Tracey Roberts (Pearce, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I rise in support of the motion moved by the member for Holt. The Australian Universities Accord is the biggest and broadest review of the higher education sector in 15 years. It sets out a way forward to ensure we have a stronger, fairer economy and country, futureproofing our nation with the skills we need that are home-grown by our universities and TAFEs. As part of our response to the accord, the government has set a national target of 80 per cent of the workforce having a tertiary qualification by 2050. This approach is ambitious, but it will help to ensure that we build the skills we need for a future made in Australia, where no-one is held back and no-one is left behind.

The government is providing cost-of-living relief to make higher education better and fairer for students, including those from low socioeconomic or disadvantaged backgrounds and those from the outer suburbs or regional Australia. This is important. I know it is often a challenge for students living in the outer suburbs of my electorate of Pearce to pursue a tertiary education. Younger people have not been forgotten in this budget, and we are cutting student debt for more than 3 million Australians and wiping around $3 billion in student debt. To do this, we are introducing help-along credits for people impacted by the recent inflation spike. We are making sure that, in the future, student debt never grows faster than wages or the ability to pay it off. The way indexation is calculated will be improved, making sure last year's indexation spike cannot happen again.

From 1 July, these changes to student debt will help support nearly 18,000 persons with a HELP debt in Pearce. From 1 July next year, we are also delivering new financial support for students who undertake mandatory unpaid placements as part of their study, including in nursing, teaching, social work and midwifery. The Commonwealth prac payment will provide around 68,000 higher education students and approximately 7,200 VET students in WA with more than $300 per week while they are on mandatory placements as part of their degree. I know that these unpaid placements put real pressure on people. Too many students are forced to drop out of courses that they are passionate about, because they simply cannot afford to do their prac. We believe no-one should be held back from higher education because of the cost. We will deliver fee-free university-ready courses to provide more students with an enabling pathway into higher education. This is expected to increase the number of students undertaking these courses by 40 per cent in 2030, double the number of students by 2040 and give more Australians the skills they need to get into the course that they choose.

Importantly, the government will make needs based funding a core component of funding for higher education, teaching and learning. A new managed-growth funding system with fully funded places will be developed for Commonwealth supported places to meet student demand, maintain sustainable growth and increase opportunity for people from underrepresented backgrounds.

I was pleased to see the intention to improve tertiary harmonisation by supporting better student pathways between VET and higher education and by reducing red tape for dual-sector providers. I used to work in a school. I know that for some students the pathways to tertiary education can be a little intimidating, especially when choices are made as early as year 10, with some finding themselves locked into a course that is not ideal in terms of their long-term goals. It would make life so much easier to have more flexibility and recognition between sectors that support better student pathways.

Should the broader accord targets be achieved, $240 billion will be added to the economy over the period to 2050. I also commend the Albanese Labor government for progress being made on all five priority actions from the Australian Universities Accord interim report. In particular, I also wish to highlight that the government has agreed to establish an independent national student ombudsman; establish a higher education code to prevent and respond to gender based violence; undertake a study into the prevalence and impact of racism across the university system; and guarantee funding for student led organisations. I reiterate my support of the motion moved by the hardworking member for Holt.

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