Jason Clare (Blaxland, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Education) Share this | Hansard source

Yes. As the shadow minister knows and as I've written back to him—I do want the shadow minister to actively engage with the accord team on this, and I'll write to him about this—the terms of reference say:

That is deliberate there. I know you have a sincere interest in this, and I want you to engage with the panel on this issue and the broader impact that it's having across the sector.

You also asked a question about the 20,000 places and people from underrepresented groups. You make a really important point, Shadow Minister, that their completion rates are lower than others. About 70 per cent of people who start a degree finish it; it's about 60 per cent for people from low SES backgrounds, from the bush or from Indigenous backgrounds. The program you identified is one of a number that are important. HEPPP is another, and enabling programs are important as well. And there is another terms of reference that we really need to look at carefully here, because I want more people from underrepresented groups to go to uni and I want more of them to complete their university degrees.

Proposed expenditure agreed to.

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