Access and Participation programs are available to help Australians who want to attend university, regardless of circumstances, background or location.
Needs-based Funding
Needs-based Funding commenced on 1 January 2026 and has been introduced as a core part of funding for teaching and learning in Australia, changing the way funding is provided to universities to support students from priority cohorts.
Needs-based funding supports initiatives that engage people from underrepresented backgrounds to access and complete higher education.
The new system provides universities with additional funding contributions above core Commonwealth supported place (CSP) funding, to better support students from underrepresented backgrounds including:
- Students from low SES backgrounds (undergraduate level)
- First Nations students (undergraduate and postgraduate levels)
- Students studying at regional and remote campuses
Delivering Needs-based Funding
Funding for 2026 is provided to eligible providers in accordance with the Higher Education Support (Other Grants) Amendment Guidelines 2025.
Further information is available in the Needs-based Funding Guidance.
Needs-Based Funding & Outreach: Information Session
Outreach Funding Program
Outreach Funding is aimed at increasing the number of people from underrepresented backgrounds considering and accessing higher education.
The Outreach Funding program (Outreach) commenced 1 January 2026 and will provide approximately $44 million annually to support initiatives that engage people from underrepresented backgrounds and build aspiration for tertiary education.
This funding focuses on the pre-access stage of the student life cycle and is designed to complement Needs-based Funding by targeting early engagement. Outreach activities will be collaborative, student-centric, and tailored to break down barriers to participation, particularly for individuals from low SES backgrounds, First Nations communities, and regional and remote areas. Outreach replaces the outreach component of the Higher Education Participation and Partnerships Program (HEPPP).
These reforms are part of the Government’s broader strategy to achieve the Australian Universities Accord target of 80 per cent tertiary attainment among working-aged Australians by 2050, ensuring that more people from diverse backgrounds can access, participate in, and succeed in higher education.
Funding is provided to eligible providers in accordance with the Higher Education Support (Other Grants) Amendment Guidelines 2025.
Further information is available in the Outreach Funding Guidance.
Demand Driven Funding for all First Nations students
From 2021, the Australian Government guaranteed Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students from regional and remote areas a Commonwealth supported place.
This measure has now been extended to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students regardless of location.
New demand-driven funding will support all First Nations students to go to university.
Since 2024, all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students in Australia are guaranteed a Commonwealth supported place at a university of their choice, when accepted into their chosen non-medical course of study. From 2026 these arrangements will be extended to courses in medicine.
An eligible university place is:
- a non-designated, bachelor level course (other than medicine) at an Australian public university, or
- an undergraduate or postgraduate course in medicine at an eligible university (from 2026, pending passage of legislation).
The Australian Universities Accord process has highlighted the increased challenges First Nations students continue to experience, noting to meet the Closing the Gap target ‘by 2031, 70% of First Nations people have a tertiary qualification’, systemic barriers to participation need to be addressed.
Introducing demand driven funding for all First Nations students responds to Priority Action 3 of the Australian Universities Accord Interim Report.
Demand-driven funding for these students will have flow-on benefits for all First Nations communities across Australia by increasing the number of First Nations graduates in the workforce. It will help increase delivery of professional services and support other enterprises requiring university educated workforces. It will also increase the availability of role models in communities for increased aspiration to pursue further education.
University Study Hubs
University Study Hubs help students in regional, remote, and outer suburban areas of Australia access and succeed in tertiary education, closer to home.
There are 56 Regional University Study Hubs and 15 Suburban University Study Hubs located across Australia.
Hubs provide facilities and support such as:
- Study spaces
- Video conferencing
- Computing facilities and internet access
- Academic skills support and pastoral care for students studying via distance at any Australian university or vocational education and training provider.
Read more about the University Study Hubs
National Regional, Rural and Remote Tertiary Education Strategy
On 19 June 2020, a series of measures to provide more opportunities for regional Australia were announced as part of the Job-ready Graduates Package. Worth more than $400 million over 5 years, these regional measures include:
- Increased financial support for higher education study
- Improved travel support.
Read the National Regional, Rural and Remote Tertiary Education Strategy - final report
Tertiary Access Payment
The Tertiary Access Payment (TAP) is a non-indexed, means-tested payment of up to $5,000 to school-leavers from regional or remote areas who need to relocate for full-time, higher-level tertiary education (Certificate IV and above) at an education provider located at least 90 minutes by public transport from their family home.
Find out if you’re eligible for the TAP
Regional Education Commissioner
By 2030, the Regional Education Commissioner aims to halve the difference in tertiary education outcomes between regional and metropolitan students.
The Commissioner:
- Oversees the implementation of recommendations from the National Regional, Rural and Remote Tertiary Education Strategy - final report
- Champions regional education across all education sectors
- Oversees and coordinate projects that respond to the strategy
- Works with all tiers of government and other stakeholders.
Read more about the Regional Education Commissioner
Higher Education Disability Support Program
The Disability Support Program (DSP) provides funding to eligible higher education providers, to assist with supporting students with disability to access, participate and succeed in higher education.
Providers may use funding for staff training, to better support students with disability, and to modify course content, teaching materials and delivery methods to better meet the needs of students with disability.
The DSP provides funding for the Australian Disability Clearinghouse on Education and Training (ADCET) website. The site provides information, advice and resources to disability practitioners, teachers and students with disability, on inclusive practices within the post-secondary education sector.
Learn more about the Higher Education Disability Support Program
Australian Centre for Student Equity and Success (ACSES)
On 6 July 2022, Minister for Education, the Hon Jason Clare MP announced $20.5 million over four years to expand the work of the National Centre for Student Equity in Higher Education (NCSEHE) at Curtin University, and in 2024, the centre’s name was changed to the Australian Centre for Student Equity and Success (ACSES). The Centre will work with the tertiary education sector to understand and implement the best practice approaches to supporting students from underrepresented groups and facilitate the adoption of these approaches in the sector.
ACSES has been established as part of the Australian Government’s efforts to improve higher education outcomes including access, participation, retention, success, and attainment rates, as well as rates of transition to meaningful employment or further study for people from marginalised and disadvantaged backgrounds.
These disadvantaged groups include First Nations students, people with disability, people from low socio-economic status (low SES) backgrounds, and people from regional and remote areas, as well as people who experience cumulative disadvantage that results in barriers to higher education.
ACSES will support the building and translation to practice of a robust high quality evidence base; strengthen Australia’s student equity in higher education translational research quality, capability, and capacity; drive institutional best practice and improve on the ground delivery of equity measures; and influence evidence based public policy and program design and implementation.
Find out more about the Australian Centre for Student Equity and Success (ACSES)
The Higher Education Participation and Partnerships Program (HEPPP) was discontinued on 1 January 2026
The Higher Education Participation and Partnerships Program (HEPPP) provided funding to universities listed in Table A of the Higher Education Support Act 2003 to implement strategies that improved access to undergraduate courses for people from regional and remote Australia, low SES backgrounds and Indigenous persons.
HEPPP was replaced by the Needs-based Funding (NBF) and Outreach Funding programs.
Further information on these programs is included in the Needs-based Funding Guidance and Outreach Funding Guidance documents.
Regional Partnerships Project Pool Program (RPPPP)
The Regional Partnerships Project Pool Program (RPPPP) supports the delivery of multi-year collaborative outreach projects that enable the higher education aspirations of students in regional and remote Australia.
Read more about the Regional Partnerships Project Pool Program
The National Priorities Pool Program (NPPP)
The National Priorities Pool Program provides grants to Table A higher education providers to conduct research projects and trial initiatives designed to:
- inform future equity policy development and equity practice nationally and at an institutional level
- help increase the number of persons from a low socio-economic status (SES) background, persons from regional areas and remote areas, and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander persons who aspire to, access, participate in, remain in, and succeed in higher education
- help increase the number of persons from a low SES background, persons from regional areas and remote areas, and Indigenous persons who obtain higher education awards.
Find out more about the National Priorities Pool Program (NPPP)