Universities Accord (Opening the Doors of Opportunity) Bill 2026
Ms PENFOLD (Lyne) (11:41): by leave—I thank the government for enabling me to continue the speech that I started here several weeks ago. For a young person growing up in Taree, Wingham, Gloucester, Dungog, Harrington, Tea Gardens, Bulahdelah, Forster-Tuncurry, the Manning Valley or one of the many hamlets spread across the Lyne electorate, pursuing a university degree has traditionally meant moving away from home, leaving family support networks behind and taking on significant additional costs before they even begin their studies.
This is my story too. I grew up in Hannam Vale, attended school in Taree and then had to move to Canberra to attend the Australian National University. That opportunity changed my life, but it came at a cost, and for too many regional families those costs remain a barrier today.
Research undertaken before the establishment of the Taree Universities Campus found that fewer than 18 per cent of people in the Mid North Coast region completed a university qualification. Many young people who left to study built careers elsewhere and never returned, contributing to workforce shortages in health care, education and other critical sectors. That challenge inspired local leaders to think differently, and that is where the story of the Taree Universities Campus begins.
I want to acknowledge the work of the former member for Lyne, the Hon. Dr David Gillespie, who was instrumental in supporting the establishment of the Taree Universities Campus through the regional university centres program. Together with local community leaders, he recognised that, if we wanted more regional Australians, more local people from the Manning Valley and Great Lakes area, to participate in higher education, we needed to bring opportunity closer to home.
Today, the Taree Universities Campus stands as one of the great regional education success stories in Australia. Its mission is simple: go further, closer to home. It provides local students with study spaces, technology, academic support and a community that helps them succeed while remaining connected to their families, workplaces and communities.
The campus serves a region of around 94,500 people. It's not simply a study hub; it's a workplace development hub. Its model focuses on encouraging participation in higher education, supporting students through their studies and helping graduates move into local employment and careers.
The success of TUC is also reflected in its broader community impact. TUC has a strong connection to local high schools in the area and holds a CareerQuip careers expo every year, which attracts over 1,800 students from across the mid coast and features more than 70 exhibitors, including universities, TAFEs, government agencies and employers. That is exactly the kind of aspiration-building initiative that regional Australia needs.
I also want to acknowledge the broader higher education ecosystem serving our region. The University of New England has maintained a presence in Taree and has been educating regional Australians for generations. The University of Newcastle has a long and proud history in our region.
Charles Sturt University's Port Macquarie campus is helping train the nurses our community needs. Central Queensland University is creating pathways into teaching, engineering, business and accounting, and UNSW continues to expand opportunities for students on the Mid North Coast, including providing medical degrees in our region. These institutions understand the simple truth: talent is evenly distributed across Australia; opportunity is not.
The coalition recognises the success of the Taree Universities Campus model. That is why we committed $5.5 million towards the TUC expansion project. This funding did what few imagined, providing a permanent home for TUC in the old Greater Taree City Council chambers on Pulteney Street.
That investment supports expanded teaching and learning facilities, has strengthened workforce development pathways and created additional opportunities for local students to study close to home. It's an investment in education. It's an investment in our local health care.
It's an investment in regional skills and an investment in closing the gap for local Biripi and Worimi peoples. It was an investment in the future prosperity of the Manning Valley. There is another issue that goes directly to the heart of educational opportunity in regional Australia.
There is little point in creating a university place if a student cannot afford to stay the course, and there is little point in talking about widening participation if we ignore the financial realities facing students undertaking mandatory professional placements. In fact, this issue is one of the clearest examples of why regional voices matter in policy development.
Several years ago, while I was attending O-week at Charles Sturt University in Port Macquarie, I spent time speaking directly with students about the challenges they faced. Again and again, allied health students raised a simple issue. It wasn't HECS.
It wasn't about course fees or academic workload. It was about mandatory professional placements. Students told me they were expected to leave paid employment for weeks or months at a time in order to complete placement requirements.
Many were travelling long distances. Many were paying for temporary accommodation but were still paying for rent at home. Many were losing income at precisely the point they needed it most.
They described the impossible choice between earning a living and completing the practical training required to graduate, and those conversations stayed with me. They weren't complaints; they were just practical observations from students trying to build careers in professions that regional Australia desperately needs. Those discussions helped shape what is now Nationals policy.
We took those conversations. I worked with the Young Nationals. We developed a motion that is now part of our Nationals policy platform, and that is to support extending Commonwealth prac payments to allied health and veterinary students.
We welcome the introduction of the Commonwealth prac payments for nursing, teaching, midwifery and social work students, but we have been clear that the job is not finished, because placement poverty does not stop at nursing or teaching. A physiotherapy student faces the same loss of income. An occupational therapy student faces the same accommodation costs.
A speech pathology student faces the same financial pressures. A psychology student faces the same challenge. A veterinary student travelling to complete rural placements faces the same reality, and we sure need those big animal vets in regional Australia.
If we're serious about increasing participation in higher education and addressing workforce shortages, then Commonwealth prac payments should be extended to allied health and veterinary students. I wrote that part of the speech before the government made the announcement, and I thank the government for the commitment it made in July to extend to an additional 10 allied health disciplines.
I've certainly been vocal in this chamber when there have been questions to the minister in question time. I hope you've heard me on the other side. I'm not going to claim that that's the result.
You certainly heard me about the Taree urgent care clinic! I'm waiting for that one! I'm waiting for that result!
We're getting something for allied health. There is still further to go on this, but I acknowledge the government's response on this issue. I know that it will be welcomely received by students at campuses in the Lyne electorate.
Opportunity is not simply about getting into university; opportunity is about being able to finish, and that's why those prac payments are very important. This brings me to the legislation before the House, the Universities Accord (Opening the Doors of Opportunity) Bill 2026. The coalition has not yet finalised its position on this bill and will refer it to a Senate committee for detailed examination.
Our final position will be informed by the evidence received through that process. This bill makes significant structural changes to Australia's higher education system. At its core, it does four things.
It allows the minister to determine the total pool of Commonwealth supported places to be allocated through ATEC. It allows the minister to determine the total pool of international student places. It gives the minister powers to allocate places directly, impose conditions on providers and issue directions to ATEC.
It also establishes a needs based funding system, with many of the key details ultimately determined through ministerial guidelines. The common thread running through each of these reforms is the expansion of ministerial control. This bill represents a significant transfer of authority from universities and higher education providers to the executive government.
Now, some of these powers could be used constructively. They could be used to address regional workforce shortages. They could be used to increase opportunities for regional students.
They could be used to support private higher education providers and improve access in areas that have historically been underserved. But parliament should not simply assume that, because they might be used wisely, powers should be granted without scrutiny. The bill gives the minister substantial influence over domestic student places, international student places, needs based funding and the conditions imposed on higher education providers.
Many of these decisions will not be subject to parliamentary disallowance, many will not be subject to merits review and many will depend heavily on ministerial discretion. That raises legitimate questions about accountability, transparency and oversight. It also raises questions about competition and institutional autonomy.
Competition between universities is not something to fear. Competition encourages institutions to improve quality, student experience, course offerings, academic reputation and graduate outcomes. Universities should remain accountable for public funding, but they should also retain the flexibility to respond to student demand, local workforce needs and emerging opportunities.
That is particularly important for regional Australia, and that is why one of the first tests of these new powers should be whether the government is prepared to use them to support communities like mine. If the minister is to have greater control over Commonwealth supported places, then I would suggest his first task should be straightforward: allocate additional places to support regional education models that are already delivering results, like TUC; support more nursing places, more teaching places, more allied health places; support more opportunities through regional campuses and regional university hubs; and support places linked directly to workforce shortages that communities like mine experience every day.
If these powers simply centralise decision-making in Canberra, then regional Australia gains little, but if they are used to direct opportunity towards communities that have historically been overlooked, then perhaps some good can come from this legislation. The success of the Taree Universities Campus demonstrates what can happen when communities are empowered to solve local problems.
At the end of the day, the test for this legislation is simple. Will it create more opportunities for regional Australians? Will it strengthen pathways into nursing, teaching, allied health and other professions our community desperately needs?
Will it help more students study closer to home? Will it help communities—like Taree, Gloucester, Wingham and Forster—build the workforce they need for the future? If it does, then it will be a worthwhile reform, but if it simply creates more bureaucracy and more centralised control, then it will have missed the point.
Regional Australians do not need more bureaucracy. They need more opportunity. They need governments to believe in their capability.
The Taree Universities Campus has shown what is possible when local communities are trusted, supported and empowered. That should be the lesson that guides this parliament as we consider this legislation.