The Rudd government has rejected reports it is considering reintroducing compulsory fees for university students.
The government was considering options that would ensure access to vital campus services, including childcare, healthcare, counselling and sporting facilities, a spokeswoman for Education Minister Julia Gillard said.
But reintroducing compulsory union fees was not being considered, she said.
Reports suggested the government was set to reintroduce compulsory fees for university students to reverse a decline in sporting and social services on campuses.
An announcement was due next month with an "opt-out" system to replace voluntary student unionism with students able to choose which services their fees were spent on and whether they wanted to belong to the student union, Fairfax reported.
Finance Minister Lindsay Tanner confirmed the government was considering how it should tackle the problem of declining student services.
"We have indicated we are not proposing to do something that is compulsory," he told ABC Radio on Thursday.
"But we are looking at ways to ensure that we can revive services on campuses, non-academic services, that in many parts of Australia have been seriously eroded by the changes the Howard government has made."
The previous Howard coalition government abolished compulsory student unionism in 2005 and replaced it with voluntary student unionism.
A report commissioned by the Labor government in February received more than 160 submissions, the majority of which concluded the abolition of upfront compulsory student union fees had "impacted negatively" on the provision of amenities and services to university students.
Prime Minister Kevin Rudd, in Niue for the Pacific Forum, was quizzed about the report.
"Our policy is clear cut, and stated before the election," he told reporters.
Labor promised it would not reintroduce compulsory student unionism and ruled out a HECS-style loan scheme for students to cover union fees.
