Next steps in delivering needs-based funding for university students

The Albanese Government has today released a consultation paper on the design of needs-based funding to help people who start a degree to finish it.

The consultation paper will inform the design of a new needs-based funding system so students from disadvantaged backgrounds, students with a disability and Indigenous Australians get the extra support they need to succeed at university.

The new system is also proposed to direct funding to students studying at regional campuses, recognising the higher costs regional universities face to deliver courses.

The Universities Accord recommended a new funding system to replace the current grant-based, fixed funding equity programs that are complex and no longer fit for purpose.

The Government is also undertaking consultation on the design of the Australian Tertiary Education Commission (ATEC) and the new Managed Growth Funding System which are central to setting the tertiary education sector up for the future.

These reforms are central to reaching the Government’s target of having 80 per cent of the workforce with a university degree or TAFE qualification by 2050.

The needs-based funding consultation paper is now live and can be found here.

Feedback can be submitted via email (AustralianUniversitiesAccord@education.gov.au), with the feedback requested by Friday, 9 August 2024. 

These initiatives form a key part of the Government’s first stage response to the Universities Accord.

Quotes attributable to Minister for Education Jason Clare:

“In the years ahead more jobs will require more skills. 

“The Government has set a target that by 2050, 80 per cent of workers will have a TAFE or university qualification. 

“To hit that target we have to break down that invisible barrier that stops a lot of people from disadvantaged backgrounds getting a crack at going to university and succeeding when they get there. 

“A new needs-based funding system is proposed to support students from poor families, students with a disability, Indigenous Australians and students who study in regional Australia get the extra academic and wraparound support that they need to succeed when they get to university. 

“This is something the Accord called a game-changer for regional universities.

“Targeted consultation and feedback from stakeholders across the education landscape will help ensure we get the detailed design of these vital reforms right.”