George Brandis (Queensland, Liberal Party, Minister for the Arts and Sport) Share this | Hansard source

Senator Joyce has been good enough to foreshadow his question to the minister’s office in advance and I have been provided with the following answer. To reinforce the expectation that universities will be responsible in their decisions on fee-paying places and be transparent about them, the Minister for Education, Science and Training will be introducing some new provisions in their funding agreements with the Australian government. Higher education providers will need to publish in advance details of any undergraduate courses where the balance between Commonwealth supported and domestic fee-paying places offered is to be changed substantially. If a university proposes to offer an undergraduate course on a fee-paying basis only, the reasons for that decision will also have to be published and that decision must be approved by the minister. In the unlikely event that it is needed, a further provision of funding agreements will enable the Australian government to direct a provider to provide Commonwealth supported places in a particular course where it would be in the interests of prospective students to give such a direction. There would be an opportunity for the provider to raise concerns about any such proposed direction.