The Government is making good on its promise of boosting student loans and allowances by $50 from the start of next year.

Tertiary students will be $50 better off a week from the start of next year.

From January 1, 2018, student allowance base rates and the maximum amount students can borrow for living costs will rise by a net $50 a week.

Where the allowance rate reflected the living costs of two adults, the increase would be $100 net a week.

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This was part of the Government's 100-day plan.

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Education Minister Chris Hipkins said that meant 130,000 students would be $50 better off a week.

PHIL WALTER/GETTY IMAGES This announcement will be followed by another with details on the first year fees-free education, which is also due to take effect from January 1.

Allowance payments for single students aged under 24 and living away from home, for example, would rise from $177.03 to $227.03.

The maximum amount that students could borrow would rise from $178.81 to $228.81.

Hipkins said no change was being made to eligibility rules for student allowances or loans.

"We have heard the concerns of students and their families who have told us cost is a real barrier to taking on tertiary study.

"Improving affordability and access to tertiary education and training will improve opportunities both for our young people and for adult learners who have previously been deterred from taking on tertiary study and training because of cost," he said.

Student allowance rates and loan living costs maximum would be further adjusted from April 1, 2018, in line with any increase in the consumer price index (CPI).

The Accommodation Benefit was also scheduled to rise by $20 a week in 2018, to a maximum of $60 a week.

Hipkins said the Government was also on track to deliver the first year of fees-free education and training from the start of next year.

"Final decisions are being worked through, and students can rest assured that the first year of fees-free study will kick in next year and they should plan accordingly."

Hipkins said he expected to be able to make an announcement relating to the Government's fees-free promise soon.

The changes for 2018 were the first step in the process, as the Government rolled out a full programme of three years of fees-free tertiary education for New Zealanders by 2024 alongside better support for living costs, he said.

POTENTIAL 'UNINTENDED CONSEQUENCES'

National tertiary education spokesman Paul Goldsmith said Labour's big education plans could have "unintended consequences", including lowering the qualification completion rate and putting pressure on some institutions.

He said he believed the Government's fees-free policy should have been targeted at those with the greatest financial difficulties, rather than a blanket policy.

The haste meant there wasn't enough time to gather all the evidence, he said, adding that it was still unclear how many people were avoiding higher education due to the cost.

Goldsmith also raised the issue of whether Australians qualified for the free fees, given under the trans-Tasman relationship Australians currently have access to domestic rates, not international ones like other countries.

Hipkins said Australians would continue to be able to pay domestic fees but wouldn't qualify for the free component.

"There are effectively two buckets of support. One applies to Australians who come to New Zealand from the time they arrive, the other applies to all residents and that includes interest-free student loans, student allowances and a number of other forms of student support.

"We are putting the three years free in the second bucket, not the first."

Goldsmith said there was an element of unfairness to the policy, which could breed a sense of bitterness in students who had just left study with a big student loan.

As for the allowance boost, there were many struggling New Zealanders who would have welcomed a 28 per cent rise in their weekly income, he said.

HOW MUCH WILL THIS COST?

Labour's pre-election costings, which were verified by BERL, put the cost of the policy at $340m per year, along with $270m per year for the boosts to student support.

It plans to release the up-to-date costing of the plan next week.

"This isn't Labour's money, it's the public's money. And the public is entitled to know what the new Government is spending in its name," National finance spokesman Steven Joyce said.

The Minister of Finance needed to release the full coalition costings for all the Government's policies, Joyce said, adding that ministers should release policy costings when new policies were announced.

BIG NEWS FOR STUDENTS

New Zealand Union of Students' Associations (NZUSA) national president Jonathan Gee said this was "big news for students".

"The boost will be the first substantial increase to student support in over a decade," he said.

NZUSA's 2017 Income and Expenditure Report found median student spending was $300.28 a week.

Most of this spending went towards rising rent prices, followed by food and other living expenses, Gee said.

"All we've been asking for is enough to live on.

"A $50 increase will mean that current students can focus more on their academic success rather than economic survival. It will also provide an added incentive for prospective students who have been deterred from tertiary study due to high costs."

This should not be a signal to landlords to raise rents, he said.

"The boost does not mean that students will have more disposable income. The $50 increase means that students will have a bit more left for food after paying their rent."

Student debt has surpassed $15 billion in New Zealand.