Why have we been excluded? The students left out of Labor’s promised placement payments

Calum Neish, studying physiotherapy, misses out on Labor’s placement payments in common with medicine, radiography, veterinary science, occupational therapy and psychology students Photograph: supplied

By the time Lauren – not her real name – finishes her radiography degree, she’ll have completed 1,600 hours of work without pay.

So when the government announced this week that it would give students in care degrees payment for undertaking mandatory placements, the fourth-year student was excited.