Record number of Australians starting uni

The number of Australians starting uni is at record levels, if you take out the two years of COVID. 

Last year 388,890 Australian students commenced an award course degree last year, up 4 per cent on the year before. Even more started a degree this year and more still are expected to commence a degree in 2026.

Growth for 2024 was even stronger for students from low SES backgrounds (5 per cent), First Nations students (7 per cent), students from regional and remote areas (4.5 per cent) and students with disability (11 per cent).

The number of domestic students commencing study in the critical professions of engineering and teaching were also both up by 10 per cent for the year.

More students are sticking with their degrees as well. Attrition rates for domestic undergraduates are at a ten year low at 12 per cent in 2024, down from 15 per cent in 2023.

Expanding access to university education is what the Universities Accord is all about with a goal for 80 per cent of the workforce to have a tertiary qualification by 2050, up from around 60 per cent today.

The only way to do that is to get more people from the suburbs, from the regions and from disadvantaged backgrounds into uni and to succeed when they get there.

This data shows that we are making progress.

The next step is Needs-based Funding which will roll out from next year so students from disadvantaged backgrounds, First Nations students and students on regional campuses get the extra support to succeed at university.

An overview can be found here and the data here.

Quotes attributable to Minister for Education Jason Clare:

“I don't want us to be a country where you can guess where someone grew up based on whether they have a uni degree or not. 

“More jobs are going to require more skills in the years ahead. 

“Opening the doors of our universities wider to more people from the suburbs and the regions and poor families isn't just the right thing to do, it's what we have to do. 

“Otherwise, we won't have the workforce we need and the economy will be stuck in second gear.

“This data shows we're making progress, but there's still a lot more work to do.”