The argument that free higher education would create additional higher education opportunities is empirically weak. History and international comparisons show that participation rates increase without it, and indeed due to budget constraints free higher education can lead to lower participation rates.

However there is another argument for free higher education which, while still contentious, has goals and likely outcomes that are consistent with each other.

Free higher education and income/consumption smoothing

The strongest argument for free (or cheaper) higher education is a better balancing of income and consumption over the life cycle. Needs are more consistent through life than income. Most people consume more than they earn when young and old and a large proportion earn more than they consume during their full-time working years. Smoothing these out is one of the principal functions of welfare states.

Compared to upfront fees or mortgage style student loans paid in instalments the HELP repayment system already has strong smoothing effects. It pushes the expense of higher education away from the years when full-time study limits scope for paid work. On low incomes no HELP repayment is required or repayments that are less than the minimum likely mortgage style loan repayment amount. On high incomes HELP repayments are more than the likely mortgage style loan repayment amount.

And higher education is already free for HELP debtors who persistently earn less than the first repayment threshold.

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