My name is Oliver Scott and I am studying Marketing at RMIT (City Campus). I am 23 years old and live with two of my four brothers in Chadstone.

After successfully completing an advanced diploma in sound and audio engineering I was not satisfied that audio engineering was the direction I wanted to head in life, so I began looking for another course to study something completely different. I had the choice between university and TAFE but chose TAFE for numerous reasons – the most important was the cost! Being an independent student, living out of home, paying rent and relying on my Youth Allowance of $450 a fortnight, the cheapest option was going to be the most viable one. My first and second semesters' fees were $50 as I had a healthcare card and was therefore eligible for government help.

Everything was looking good until the Government decided to change its laws and I received a $1200 invoice for 2nd year, Semester 1. This came as quite a shock to me so I did not have sufficient time to manage my finances in order to put money aside each fortnight to pay for it. It put me under a lot of stress and worry, so much that I almost dropped out.

I had to get a credit card so that I could pay the outstanding amount because I would not be allowed to start the next semester until all outstanding debts had been paid. I now have the added stress of trying to squeeze money from my budget to pay my credit card off. I felt there was insufficient warning about the changes the Government was going to make and I don't understand why they made them.