The Hon Julia Gillard MP
Minister for Education. Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations
Minister for Social Inclusion
Deputy Prime Minister
12 May, 2009
Media Release
BUDGET 2009-10: New agency to set quality benchmarks in higher education
The Rudd Government is investing $57 million over four years to establish a new national quality and standards agency as a core component of its response to the Bradley Review of Australian Higher Education.
As part of a move towards a student-focused university system, the Bradley Review proposed a significant re-design of the regulatory environment for universities and the development of a new quality assurance framework.
The Rudd Government will establish a national regulatory agency and a new quality assurance framework, to balance the move towards a more demand-driven funding model and expansion of higher education.
The new Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency (TEQSA) will work with the higher education sector to develop objective and comparative benchmarks and to carry out rigorous audits.
Both domestic and international students will benefit from improved information about the performance of higher education providers to help them make informed decisions about what and where they will study.
The Rudd Government will provide additional funding of $57 million over four years to create TEQSA and develop a new quality assurance framework.
Arrangements for establishing the TEQSA will commence this year and the agency will be fully operational from 2012.
The Government will also establish a new performance funding stream to encourage universities to strive for and achieve quality and other benchmarks. This will commence in 2012 and will be worth approximately $206 million over the forward estimates.
The Rudd Government has put quality teaching and learning at the forefront of the Education Revolution, and in higher education this will include a comprehensive new approach to quality assurance.
The new agency will accredit providers and carry out quality audits. It will protect the overall quality of the Australian higher education system, encourage best practice and streamline current regulatory arrangements to reduce duplication and provide for national consistency.
The agency will work with universities to improve areas such as retention, selection and exit standards and graduate outcomes.
The Rudd Government has set out a higher education reform agenda that will build on Australia’s international reputation for quality.
The Rudd Government is investing in education, the jobs of the future and for the long-term prosperity of the nation.