Higher education funding supports better learning and teaching.
20,000 additional Commonwealth supported places
The additional places will address skill shortages and give more students from under-represented backgrounds the opportunity to attain a higher education qualification.
Job-ready Graduates Package
The Job-ready Graduates Package will result in:
- Changes to student contributions
- More opportunities for regional students
If you're a current and new students studying from 1 January 2021, you should:
- Talk to your current or intended higher education provider
- Confirm whether these changes affect you
Funding provided
The majority of funding is administered under the Higher Education Support Act (HESA) 2003.
Measures funded under HESA includes the:
- Commonwealth Grant Scheme (CGS) which helps higher education providers to cover student tuition costs
- Higher Education Loan Program (HELP) which helps students meet their study costs
HESA also provides other grants to higher education providers including the:
- Disability Support Program (DSP) which improves access for students with disabilities
- Indigenous Support Program to help meet the needs of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students
- Higher Education Participation and Partnership Program (HEPPP) which helps people from low socio-economic status backgrounds
- National Institute Program to support ongoing operations at the institutes
- Superannuation Program which covers certain superannuation expenses for staff
Determinations are made each year confirming grant or advance amounts paid to each higher education provider.
Higher education funding is indexed annually using the indexation factor for the relevant year in accordance with Part 5-6 of HESA.