Around 200 protesters have demonstrated outside a Brisbane luncheon speech by Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull, angry over his government's proposed changes to higher education.
The federal budget proposed raising university fees and slashing the threshold for HECS repayments, meaning university graduates will have to start paying off their school loans earlier.
Critics say it will make it harder for young people to afford higher education, as well as increasing the debt burden on students.
Queensland Senator Larissa Waters addressed the rally saying the government thought it could "make savings at the expense of students".
"Why can this government find $65 billion worth of corporate tax cuts, and yet wants to rip $4 billion out of our universities?" Senator Waters said.
"Young people are seeing cuts to universities, cuts to penalty rates, they can't get into the housing market, and the government's doing nothing about climate change.
"This government seems to have forgotten that they too were young once."
Protests were also held in Sydney, Canberra, Melbourne, Adelaide and Perth.
The National Student Union gather to protest at the State Library in Melbourne. (AAP) Source: AAP
The so-called national day of protest comes after university vice-chancellors condemned the fee increases and erosion of funding for courses as a "double whammy".
In Sydney hundreds of university students chanted slogans against the government's proposed changes and marched through the city.
Students have been outraged by the plans, National Union of Students (NUS) education officer Anneke Demanuele says.
"Especially considering those earning over $180,000 are set to get a tax break when the deficit levy expires," she said in a statement.
"We can't understand how the government can claim this budget is fair when students are being forced to foot the bill, while putting more money into the pockets of wealthy."
"Students and graduates will be carrying higher levels of debt into an increasingly uncertain future," Universities Australia chairwoman Margaret Gardner said on Tuesday.
Vice-chancellors are also worried about the effects of the government-imposed 2.5 per cent efficiency dividend in 2018 would continue to be felt in perpetuity.
Labor and the Greens have already indicated their opposition to the the package, leaving the government needing 10 of the 12 Senate crossbenchers to get it through parliament.
