Universities Accord (Opening the Doors of Opportunity) Bill 2026
Ms RYAN (Lalor—Chief Government Whip) (12:30): I'm pleased to have some time, in continuation, to speak on the Universities Accord (Opening the Doors of Opportunity) Bill 2026. This bill proposes two major reforms. The first is a managed growth funding system that better aligns university places with Australia's future workforce needs.
The second is a new, demand-driven, needs based funding model that recognises some students need additional support if we are serious about improving participation and completion at university. The recommendation of adopting a new funding model for higher education that is planned, sustainable and focused on the skills we'll need in the future is exactly what the managed growth funding model seeks to achieve.
Around 80 per cent of Australia's workforce will need a certificate, diploma or degree by 2050, so we cannot afford to leave capable Australians behind simply because of where they live or the circumstances they face. We know the areas where we can find the most students to increase those numbers are regional areas and those in the outer suburbs. This reform will effectively remove the cap on Commonwealth supported places for students from low socioeconomic backgrounds and students from regional Australia, because talent should never be limited by family income or postcode and the students that we need to do these courses can be found in the outer suburbs and in the regions.
The bill also establishes the framework for the commission to exercise its existing function in allocating international student places. This is about creating certainty—certainty for universities, certainty for students and certainty that Australia's higher education system is growing in a planned, strategic and sustainable way with, I would suggest, a clear sight on domestic students, their capacity and the support they need to get us to those targets.
This bill will also formalise the role of the ATEC in allocating Commonwealth supported places. Under this legislation, an extra 230,000 Commonwealth supported places are expected to be delivered over the next decade. Next year alone, 16,000 additional CSPs will be available.
That means 16,000 more Australians will have the opportunity to become nurses, teachers, allied health professionals and social workers—ultimately opportunities for Australia to build the highly skilled workforce it will need in the decades ahead. The second major reform in this bill is the introduction of the needs based funding model. Essentially, this model will provide extra funding to support students who come from economically disadvantaged backgrounds, First Nations students and students studying at regional campuses.
These students are no less capable than anyone else. If we believe that talent is spread across every community in Australia, then we must also recognise that opportunity is not. Students who face greater barriers often require greater support if they are to achieve the same outcomes.
That is the principle underpinning this reform. In many respects it reflects the same philosophy that underpins needs based school funding. As a former teacher and principal, I know all too well that different students require different levels of support to achieve their full potential.
That principle transformed the conversation around school funding, and this bill applies that same principle to higher education. This has been my experience over decades in secondary education witnessing and knowing the support that some high school students will need if they are going to be successful at tertiary education. And some of that is just about building their confidence and creating a space where they feel comfortable and supported, that the system has faith that they can achieve, rather than them having to stride out and be that aspirational in their own progression.
The legislation sets a new base equity amount of $1,535 per eligible student and a base regional amount of $1,398. To put that into perspective: under previous similar programs, funding averaged around $600 per student. This is more than double the support available and will support universities to support those students to complete their studies.
What it means in practice is that universities will be able to use this money where it matters most, from tutoring and mentoring to academic and transition support. It means more scholarships and emergency financial assistance. It means greater access to counselling, wellbeing services and peer support.
The bill also recognises the additional costs associated with delivering education at regional campuses, ensuring students studying in regional areas are not disadvantaged because of where they live. If the first half of this bill is about opening the door to university, the second half is about helping students walk through that door, supporting them along the way and helping them graduate.
This is how we're building a stronger workforce and this is how we ensure Australia's higher education system reflects the aspirations of the people it serves. These reforms will matter enormously to communities like the one I represent in the outer suburbs of Melbourne, Lalor is one of the youngest and fastest-growing communities in Australia. Wyndham City is now home to more than 330,000 people, and over the next two decades it is expected to grow by almost another 200,000 residents.
This growth presents enormous opportunities, but it also presents enormous demand—demand for more teachers in our classrooms, nurses and allied health professionals in our hospitals and more skilled workers across every sector of our community. The people who will fill those roles are sitting in classrooms across my electorate today, and this legislation is designed to support them into tertiary education.
When I visit schools in my electorate, I meet students who are eager to become doctors, engineers, teachers and scientists. I meet parents who work incredibly hard to ensure their children have opportunities they themselves may not have had. I meet adults returning to study because they know new skills will create new opportunities for their families.
And one thing I have never questioned about Lalor is its ambition. The challenge has always been ensuring that opportunity keeps pace with that ambition. That's why this legislation is so important.
Through these reforms, more people in my community will have the opportunity to access university and to see it through to graduation. There's a clear difference in philosophy between this government and those opposite, this government and the previous government. This Labor government believes education is an investment in Australia's future.
Those opposite have too often treated it as a budget line to be managed. The other side of this House may ask whether Australia can afford this investment. I would ask a different question.
The question is: do you perceive it as an investment, or do you only see it as a cost? Educating young Australians, to me, is an absolute investment in the future and one that Australia can't afford not to do. We can't afford to ignore the accord's finding that, by 2050, 80 per cent of jobs will require a certificate, diploma or degree.
That means education beyond secondary education. Can we afford to continue leaving talented Australians behind while our economy changes? I do not believe we can, and I believe the biggest danger to social cohesion is people who are frustrated because they haven't reached their potential and who have given up on reaching that potential.
That's why these initiatives are so important. The Universities Accord makes it clear that the skills our country will need over the coming decades cannot be delivered by a higher education system designed for the challenges of the past. We need a system that plans ahead and ensures that every capable Australian has the opportunity to contribute.
This is exactly what this proposed legislation sets out to achieve. This legislation is not simply a higher education reform but also an economic reform, a workplace reform and, importantly, an opportunity reform. That is why I support this bill.
For communities like the one I represent, where families have worked hard, sacrificed and placed their faith in the power of education, this bill sends an important message: your ambition matters, your contribution matters and your future matters. I commend this bill to the House.