Concern tertiary students are having to choose extra work over studying - to keep up with increased living costs.

More than 34-million-dollars in hardship funds has been given out by institutions since 2020.

Victoria University's Student Association spokesperson, Aidan Donoghue, says things haven't improved much since Covid.

He told Andrew Dickens they received 940 applications for their Winter Energy Grant this year, compared to 265 two years ago.

Donoghue says every application is limited to one address - so that's 940 households.