On 10 January 2007, the then Minister for Education, Science and Training, the Hon Julie Bishop MP, announced that a consortium of universities had been commissioned to develop a single agreed template for an Australian version of the European Diploma Supplement. The successful consortium represented 14 universities led by the University of New England, the University of Melbourne, and the Australian National University. The project was jointly led by Professor Richard James, Director of the Centre for the Study of Higher Education (CSHE) at the University of Melbourne, Professor Lynn Meek (previously of the University of New England's Centre for Higher Education Management and Policy (CHEMP) and now Director of L H Martin Institute, University of Melbourne) and Professor Grant Harman, Director of the Centre for Higher Education Management and Policy at the University of New England. The final report, Proposal for an Australian Higher Education Graduation Statement was presented to DEEWR in May 2008.
Key recommendations from the report are that the Australian Diploma Supplement be referred to as the Australian Higher Education Graduation Statement, that the Graduation Statement should be provided without cost to all higher education graduates and that implementation in Australian universities should be on a voluntary basis commencing as soon as practicable in 2008. To ensure national consistency, Graduation Statements should be presented in a uniform sequence by all higher education institutions.