Next Steps in Needs-Based University Funding

The Hon Jason Clare MP
Minister for Education

The Albanese Government has today released a consultation paper on the design of needs-based funding to help people who start a degree to finish it.

The consultation paper will inform the design of a new needs-based funding system so students from disadvantaged backgrounds, students with a disability and Indigenous Australians get the extra support they need to succeed at university.

The new system is also proposed to direct funding to students studying at regional campuses, recognising the higher costs regional universities face to deliver courses.

The Universities Accord recommended a new funding system to replace the current grant-based, fixed funding equity programs that are complex and no longer fit for purpose.

The Government is also undertaking consultation on the design of the Australian Tertiary Education Commission (ATEC) and the new Managed Growth Funding System which are central to setting the tertiary education sector up for the future.

These reforms are central to reaching the Government's target of having 80 per cent of the workforce with a university degree or TAFE qualification by 2050.

The needs-based funding consultation paper is now live and can be found here.

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