Universities Accord (Opening the Doors of Opportunity) Bill 2026
Ms COFFEY (Griffith) (10:05): The universities accord drew on more than 820 public submissions and set out a plan to change those figures. The Albanese Labor government has acted on more than 30 of its 47 recommendations in full or in part. We made Commonwealth supported university places demand driven for all First Nations students who meet the entry requirements.
We created the National Student Ombudsman and a national code for universities to prevent and respond to gender based violence. We expanded free university preparation courses, opened new suburban and regional study hubs, expanded Commonwealth paid prac and established the Australian Tertiary Education Commission. We have also reduced the cost of gaining a qualification.
We cut HELP and other student loan balances by 20 per cent. Nationally, that removed more than $16 billion from the debts of more than three million Australians. In Griffith, almost 32,000 people have a HECS debt, and, thanks to Labor's reforms, they received an average cut of $6,392 each.
We've also capped annual indexation at the lower of inflation or wage growth, lifted the repayment threshold and introduced a fairer marginal repayment system. For someone earning $70,000, compulsory repayments have fallen by around $1,300 a year. That is real relief for young workers managing rent, groceries and other daily costs while building their careers.
Marcia, a West End local, told me why she took on a large debt to study psychology. She wants to help people, especially those doing it tough. One of her sisters became a teacher because she wanted to support the next generation.
They did not choose those paths for the money. They chose them because they care. Marcia said cutting student debt and lifting the repayment threshold recognised working-class people who gain an education and give back through their work.
Her words capture the values behind these reforms. If we ask people to train for jobs our communities need, we should make it possible for them to complete that training without carrying an unfair burden. These measures make it easier to enter tertiary education, complete a placement and manage the cost after graduation.
This bill now reforms the funding beneath the university system itself. Under managed growth funding, the Minister for Education will set the total pool of fully funded Commonwealth supported places. The independent Australian Tertiary Education Commission, ATEC, will allocate those places to universities and other eligible providers.
Each provider will receive a core student load and a growth allocation—the core protects its funded base. The growth allocation allows ATEC to direct new places towards students and communities with the greatest need. The new system will add 16,000 places in each of the next three years.
From 2030, it will add 19,000 places each year. If demand from low-income or regional students exceeds the national pool, ATEC can ask the minister to increase it. This gives the system a way to respond when more eligible students seek a place.
The change also includes a transition period for providers. Universities with lower enrolments can access a temporary funding floor through to the end of 2031. For 2027, ATEC expects to allocate about 20,000 more Commonwealth supported places to universities that currently teach students without the matching Commonwealth contribution.
This gives universities greater funding certainty. It also gives capable students a clearer promise. If they meet the entry standard, the system should have a funded place ready for them.
More places will get students through the university gate, and needs based funding will help them stay. Universities will receive extra funding for students from low socioeconomic backgrounds, First Nations students and students at regional campuses. The funding will follow the student.
The more eligible students that a university enrols, the more support it receives. The bill sets a base equity payment of $1,535 per student and a base regional payment of $1,398. Both amounts will rise with indexation each year.
Under earlier programs, universities received an average of about $600 per eligible student—last year. The new base payments will more than double that amount in some cases. Universities can use the funding for tutoring, mentoring, academic support, scholarships and emergency grants.
Regional providers can meet the higher costs of delivering courses across longer distances and smaller campuses. That support can take many forms. It could provide a tutor for a first-year student who has fallen behind.
It could pay an emergency grant that keeps a student housed through a family crisis. It could connect a first-in-family student with a mentor who helps them understand university life. These are practical supports, but their effect can be profound.
One timely grant can stop a student from withdrawing. One trusted mentor can help someone believe that they belong. Financial access creates opportunity.
Steady and personal support helps turn that opportunity into a qualification. I am of Labor because I believe in the primacy of education and its power to transform lives. As a qualified secondary-school teacher and a mother to two young boys, I know education is the key to every single Australian's future.
As our Minister for Education said, 'It is the great equaliser in an unequal world.' I believe in the importance of civics education and media literacy, in upholding our democracy and in the importance of teachers to our learning outcomes. Whatever school a family chooses, their child deserves the best education Australia can offer. The Australians who will shape our country in 2050 are sitting in our classrooms today.
Somewhere in Australia today is a student who could become an outstanding nurse, engineer, teacher or filmmaker. They may live in a regional town, face financial pressure or become the first in their family to attend university. Our responsibility is to ensure opportunity reaches them to unlock their potential.
Reaching the accord's target of 80 per cent tertiary attainment by 2050 starts with the investments that we make now. This bill invests another $3.6 billion in higher education over the next decade. It will fund an estimated 230,000 additional commencing university students.
It will create more places and give students stronger support to complete their studies. Education gives people the skills to build secure lives and serve their communities. I have seen this time and again through the many years of my career.
It gives Australia the teachers, nurses, engineers, carers and other skilled workers it will need. The decisions we make in this parliament will shape the choices available to children who have not yet even started school. We should want every one of those children to grow up knowing that their ability will be recognised, their work will be rewarded and the doors of opportunity will be open to them.
Australia's future will be built by the people that we educate today. This bill invests in their education, in their potential and in the opportunities open to every generation that follows.