The Australian Academy of the Humanities has welcomed proposed reforms to make Australia’s higher education system more equitable and better able to respond to national needs.
In a submission on the Universities Accord (Opening the Doors of Opportunity) Bill 2026, the Academy supports the move towards a managed-growth funding system and additional assistance for students from low socioeconomic, regional and remote backgrounds.
However, it argues that two significant issues must be addressed if the reforms are to achieve their objectives:
- the inequitable Job-ready Graduates (JRG) funding model must be replaced; and
- the Australian Tertiary Education Commission (ATEC) must be equipped to safeguard the full range of knowledge and disciplinary capabilities Australia needs.
What would the Bill change?
The Bill proposes to change the way Commonwealth-supported university places are funded.
Rather than funding universities through a maximum dollar amount, the new system would be based on an allocated number of equivalent full-time student places. The Minister would determine the overall pool of Commonwealth-supported places, with ATEC responsible for allocating places among universities.
The Bill would also provide additional demand-driven places and needs-based funding for students who have historically been underrepresented in higher education.
The Academy supports these equity and system-stewardship objectives. A managed-growth model, with clear safeguards for university autonomy and clearly defined roles for ATEC and the Minister.
Download the Academy’s submission to the bill here.
Job-ready Graduates remains a barrier to equity
A Bill intended to open the doors of university cannot leave in place a funding model that imposes the highest student contributions on much of the humanities, arts and social sciences.
The Job-ready Graduates (JRG) policy created extreme differences in course fees that are not consistently related to teaching costs, graduate earnings or demonstrated workforce need.
The Academy strongly argues that this directly conflicts with the Bill’s equity objectives. We now know students from disadvantaged backgrounds are more sensitive to the prospect of accumulating debt, particularly when they are uncertain about completing their degree.
Evidence cited in the submission shows that since the introduction of the JRG (2020) to 2024:
- commencements by students from low socioeconomic backgrounds fell by 9.8%, compared with a 2.2% decline among other students; and
- low-SES commencements in courses attracting the highest student contribution rates fell by 19.7%.
The Academy is calling on the Australian Government to begin an immediate redesign of student and Commonwealth contribution arrangements alongside implementation of the Bill.
Flexibility must not become a penalty
The new system will require universities and government to forecast student numbers and account for over- and under-enrolment.
The Academy cautions that an overly rigid or administratively burdensome system could have unintended consequences for the students the Bill is intended to support.
Students from low socioeconomic, regional and other underrepresented backgrounds are more likely to study part-time, combine study with work or caring responsibilities, need additional transition support, or change their study load as their circumstances change.
Universities should be encouraged to provide this flexibility, not penalised for it.
The Academy recommends that enrolment-accounting arrangements be designed so they do not disadvantage students who need to reduce, extend or vary their study load, or universities that support them to do so.
ATEC must look beyond short-term workforce demand
The establishment of ATEC creates an opportunity to move beyond narrow and static assessments of “job readiness”.
Australia’s future needs cannot be understood simply by matching degrees with current occupations. Artificial intelligence, automation and economic change are reshaping jobs and tasks, increasing the importance of adaptable capabilities such as complex problem-solving, creativity, communication and ethical judgement.
Humanities education makes a substantial contribution to these capabilities.
The Academy argues that ATEC’s planning framework should therefore consider not only enrolment demand, equity and near-term workforce shortages, but also the breadth of knowledge and expertise Australia needs for its long-term prosperity, resilience and national interests.
