More Australians will go to university next year than ever before, with the number of fully funded university places in 2027 announced today.
The number of Commonwealth Supported Places for next year is 624,590, with individual allocations for providers to be announced next month.
This means an extra 23,000 places in the higher education system next year.
The Universities Accord (Opening the Doors of Opportunity) Act which passed the Parliament this month gives the Minister for Education the ability to set a Total Allocation Pool (TAP).
The legislation means that the TAP can’t go backwards from one year to the next.
It also gives the Australian Tertiary Education Commission (ATEC) the tools to allocate these places.
In addition, the ATEC can request more places where it thinks they are needed, including for students from poor backgrounds, the regions and the bush.
The new Managed Growth System was a key recommendation of the Universities Accord.
The Accord says that by 2050, 80 per cent of the workforce will need a university degree or vocational qualification.
This will ensure growth happens where it is needed and more people can get the skills they need and that Australia needs.
This legislation means an extra $3.6 billion in funding for universities and an extra 230,000 commencing students over the next decade.
Quotes attributable to Minister for Education Jason Clare:
“Next year more Australians will go to university than ever before.
“More jobs require more skills.
“That means we have to open the doors of our universities wider. In our big cities, in the suburbs and in the bush.
“This will mean we have more teachers, more nurses, more scientists, more engineers, more of the skills Australia needs.”
