Universities Accord (Opening the Doors of Opportunity) Bill 2026

Ms KARA COOK (Bonner) (12:50): These reforms reflect a simple belief, held by Labor governments for generations, that education should expand opportunity, not entrench disadvantage. From opening the doors to higher education under Hawke and Keating to the reforms that we are delivering today, Labor has always understood that investing in education is investing in Australia's future.

Bonner is home to almost 50 schools, and I've made it my mission to visit each and every one of them. You'll be pleased to know, Deputy Speaker, I am almost there—only a couple to go. From Bonner's largest school, at 4,000 students, Mansfield State High School—also the largest school in Australia—to my smallest school, at 45 students, Sinai College, I've met young people right across our community who are already thinking about what comes next after the school gates.

I've met with budding investors at St Agnes Catholic Primary School. I've also had them visit parliament this week, and we've celebrated academic achievement across many schools, including last week at Holland Park State High School. We've seen firsthand the different ways our local schools are preparing young people for their futures.

For many of those students, the next step will be university, and I want every young person that I meet in Bonner to know that, if they have the ability and ambition, opportunity is there for them, regardless of their postcode or their parents' income. That is what the Universities Accord (Opening the Doors of Opportunity) Bill 2026 is all about. Education has always been one of the great engines of opportunity in this country.

It changes lives, it strengthens communities, and it builds the skilled workforce that we need here in our country. But opportunity only works if the doors are actually open, and that is exactly what this legislation does. This bill is a major step in implementing the Universities Accord, the most significant review of higher education in a generation.

Released in 2024, the accord sets out a blueprint for Australia's tertiary education system over the next decade and beyond. It recognises a simple reality: Australia's future workforce will need more skills than ever before, and our education system must be ready to meet that challenge. This government doesn't just announce reform; we actually deliver it, and the Albanese Labor government has already implemented more than 30 of the accord's 47 recommendations in full or part.

We have made HECS fairer, cutting 20 per cent off student debts, capping indexation, moving to a fairer repayment system and raising the minimum repayment threshold. In my electorate of Bonner, over 20,000 people have already had their student debt cut. We've introduced paid prac for the very first time for teaching, nursing, midwifery and social work students, and now we've expanded it to 10 more frontline health professions, so more students don't have to choose between completing their studies and paying the rent.

We've doubled the number of university study hubs, establishing 20 new Regional University Study Hubs and 14 Suburban University Study Hubs, so students don't have to leave their community to get a start on a degree. We've increased free university bridging courses. We've introduced the National Student Ombudsman and a national code to prevent and respond to gender based violence on campus.

We made demand-driven, Commonwealth supported places available to every First Nation student who earns the marks to get in, and we established the Australian Tertiary Education Commission as steward of the system. This bill is the next step. Australia is changing.

The jobs of the future will demand new skills, new knowledge and new ways of thinking. Almost 9,000 people in my electorate are currently studying at university or in higher education. They are preparing to become the nurses, teachers, engineers, researchers and professionals our communities will rely on in the years ahead.

This bill is about making sure more Australians have that same opportunity. This legislation is the most significant reform to higher education funding in a generation. It represents an additional $3.6 billion investment in Australia's higher education system over the next decade, supporting around 230,000 additional domestic students to commence university.

Importantly, the new managed growth funding system will effectively uncap Commonwealth supported places for students from low socioeconomic backgrounds and regional Australia, helping ensure talented Australians are not held back by where they live or the circumstances they were born into. On a personal note, as someone who is from regional Queensland and the first in their family to go to university, I know how important that is.

For too long, universities have been expected to educate more Australians without the certainty that funding would keep pace with demand. That uncertainty makes it harder for universities to plan, invest and create the places students need. This legislation will address this by establishing a managed growth funding system that will support a bigger, better and fairer university sector.

Over the next three years it will fund an additional 16,000 Commonwealth supported places each year. From 2030 that will increase to 19,000 additional places annually. Over the next decade around 230,000 more students are expected to commence university.

Importantly, this growth will not be left to chance. In Bonner, more than 45,000 families call our community home. As our electorate continues to grow, so too will the number of young people looking to take the next step into higher education.

Planning for that demand now means more Australians will have the opportunity to pursue a university education in the years ahead. The Australian Tertiary Education Commission will work with universities to allocate Commonwealth supported places where they are needed most, while ensuring universities have that certainty to plan for the future. It will also have the flexibility to allocate places for students from disadvantaged backgrounds and regional and remote communities, helping ensure opportunity reaches those who are too often missing.

When a capable student earns their place, the availability of a university position should not be the barrier that stands in their way. We know that opening the door to university is only part of the story. We also need to make sure that students have the support they need once they walk through that door to stay the course and graduate.

Not every student starts from the same place, and their circumstances do not diminish their talent or their potential. Evidence tells us that students from a lower socioeconomic background and students from regional and remote Australia are not just less likely to start a university degree, they are also less likely to finish one. In fact, the data shows that they are twice as likely to drop out after their first year of university than other students.

That is why this bill introduces needs based funding. Just as the Gonski reforms recognised that schools needed additional support to help students facing disadvantage, this bill applies the same principle to higher education. Universities will receive additional funding for students from lower socioeconomic backgrounds, for First Nations students and students studying at regional campuses.

Under the previous arrangements, universities sometimes received as little as around $600 per eligible student. Under this legislation, the base equity amount will be over $1,500 per student and the regional amount over $1,300. In many cases, that is more than double the previous levels of support.

That funding can be used for tutoring, mentoring, academic assistance, scholarship and emergency financial support. This reform is demand driven, meaning that, the more eligible students a university supports, the more funding it will receive. Opportunity is not just about getting a place at university; it is about making sure that every student has the support that they need to succeed once they get there.

That is how we build a fairer education system and a stronger Australia. This bill also strengthens the way international student numbers are managed. International education is one of Australia's greatest success stories.

It enriches our campuses, strengthens research and innovation, supports thousands of jobs and makes a significant contribution to our economy. But growth needs to be well managed and well planned. This bill provides a clear framework for ATEC to independently allocate international student places, with the overall cap set by the minister in consultation with universities.

It allows the commission to consider priorities such as student housing and market diversification, giving universities greater certainty while supporting sustainable growth. The bill also makes technical amendments to improve information-sharing between agencies and ensure each body can carry out their roles effectively. This is sensible reform.

It gives universities greater certainty, strengthens independent decision-making and helps make sure international education keeps growing in a way that's sustainable and serves the long-term interests of students, universities and the wider community. This bill is not isolated reform. The Albanese Labor government has made education a priority.

We have delivered the three-day guarantee so more children can access early education. We have delivered record funding for public schools, tied to meaningful reforms that help students catch up, keep up and finish school. And we have delivered a cut of 20 per cent to student debt and introduced paid prac.

Each of these reforms has the same purpose: to remove barriers and create opportunity. Labor will always ensure that where someone starts in life does not determine where they can finish or what they can achieve. Education is one of the greatest investments any government can make.

In Bonner in my community, education is something more and it's also something that our community values. Almost one in three people in our electorate already hold a bachelor's degree. That reflects a community that understands the opportunities education creates.

This bill is about ensuring those same opportunities remain within reach for the next generation. This bill is about ensuring that talent is never held back by disadvantage. It's about a young person's future being determined by their ability and hard work, not their postcode or family circumstances.

This is another important step towards a fairer higher education system, because talent has never been a problem in our country, but opportunity has. I commend the bill to the House. The DEPUTY SPEAKER ( Ms Chesters ): I understand that the member for Pearce would like to present a copy of their speech for incorporation into Hansard, in accordance with the resolution agreed to on 6 November 2025.