Universities Accord (Opening the Doors of Opportunity) Bill 2026
Ms MILLER-FROST (Boothby) (15:43): At the Flinders University city campus, which was established to provide a more easily accessible campus for students from the northern suburbs of Adelaide, almost half the students are the first in their family to attend university. Flinders University's commitment to education equity is internationally recognised. It is now ranked fourth in the world for reducing socioeconomic inequality and for its exceptional facilitation of access for first-in-family students and students with disability and disadvantage.
It's also ranked sixth in the world and first in Australia for gender equality. Flinders has also placed 36th out of more than 1000 universities in the global university impact ratings. Last month, Flinders launched the 2050 alliance, which is committed to the Universities Accord goal of ensuring that 80 per cent of the workforce has a degree within the next few decades.
The university continues to expand access to First Nations students, students with disability, gender-diverse students, women and refugees. It's often said that education is a right and not a privilege. It's also said that Australia is the land of opportunity.
And yet, for far too long, education has been a privilege and not a right. The opportunities have only been available to a select few Australians. The Universities Accord (Opening the Doors of Opportunity) Bill 2026 will ensure that someone's background is not a determinant of their educational success and their future success.
Where funding is genuinely needed, funding will be given. The bill also recognises the economic imperative of a more expansive higher education system, because the demand for workers with a certificate, diploma or degree is fast outpacing the number of graduates to meet that demand. We risk becoming a less competitive and less innovative country as a result.
Education is crucial to Australia's economic future, and this bill will help to secure that future. I commend the bill to the House.