Universities Accord (Opening the Doors of Opportunity) Bill 2026

Ms RYAN (Lalor—Chief Government Whip) (16:26): The name of this bill, the Universities Accord (Opening the Doors of Opportunity) Bill 2026, says it all. It speaks to this Labor government's intent and it speaks to this Labor government's motivation. It says everything about what we stand for.

We stand for opening doors of opportunity. We stand against baking in disadvantage. I think this is a fitting title.

At its core, this legislation is about ensuring that opportunity is given to all those across the country who have the capacity, the talent and the ambition to reach for it. Australia has never lacked talent. Communities like mine in Lalor prove that every single day.

It's a community where people don't lack ambition, and they deserve every opportunity to realise it. This bill recognises that simple truth because we on this side of the House understand the impact that education can have on an individual's life. We understand how it changes lives.

We understand how it can change communities. The member for Gellibrand sits here with me in the chamber tonight. He and I between us represent the city of Wyndham.

Nowhere is it more tangible than to see what it means when people aspire and are supported, and how people's ambitions can be lifted just by being in classrooms with people who strive to, and want to, have more. This Labor government understands that. We understand how that ambition and aspiration can change a community, can change a school, can change our country and can change an economy.

That's why this government aspires for a higher education level for all Australians, not just because it's good in itself—although it is—but because our economy will demand it. We need to have more educated Australians into the future, to ensure that we can maintain the economy that we're so proud of. Two years ago we released the final report of the Australian Universities Accord.

Since then, we've implemented more than 30 of the accord's 47 recommendations. From cutting 20 per cent of HECS debts and introducing paid prac—and then extending that as late as this week—to doubling the number of university study hubs, Labor's vision is one that recognises that Australia's future prosperity depends on the education system we build today. I stand by that—in early education, in school education, in TAFE, in free TAFE and in higher education.

That means a higher education system that is larger, smarter, fairer, focused on the future and open to all. Debate interrupted.