Students face costs of more than $25,000 a year to attend university in Sydney, a price forcing some parents to encourage their children to seek training closer to home.

A certain number take a gap year to work and the Country Education Foundation releases a booklet annually, containing information on more than 200 scholarship opportunities.

But with the number of scholarships not covering the number of students seeking university entry, youth allowance eligibility was identified as a problem.

As member for Calare John Cobb put it, the removal of the family actual means test and family asset test from the allowance assessment is a step in the right direction.

As farmers would attest, money doesn’t spring from the soil and whatever worth a parcel of land has at the point of sale is not available when a child goes to university.

These changes mean that those who are asset rich but income poor will not suffer the degree of disadvantage they’ve faced until this point.

But with income tests still in place, there is still a way to go.

Most dual income families on reasonable wages reach the $150,000 gross income threshold without too much trouble - that’s the income of two teachers.

Add a mortgage and a couple of younger children, and suddenly finding $25,000 to send the eldest to university is a tough ask, but necessary if their course of choice cannot be found within commuting distance.

We’ve heard from parents who have sacrificed family holidays and much-needed home improvements so their children do not miss out, while families earning the same income on the coast need only put their children on a bus or train in the morning, not to mention at cheaper metropolitan ticket prices.

An additional 1200 families benefiting from the youth allowance changes passed this week is a good starting number, let’s keep the momentum going.