The Canberra Times.
"But the reality of the fact that I have to pay so much money is hitting quite strongly."
Fees for arts, humanities, accounting and law degrees were hiked in 2021 under the Morrison government's overhaul of higher education under its Job Ready Graduates legislation.
The aim was to drive increased enrolments in nursing, teaching, agriculture and science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM), producing skilled workers.
Despite being heavily criticised by Labor, the higher fees remain.
Ms Clarke wants the Albanese government to reverse the fee increase.
"I just don't want to spend the rest of my life in debt for a university degree," she said. "I don't think that's fair."
The student, who went to school in Lismore, said many of her former classmates had opted not to pursue higher education "because it is just so expensive."
For her, though, having enjoyed studying humanities subjects in high school, she opted to pursue what she was interested in.
"It never really occurred to me to do a science or STEM degree, it's just not what I enjoy," she said.
"My parents always told us at the point of going to university is to expand your brain and to learn and to think in different ways ... I don't think they would have let me do a degree just because it was cheaper."
Ms Clarke said she had initially planned to become a refugee or immigration lawyer and was now contemplating working in Legal Aid or outside the law.
"It's partly the cost of the degree, but it's also just cost of living in general, like it's quite a luxury that I got to move to Canberra [and] can support myself here," she said.
In November, Greens senator Mehreen Faruqi introduced a bill to reverse the Morrison-era fee hikes, which she said were "cruel, unfair, and downright absurd."
An inquiry into the bill, which would slash the student contribution for most arts students from $17,399 a year back down to $8164, is before the Senate.
The Group of Eight, comprising Australia's top research universities including the ANU, said in its submission to the inquiry that the Job Ready Graduates policy had achieved "little meaningful change in student behaviour."
Meanwhile, it had cut members' funding by a collection $250 million a year and delivered "punitive fees for many humanities, arts and social sciences students, and an incoherent funding system for higher education."
ANU Students Association president Charley Ellwood said in a submission to the inquiry that the policy was a "failure" that had not materially impacted student choice of degrees and had instead made university inaccessible for students from low-socioeconomic backgrounds.
The Albanese government has taken some action to address student debt as it works through the recommendations of the 2024 Universities Accord, but has not committed to reverse the fee rises.
Education Minister Jason Clare said the government was progressing through the Universities Accord's recommendations, including by having established the Australian Tertiary Education Commission.
"I've been clear that the former government's Job Ready Graduates scheme has failed," Mr Clare said.
"The next step is what we are doing to make university quicker and cheaper ... That's what I have asked the ATEC to drive this year.
"The ATEC functions also include providing advice on costs and Commonwealth contributions to higher education.
"This is unfinished business and there is more work to do."
In late 2024, after high inflation added 7 per cent to HECS bills, Labor wiped out almost $3 billion from the nation's student debt by changing the indexation formula to the lower of the consumer price index and wage price index.
A further $16 billion in relief came last year when the government wiped 20 per cent from all HECS debts.
The government also raised the income threshold before graduates must begin repaying their student debts to $67,000 and lowered minimum repayment amounts.
But Ms Clarke said this was not enough.
"For people who are actually at university right now it, doesn't actually do much," she said.
