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Nationals frontbencher Andrew Gee (left),pictured with Prime Minister Scott Morrison,has warned of deficiencies and dangers in the government's university funding overhaul.Credit:Wolter Peeters

Underchanges to higher education funding announced in June,fees for some courses will soar while others will be slashed in a bid to produce graduates for high-priority employment areas.

Mr Gee,a Nationals MP,on Tuesday said the package in its current form would"further increase the mal-distribution of mental health workers in country Australia"by putting social work,behavioural science and mental health courses in the most expensive fee cluster.

Mr Gee said his consultation with rural and regional university leaders had revealed this to be a"glaring and potentially detrimental design flaw in the proposed'job-ready graduates'package".

"Country people deserve the same access to mental health support as those in the cities. It's a fundamental issue of equality ... We intend to fix this design deficiency,"he said.

Mr Gee will push Liberal colleagues and Education Minister Dan Tehan to support moving the courses into the second-cheapest fee cluster,aligned with allied health studies.

He said the grandfathering of the changes should be extended indefinitely so no student already enrolled would face higher fees. A spokesman for the Department of Education,Skills and Employment said:"There is no expiry date on the grandfathering in the legislation or anywhere else."

The Nationals also want a $5000 tertiary access payment for rural students to be changed in response to fears it will encourage them to leave their communities to attend city universities.

But Dom English,first assistant secretary for higher education,said regional facilities were receiving the highest funding growth rate of any universities under the package and the opportunities for students outside the major cities were clear.

"We don’t accept axiomatically that giving students a choice on where to take that tertiary access payment and how to use that to support their studies should lead to an automatic flow of those students into metropolitan areas,"Mr English told a hearing of Parliament's COVID-19 committee on Tuesday.

The draft legislation for Mr Tehan's package was unveiled on Tuesday.

Mr Gee firstaired concerns about the package in late June,warning Nationals MPs would give their support only if the concerns of regional education institutions were addressed.

"I look forward to working with my Coalition colleagues to ensure that all of the measures agreed to by the Nationals are incorporated into the legislation as it proceeds to the Parliament,"Mr Gee said.

Mr Tehan said 100,000 additional university places would be generated under the package.

"We will consider all feedback as part of drafting the final legislation that is put to Parliament,"he said in a statement.

Mr Tehan represents a rural electorate and has highlighted regional education access as a personal priority. The plan devotes $400 million to regional education,including dedicated funding for disadvantaged students,research collaboration,demand-driven funding for Indigenous students and 3.5 per cent funding growth for student places at regional campuses.

Labor education spokeswoman Tanya Plibersek said:"Scott Morrison's plan to make it harder and more expensive to go to uni is so bad even his National Party education minister has slammed it."

The Liberals and Nationals should focus on giving Australians the training they needed rather than fighting each other,she said.

Deputy Prime Minister and Nationals leader Michael McCormack said Mr Gee and Mr Tehan were"continuing to ensure regional and rural education stakeholders are listened to as part of the consultation process".

He said the Liberals and Nationals were working co-operatively to make sure the changes to university funding were"the very best they can be".

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