However, fees for law and commerce degrees will substantially increase from their already relatively high levels under the proposal, while humanities degrees may increase by more than double.

Speaking Friday morning to ABC News, Education Minister Dan Tehan (pictured) said that the government wants to incentivise students to “undertake courses that will give them the skills to take the jobs of the future. We need young Australians to help us grow our economy through the devastation of the coronavirus pandemic”.

In an address to the National Press Club on Friday afternoon, he outlined that students enrolling in law degrees will have fees raised by 28 per cent, putting the annual cost of such courses at $14,500 annually, up from $11,355 each year.

Increased fees for studying law have been slammed by the legal profession, with students, practitioners, academics and advocates alike coming out against the proposal, warning that it could disincentivise prospective tertiary students from selecting law degrees – a point Mr Tehan acknowledged at the Press Club.

Professor Lesley Hitchens, who is the dean of law at UTS and also the chair of the Council of Australian Law Deans, said the proposal will have an “obvious impact” on the accessibility of legal education for students

“There seems to be an assumption that students who study law come from wealthy backgrounds and will go into high-paying legal jobs, and therefore can repay their contribution. But that is not necessarily the case,” she explained.

“The high contribution in fees expected from students, combined with the decrease in the proposed government contribution, poses a real risk that students from disadvantaged backgrounds, and those from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander backgrounds, will not be able to access legal education.

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“This is really important, because the legal profession benefits from diversity [among] its professionals. It’s important that law brings different perspectives.”

Law Council of Australia president Pauline Wright agreed, saying the proposed rise in fees for law “will be a severe impediment” for students from disadvantaged socio-economic backgrounds.

“[It] will add another barrier to those who are [under-represented] in the legal profession, including those from culturally and linguistically diverse communities, who may not be able to study law. This will include Indigenous Australians at a time when we are facing a serious justice gap for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and it is undeniable that having more First Nations lawyers results in better outcomes for First Nations communities,” she outlined.

“An increase of 113 percent in fees for an arts degree – often studied in conjunction with law – diminishes the breadth of critical thinking within the student cohort. That will flow through to our society, with less people with the valuable analytical skills acquired in arts and arts/law degrees being available to benefit the myriad industries and professions they go on to work in.”

Moreover, Professor Hitchens said the notion of prioritising tertiary strands in such ways “lacks foresight”.

“I’m concerned about the idea that STEM subjects provide skills that are needed and the humanities and social sciences don’t. A key part of legal education for students is the disciplinary knowledge but also the professional skills that are needed, both as a practising lawyer and also more broadly. We know that many law graduates don’t practice law but they use the education in very diverse careers and bring value to those careers,” she said.

The value of expertise in the humanities, including the law, cannot and should not be underestimated, Ms Wright said in support.

“The humanities teach us about how we live together and interact, whether historically, in the [present-day] or into the future. The humanities enquire about the fundamental questions of what it is to be human,” she observed.

“To limit the study of these subjects to that narrow sector of society that can afford to pay high fees, necessarily limits diversity in perspective, and therefore the way our society understands and sees itself and narrows our vision for an Australia of the future.”

Technology and innovation not-for-profit The Legal Forecast, which helps law students and young lawyers develop modern practice skills, said that a law degree, “and the role that law plays in society, is obviously about more than gainful employment”.

TLF directors Milan Gandhi and Barbara Vrettos said: “Increasing the barrier to entry for those who wish to study law is therefore problematic, and we would be interested to see the details of these proposals and whether there will be a proportional increase in scholarships for economically disadvantaged candidates.”

“In addition, an understanding of law, and topics integral to legal education such as applied ethics and our political and judicial systems, [supplements] many other degrees and disciplines, and can assist candidates to graduate with a job-ready and holistic understanding of the sector they are entering. This is an additional reason why it would be a shame to deter those interested in a law degree," the pair noted.

Corporate lawyer Michael Jefferies, who last year won the Law Student of the Year category at the Australian Law Awards, offered similar sentiments.

“The overhaul positions law, commerce and humanities programmes together at the highest price band, implying these fields contribute the least to the country. Ironically these are by far the most common three educational backgrounds of Australia’s politicians who are driving the changes!,” he added.

“It is unfortunate that the approach appears to narrowly perceive the university sector as a mere training ground for the job market. Education is a means to improving society as a whole, and not just the economy.”

It is well known that it is relatively inexpensive for a university to run a law degree, Ms Wright concluded: “a law degree does not require laboratories or expensive equipment”.

“We understand the need to promote tertiary courses that will drive growth in certain sectors, however this should not come at the expense of those who wish to pursue a career in the law, particularly those who may already find the fees difficult to manage,” she surmised.

The Australian Law Students’ Association declined to comment.