The Rudd Government is making an historic change to the way universities are funded.
Through the Education Revolution, the Rudd Government is investing in the jobs of today and the jobs of tomorrow to build a stronger, fairer and more productive Australia in the long term.
From 2012, Australian public universities will be funded on the basis of student demand.
This will enable an additional 50 000 students to commence university studies by 2013 and produce 217,000 additional graduates by 2025.
The Rudd Government will provide Commonwealth supported places for all domestic undergraduate students accepted into an eligible, accredited higher education course with a recognised public higher education provider.
This reform will ensure universities cater to the needs of students and deliver a quality education. Universities will no longer receive funding for places they do not deliver.
The new system will reward universities that are able to attract students.
This will lead to improvements in quality across the board.
To ensure that universities have time to prepare for the new demand-driven system, the current funding floor for universities will be maintained for the years 2009–11. The current cap on over-enrolment will be raised from five to ten per cent from 2010. The cap will be removed in 2012.
The move to a student-centred system is estimated to cost $490.6 million over the next four years and will result in a substantial increase in student numbers in the higher education sector.
This change is fundamental to the Government’s plan to increase the proportion of 25-34 year-old Australians with bachelor level qualifications to 40 per cent by 2025.
The new system will be balanced by a new quality and regulatory agency. In addition the Government will act to support students and universities to undertake and provide studies that are critical to the needs of the economy and that are in the public interest.
The new direction responds to the Bradley Review of Australian Higher Education recommendation that a more student-focused system was necessary to improve the level of higher education attainment of the Australian population.
Through the Education Revolution, the Rudd Government is putting in place the long-term reforms necessary to ensure that the Australia of tomorrow is better educated, higher skilled and more inclusive.