CA ANZ recognised under government's fee-help program
Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand (CA ANZ) students could receive government assistance to cover their fees with the recognition of the body's graduate diploma courses under the Fee-Help program.
The recognition of CA ANZ's graduate diploma courses under the government's Fee-Help program could be a game changer for the accounting profession, according to CA ANZ CEO, Ainslie van Onselen. The program subsidizes study loans for eligible full fee-paying students to help with all or part of their course tuition fees at Australian universities and other higher education providers.
"Now, no matter your background or location, becoming a chartered accountant is more accessible than ever — it's a big win for the future of our profession," van Onselen said. "It's welcome news for small and medium-sized practices who are also facing inflationary pressures on their costs base. Fee-Help means they now can attract and retain talent as part of their employee proposition."
CA ANZ is the only professional accounting body to be approved for the Fee-Help scheme so far, and it is the only one with Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency accreditation. According to CA ANZ, half of its students have their fees fully paid by employers, while 16 percent are partially covered, and one-third pay their own fees.
The latest figures from online recruitment site SEEK show that adverts for accounting positions rose 7.6 percent in January, well ahead of other sectors, and year-on-year they are up by 3.7 percent.
"The next greatest challenge is making these professions attractive and not too financially onerous to undertake, especially for those who haven't had experience in the workforce," van Onselen said. "This really could be the game-changer the profession was looking for in ensuring the attractiveness of the designation when deciding on career pathways. It will help open the door to a broader and more diverse pool of talent who may have felt a career in accounting was out of their reach."
Eligible CA program candidates will be able to access a Fee-Help loan from term two 2023, which begins on Monday, 20th February. The loans work like HECS, the government loan scheme for higher education students paying course fees, with repayments triggered once a graduate's income reaches a certain level and deducted from their pay. The debt is indexed to inflation, but no interest is charged.
The recognition of CA ANZ's courses under the Fee-Help program is a big step forward in making professional accounting more accessible and attractive to a wider range of individuals and helping to address the current shortage of workers in the sector.
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