Member for Bradfield:
Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Minister for Education. Universities are facing chronic underfunding resulting in drastic cuts to staff and degrees. I’ve heard from distraught students whose degrees are being discontinued midway through. Charging for services not delivered in any other context would be called a scam. What is the minister doing to protect students and guarantee that the units those students have completed and paid for will be credited towards the completion of a similar degree?

Speaker:
Call to the Minister for Education.

Minister for Education:
Thanks, Mr. Speaker. And can I thank the member for Bradfield for a question and congratulate her on her election to this place.

The first point I’d make is that we’re investing an extra $6.7 billion into our universities over the next decade. That’s all part of the first stage of our implementation of the universities accord. It’s about helping to make sure that more young people get a crack at going to university—particularly a lot of young people from our outer suburbs, from the bush, from disadvantaged backgrounds.

The second point I’d make is that where a young person finds themselves in the situation you’ve just pointed out, universities have legal obligations. They’ve got to provide that student with a teach-out plan. It basically means they’ve got to enable that student to complete that degree, to complete the study of that course, or find a mutually acceptable alternative at no disadvantage to that student. So that is the law. That is the legal requirement under the TEQSA Act.

I’d also make the point that where universities are making decisions that significantly affect students or staff, they need to talk to them, listen to them, work with them, consult with them properly.

Can I make the general point here that I want to see our universities grow. I want more young people to get a crack at going to university. There are more young people starting a uni degree this year than ever before. When you take out the two years of COVID, which is a bit of an anomaly, there are more young people starting a degree this year than ever before. And universities are telling me they expect more students next year than this year.

In the next 10 years, we expect an extra 200,000 young Australians to take on a university degree. Universities need to get ready for that. That’s what the universities accord is all about. That includes the work we’re doing to fund more bridging courses for young people who aren’t ready to start a university degree—to do one of those free courses that builds a bridge from school to university.

It includes the work we’re doing on paid financial support for teaching, nursing, midwifery and social work students while they do the practical part of their degree. And it includes a demand-driven system for young people from disadvantaged backgrounds: if they get the marks, they get a Commonwealth supported place. I’ll introduce legislation next year to make that a reality too. Because I want us to be a country where you can’t tell where someone grew up based on whether they got a university degree or not.

Can I also briefly say this: if you don’t think we’ve got a problem with governance of universities at the moment, then you’ve probably been living under a rock. That’s why I’ve introduced a national student ombudsman. That’s why there’s a Senate inquiry about this right now and an expert panel that will give me advice—and other education ministers—in the next couple of weeks. And it’s why I announced last week plans to increase the powers available to TEQSA, the university regulator, to make sure they’ve got the powers they need.