The Abbott government is spending $150,000 to gauge the public’s “understanding of the higher education system” – potentially setting the scene for an advertising campaign aimed at countering public concerns.



The Department of Education will consider the results of its market research amid considerable uncertainty over the fate of the government’s plans to deregulate university fees and cut course subsidies.

The education minister, Christopher Pyne, is yet to secure adequate crossbench support to pass his legislation before the Senate rises at the end of next week for the Christmas break – but remains in negotiations in an attempt to salvage a compromise.

His department has disclosed its contract with a company that specialises in communications and marketing including “research to support awareness-based communications strategy and campaigns”.

The $149,810 contract with Orima Research is for “market research on the level of awareness and understanding of the higher education system”, according to details posted on the AusTender website. The research contract, procured by open tender, covers an eight-week period expiring this Sunday.

A spokeswoman for the department told Guardian Australia the aim was to find out whether the public understood the status of the Higher Education Contribution Scheme (Hecs, also known as Help), the program allowing Australian graduates to defer paying any of their tuition fees until they are earning a decent income.

She said the market research was commissioned after the department attended 45 tertiary studies and careers exhibitions and university open day events between July and September.

“The purpose of attending these events was to provide students with information about Australian government assistance for tertiary study, and the proposed higher education reforms announced in the 2014-15 budget,” the spokeswoman said.

“Feedback from attendees at these events indicated that there was a consistent lack of understanding of Australia’s current higher education system, in particular the status of Hecs.

“On this basis, the department engaged a specialist research organisation to examine the extent to which this feedback reflected broader views and understanding of the higher education system.”

Pyne would not rule out an advertising campaign on Friday. “The government will consider the findings of the department’s research, which is seeking to establish the level of understanding about the higher education funding system and how it works,” the minister’s office said.

The opposition leader, Bill Shorten, said it would be “an absolute disgrace” if the government proceeded with an advertising campaign.

“No amount of spin or paid advertising will convince Australians that Tony Abbott’s plans for $100,000 university degrees are a good idea,” Shorten said. “Tony Abbott wouldn’t have to waste money on market research if he just spoke to a few people about his higher education cuts – I can guarantee you he’d get a few honest opinions.”

Labor, the Greens and unions have spent months campaigning against the Coalition’s higher education changes, arguing they would result in high fees and an elitist system in which people are forced to choose between university or buying a house.

Pyne has previously sought to allay these concerns by saying students would “not have to pay a dollar upfront for their course” because they would continue to have access to Hecs and not repay it until they were earning more than $50,000 a year.

Departmental officials told a Senate estimates committee they were concerned that prospective students were confused because of “misinformation” about the changes. Students were asking at university expos whether Hecs was “gone”, but any decision on launching an “information” campaign would be a matter for the government, the officials said.

The government wants to pass its legislation by the end of next week, citing the need to avoid uncertainty for the university sector and students. Even though the majority of the changes are not due to take effect until 2016, school graduates considering enrolling next year do not know what fees they will pay in their second year of study.

If the public statements of crossbench senators are a guide, the government is unlikely to be able to pass its bill next week.

The bill would remove caps on university fees, cut the average course subsidy by 20%, and extend funding to sub-bachelor programs and private colleges.

The university sector and the crossbench is firmly opposed to higher interest rates on Hecs loans, but Pyne has repeatedly signalled his willingness to compromise on this part of the package in an attempt to win Senate backing for other measures. Abandoning the interest rate proposal would knock more than $3bn of budgeted savings over four years.

Labor and the Greens firmly oppose the whole package, so the government needs support from six of eight crossbench senators to pass it. This means the bill will be blocked if three or more crossbench senators oppose the bill.

The newly independent Tasmanian senator Jacqui Lambie, who met with Pyne this week, said she “told him bluntly ‘no deal’ – take your plan to the people at the next federal election and stop using cuts to uni funding like a gun to the head”.

The Palmer United party – represented by senators Glenn Lazarus and Dio Wang – maintains its position of opposing the bill. Lazarus said on Thursday that the party would not entertain any increase in university fees.

The independent senators Nick Xenophon and John Madigan, who often work closely together, have expressed serious concerns about the bill’s impacts while remaining open to talks with the government on finding a compromise.

Xenophon has signalled his preference for talks to continue into the new year rather than a rushed deal being done next week, but Madigan said students and universities required certainty.

Madigan has issued the government with five non-negotiable conditions for his support, including the dumping of higher interest rates, creation of a regional assistance fund, and supervision of fees. He said the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission or Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency should “act as an oversight body for course fees”.

The Liberal Democratic senator David Leyonhjelm and the Family First senator Bob Day are broadly supportive of the government’s bill, although Day’s vote depends on the scrapping of student loan interest rate changes.

The Australian Motoring Enthusiast party senator Ricky Muir could not be reached for comment on Friday, but has previously expressed his concerns about the bill.