The student newspapers of some of Australia's most prestigious universities have been denied access to the lock-up for next week's federal budget, which will lay out fee hikes for university students and a multibillion-dollar funding cut for the higher education sector.

Described as "suspect" by the publications, the decision will see students locked out of the opportunity for early access to official budget documents, and briefings from Treasury officials, at Parliament House.

The Australian National University's Woroni, the University of Sydney's Honi Soit and the University of Melbourne's Farrago - which were all present at the 2016 lock-up - are among the publications crying foul, suggesting the decision is a "concerted move to avoid scrutiny and criticism" from student journalists.

"By locking student media out of this crucial political event, the federal government has denied us the opportunity to closely analyse a budget which will have a massive impact on young people," the publications said in a joint editorial, also signed by the University of Newcastle's Opus, Western Sydney University's W'SUP, and the ANU's Observer.