Travel concessions for all students: AMSA

Some tertiary students are paying up to $20 a day for public transport in NSW, a student groups says.

Concessions must be available to all full-time tertiary students and be transferable between states, says Australian Medical Students Association (AMSA) president James Churchill.

"Without appropriate concessions, some students are required to pay more than $20 a day for public transport simply to attend classes and fulfil university requirements," Mr Churchill said in a statement.

"Full-time students face significant barriers to meeting the rising costs of living, regardless of their country of origin or whether they are studying undergraduate or postgraduate courses.

Domestic undergraduate students are eligible for reduced transport costs but international, postgraduate and visiting interstate students are forced to pay the same prices as full-time wage earners.

"(That is) an action found to be discriminatory by the NSW Administrative Decisions Tribunal in 2006."

Mr Churchill said despite public calls from the federal government for NSW and Victoria to reform their concession rules, the O'Farrell government has backed away from an election promise that it would address students concerns.

Only South Australia and the Northern Territory recognise interstate concessions.