Universities Accord (Opening the Doors of Opportunity) Bill 2026
Ms JORDAN-BAIRD (Gorton) (13:16): On this side of the House we believe something simple: no matter where in Australia you live or how much money your parents make, you deserve the same opportunities as your fellow Australians. This simple principle underpins the work of the Australian Labor Party and the changes that we in this government push for. It underpins a fair go for all Australians and it underpins this bill, which I am honoured to stand and speak on today.
The name of the bill, the Universities Accord (Opening the Doors of Opportunity) Bill 2026, reflects something the Prime Minister said on election night last year and which was repeated by the Minister for Education when he introduced the bill: that we are committed to opening the doors of opportunity for Australians a little bit wider. In Australia right now, not everyone has the same access to higher education.
Close to 50 per cent of Australians in their 30s have a university degree, but it's only about half that for those who grew up in a poor family or in the regions. It's even less in the bush. Young people who grow up outside our major cities or who are born into lower-income families are less likely to have the opportunity to go to uni and, if they do go, are less likely to finish their studies.
That's not right, and that's the issue this bill is addressing. But it's not new for the Albanese Labor government to make the right changes for a fairer education system. We've seen fairer access to education, with cheaper child care, the three-day childcare guarantee and the Better and Fairer Schools Agreement, all while investing in the fantastic educators at these early learning centres, backing this incredible workforce all the way with a 15 per cent pay rise.
I have one of the youngest electorates in the country, and, with 10 babies born in the city of Melton every day, we're growing. So many centres are being built and opened in the western suburbs, and we're building even more of these through our $1 billion Building Early Education Fund, meaning more not-for-profit early learning centres in areas where families need them most, like Garrong Early Learning Victoria, which I was proud to open, alongside our Minister for Education and Minister for Early Childhood Education.
And just a few weeks ago, alongside the Victorian government, I announced a new early learning centre in Rockbank. This will be co-located with a brand new school that will open at the same time in 2028. When I had a look at the site a few weeks ago it was just an empty field, and I'm so excited to see construction kick off in coming months.
Access to education starts early, and early childhood education sets up a child's education journey throughout their life. It's why projects like this are so incredibly important. No matter where in Australia you were born, you deserve fair access to education throughout your entire education journey.
I'd like to commend the Victorian Labor government for working with our educators, who support our kids every day, to deliver a significant pay rise and better working conditions, which the AEU voted in favour of on Monday. Through the Better and Fairer Schools Agreement, we've now struck some really important agreements with every state and territory across this country to fix this funding problem.
Twenty billion dollars will go to our public schools across the country over the next 10 years. This will see the Commonwealth increase its contribution to the schooling resource standard, putting every public school on a path to receive full funding. There will be an extra $3.5 billion for Victorian public schools over the next 10 years.
It will be tied to real reforms—the sorts of reforms we need in our schools to help more kids who fall behind catch up and keep up and to help more kids finish secondary school. That's what we need, because, in the years ahead, more jobs are going to require young people to finish high school and then go on to university or TAFE. This bill is making sure the next step to university is within reach for young Australians.
What's significant about this bill is that we're making some important changes to the way our higher education system is funded and managed. The number of students going to university is growing, and we need to address the challenges that can come with that. So we're creating a new managed growth funding system, and we're giving the Australian Tertiary Education Commission the tools to manage that growth.
The minister will set the total pool of Commonwealth supported places, and ATEC will then allocate those places to universities and other eligible providers. Each university will receive a core allocation. This will help make sure universities don't go backwards and will help make sure they can receive additional places through a growth allocation.
The ATEC can use this growth allocation to put places, including those for students from low socioeconomic backgrounds and from regional and remote areas, where they are most needed, meaning the system can better respond to demand from these students. Where demand from these groups is greater than the number of available places, ATEC can ask the minister to increase the total allocation pool.
We're basically setting up the system to allow growth to meet demand from students who have traditionally been underrepresented at uni. In outer suburban Melbourne—for example, in our western suburbs—sure, university is technically an option. But it isn't always accessible.
Whether it's the financial demands a household faces or even the commute to get to uni, these barriers can prevent young Australians from pursuing and finishing their degrees. That's why this bill also introduces a new needs based funding system. This additional funding for university is based on the needs of their students.
It will support students from low socioeconomic backgrounds and students studying at regional campuses. The more eligible students a university has, the more funding it will receive. This is different from previous programs where the funding was capped.
The funding will be demand driven, and universities can use this funding for practical support like tutoring and mentoring, academic support, scholarships or emergency grants. It can also help universities meet the higher cost of operating regional and remote campuses. We're also formalising ATEC's role in allocating Commonwealth supported places, giving one body responsibility for managing the growth of the system.
We're also dealing with the matter of international student allocations. We will also continue to set a national planning level for international students. In this bill, there is no new statutory cap on international students.
Instead, where the government sets a national planning level, the ATEC will allocate places between individual universities and other higher education providers. The minister can set the overall allocation pool and require ATEC to take certain government priorities into account, but the actual allocation of places between providers will be made by the ATEC. Finally, the bill will make some technical changes to allow information to be shared between the ATEC, TEQSA and the Commonwealth Ombudsman.
This will inform the work of these bodies and help them to carry out their functions. In simple terms, we're changing how university places are allocated, how universities are funded for disadvantaged and regional students and how growth across the higher education system is managed. We're giving the ATEC the tools to manage that growth and directing more funding towards students and communities that have historically been less likely to access and complete university.
We're opening the door of opportunity for future generations across Australia. In my own community in Melbourne's west, I recently had the privilege of visiting Copperfield College in Sydenham, where I participated in the Be Bold Be Heard program alongside an inspiring panel of women from across my local community. Be Bold Be Heard is an outstanding leadership and advocacy initiative that empowers young women to become confident change-makers within their schools.
At a recent visit to St Mary MacKillop Primary School, I spoke with the students in grade 5 about civics. At CRC North Keilor, I recently took part in their awards assembly, a moment for students' achievements to be recognised and preparing them to take their next steps through their education into work, TAFE or uni. My local schools and the incredible work of their student cohorts are a reminder that talent is everywhere and hard work is everywhere.
Where there is talent, drive and hard work, young Aussies should be supported to pursue their futures through higher education. Whatever suburb a young person grows up in or what their parents earn should not determine whether they get a crack at university. That is what this bill is about.
I meet young people in the community every day, and I'm always in awe of the passion and contributions they bring to our local communities. Just this week, we have had our local youth parliamentarian for Gorton, Gunmay. I'm so incredibly proud to have him here in Canberra.
He's busy at Old Parliament House today debating intergenerational fairness, a real issue facing young people and one which is really well illustrated by the rising cost of university and the need for fair access to higher education. Gunmay, along with the cohort of young parliamentarians, has been discussing how the laws that we debate and pass here in parliament can last into the future.
I trust that this bill serves as an example of one that has deep impacts for future generations, because education and fair access to education is truly life changing. Access to university creates real, lasting intergenerational change. I recently visited the Marian Centre in Ravenhall and met an incredible group of young people, a number of them students in the allied health sector.
These students have been completing their prac placements without any financial supports to account for the fact that their training prevents them from taking up an income. Paid pracs will change that. Prac payments are an education and training payment designed to give people a bit of extra help to get the qualifications they need and that we need to get more people working in the industries where we need them most.
We've recently introduced paid pracs for teaching, nursing, midwifery and social work students. When unpaid hours spent working at mandatory practical placements are a barrier to young Aussies completing their education and when it's in those industries where we need a strong workforce, something needs to change to support these students. Paid prac is a natural choice because teaching, nursing, midwifery and social work students deserve the right supports to complete their degrees and enter the workforce.
This is increasing access to opportunities and having a real impact on people's lives and their futures as well. Part of having accessible education means making sure student debt remains fair. This is not the first time I've spoken in this chamber about this, but it's worth repeating.
The very first piece of legislation that passed this parliament was the wiping of every student debt by 20 per cent. This wiped $16 billion in student debt for over 3.2 million Australians, including 26,000 Australians in my electorate of Gorton, and made sure that student debt doesn't grow faster than wages. We have double the number of university study hubs in the regions and, for the first time, have established them in our outer suburbs to bring university closer to where people live.
It's wonderful that we have one located at the Melton Library and Learning Hub, in my friend the member for Hawke's electorate. Nearly half of young Australians have a degree, but this is not the case in the western suburbs. The evidence shows that, where study hubs are, university participation goes up.
This new study hub in Melton will give residents in my community from Thornhill Park and Fraser Rise the chance to study and grow closer to home. Education is a pathway to opportunity, and the Albanese Labor government knows that opportunity should not be restricted by where you live or how much your parents earn. What should matter is your ability, your hard work and your determination.
That is the principle that this bill is protecting, opening the doors of opportunity just a little bit wider so more young Aussies can get the education and build the future they deserve. I commend this bill to the House. The DEPUTY SPEAKER ( Ms Claydon ): It being almost 13.30, the debate is interrupted in accordance with standing order 43.
The debate may be resumed at a later hour. The member doesn't require leave to continue, but, when the debate is resumed, we'll move to the next speaker.