Paid placements relieve pressure on struggles of working students

The 19 year-old is in her second year of a Bachelor of Secondary Education, majoring in English and Modern History and says when she first heard the announcement on the news, she let out a scream of joy.

"I was sitting on my partner's couch and I yelled 'woo'," she said.

The Maitland resident is about to embark on her first four-week placement as part of her studies and was frustrated that she was told not to work during the placement period.

"It's advised not to work even after school hours because we need that time to recuperate from the day and plan for the next," she said.

"And so that really only leaves open the weekends for work."

"Working gives me a sense of pride, but when that opportunity is taken away from me in order to be able to access the degree that I need to be able to go into the sector that I want to work in, it's quite frustrating."

Her first placement will require her to travel up to an hour away but she was grateful that the government funding would come in time for her rural placement next year which could be in Dubbo or Broken Hill.

"We're expected to foot the entire bill for that. It is expensive when you're expected not to be working. It's painful," she said.

Ms Mann is not eligible for Centrelink services due to her parents' income and she respected that previous students have been managing unpaid placements for many years.

"People have been doing these placements for however long, unpaid and managing to get by but it does take a strain off, knowing we're going to be getting some money," she said. "I think it's absolutely fantastic."

She said it was a step in the right direction and hoped there could be something for students who are studying allied health.

Newcastle occupational therapist Hayley Caves graduated from the University of Newcastle last year and said living in placement poverty was rough.

"In my third year placement, my partner was studying teaching at the time and we both had an eight-week placement at the same time," she said.

"We had rent, bills, groceries, petrol - you name it. And neither of us were earning any money."

She said her fourth-year placement was 10 weeks, again no pay.

"I was working three jobs and then still trying to fit in babysitting and cleaning for friends and things like that just to save up for the placements," she said.

"You save, work your butt off, get to placement, you're burnt out then you're broke.

"Then you get to graduation and everyone says aren't you happy?

"But it's like, no my mental health is in the toilet, and I have no money."

Ms Caves said it was frustrating that there had been no funding announced for allied health students but she understood why teachers, nurses and social workers were being targeted.

"There's a huge teacher and nurse shortage. So I do understand where the government is coming from, they can't just fix it overnight," she said.