Student financial support: barriers to finding and using help

Updated Oct 27, 2026

Australian students described difficulties finding financial help, navigating applications and covering costs after receiving support. In Higher Education Research & Development, Katherine Kent and colleagues combine survey ratings and written accounts to examine financial insecurity and experiences of support.

What the researchers examined

The researchers recruited students through university communications and student networks for an online survey in September and October 2024. 838 respondents answered the financial situation question. The analysis combined descriptive statistics and logistic regression with content analysis of free-text responses. The authors used the comments to help explain the numerical patterns.

Financial status was a subjective assessment. The analysis grouped students who described themselves as comfortable or just getting by separately from those struggling or severely struggling.

What students’ accounts reveal

Finding support and applying for it were distinct difficulties. Students described missing information, complicated applications and demanding requirements. Some expressed reluctance to take on debt.

Receiving assistance did not necessarily resolve the reported need. Comments described partial scholarships that still left tuition unaffordable, alongside food and travel support described as insufficient.

Financial pressures reached into participation in study. Written accounts described missing classes for paid work and difficulty balancing employment with assessments. Others described unpaid placements that prevented paid work and added travel or accommodation costs.

Recruitment was voluntary and used convenience methods, so the sample is not nationally representative. The cross-sectional, self-reported data support associations between financial circumstances and academic experiences. The study did not assess the scope or resourcing of support at each university.

To explore financial support experiences in your own surveys, Student Voice Analytics semantic search finds related comments even when students describe the issue in different words.

References

[Paper Source]: Katherine Kent, Ezinne O. Igwe, Karen E. Charlton, Karen Walton, Joanna Russell, Kylie Austin, Kelly Lambert, Gabrielle O’Flynn, Yasmine Probst and Anne T. McMahon. "Predictors and impacts of financial insecurity among university students: associations with food insecurity, well-being, and academic outcomes in a national cross-sectional survey" DOI: 10.1080/07294360.2026.2679245

Published online: 6 June 2026, Higher Education Research & Development.