Government subsidies may be adjusted to see some TAFE students in New South Wales paying more.

The Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal is recommending changes to TAFE fees, which would see increased fees for around 85 per cent of students who study government-subsidised courses.

A draft recommendation released this week by the Tribunal has suggested the NSW Government fund 60 per cent of base prices, with students picking up the rest, claiming the move is broadly in line with University fee models.

It would be beneficial to about sixteen per cent of students, whose fees would decrease. Twenty-two per cent would see a rise of over $1,500 for their qualifications.

IPART chairman Peter Boxall has conceded it is quite a hike, but claims it would be necessary: “Unless fees go up, the government won't be able to fund as many places, indeed they could fund 60-thousand places less... it is a big increase and we appreciate that, it's just that some of the courses are, the fees are relatively, are very low at the moment considering the cost of providing the courses. There are courses which require a lot of teacher and student contact hours and there are courses which require very expensive equipment for training.”

NSW Greens MP John Kaye said it will be an insurmountable barrier for many; “These fees mean a lot of people, particularly from disadvantaged backgrounds, will never go to TAFE,” he said.