HELP loans for short courses, grad start-ups: UA

The peak body has also suggested expanding the government’s signature 20 per cent HECS debt reduction to up to 50 per cent for Indigenous students in priority sectors such as education and community development.

Universities want the Albanese government to extend student loans to short courses and skills certificates as well as to graduate entrepreneurs wanting to start companies.

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Universities want the Albanese government to extend student loans to short courses and skills certificates as well as to graduate entrepreneurs wanting to start companies, and to develop a standard system for recognising university qualifications across the Indo-Pacific.

The peak body for universities has also suggested boosting productivity by expanding the government’s signature 20 per cent HECS-HELP reduction – which is set to pass through parliament this week – to 35- to 50 per cent for Indigenous students in priority sectors such as education and community development.

In its submission to Treasurer Jim Chalmers’ Economic Reform Roundtable in August, Universities Australia says the government could “better enable lifelong learning, up-skilling and retraining” by extending HELP funding and loans to micro-credentials which are often shorter than a standard university subject, while providing similar HELP-style loans for graduate entrepreneurs to secure start-up capital.

Universities Australia has also called on the government to take an “international approach” to qualification recognition in the ASEAN region and the broader Indo-Pacific, such that an engineer graduate from a reputable university in Malaysia, for example, could easily practise in Australia.

The government should allow for “more flexibility” in trans­national delivery models so more students with Australian qualifications in areas of need can work in Australia post-study, and develop “more globally competitive” visa settings.

Universities Australia chief executive Luke Sheehy said Australia’s small-to-medium businesses were often “underpowered when it comes to innovation”, with the submission suggesting the government develop a program to provide pre-seed funding for SMEs to collaborate with universities in the first stages of the commercialisation process.

It also suggests the government establish a US-style national broker network to connect SMEs with universities through funding to create new technologies.

Universities Australia renewed its appeals for the government to replace the Job-Ready Graduates Package and to raise the PhD stipend to reflect a “realistic cost-of-living”.

“JRG is a barrier to building Australia’s future workforce, particularly in relation to humanities and social sciences disciplines, and we urge the government to urgently fix the perverse incentives and inefficiencies this system has entrenched for providers,” the submission states.

The peak body also took aim at over-regulation in the sector which it said “stifles innovation, increases costs, hinders economic growth and complicates operating environments”, and suggested the government adopt a scheme such as Canada’s one-for-one Red Tape Reduction Act.

“Staff are bogged down in layers of red tape and this, ultimately, makes Australia’s universities less productive and distracts from their core mission of delivering the highest quality teaching, learning and research,” the submission states.

“Outdated regulatory frameworks will only hold Australia’s universities back from delivering the skilled workforce and driving the innovation needed to address Australia’s broader productivity challenge.”

Mr Sheehy said the government would not be able to fix productivity, which was crawling at its slowest pace in 60 years, “without fixing workforce skills and supercharging innovation”.

“That’s where universities come in,” he said.

“Universities educate the professionals who will power Australia’s future – from nurses, engineers and data specialists. But outdated funding and regulatory settings are holding the system back.
“We’re delivering the skilled graduates Australia needs, expanding work-integrated learning, partnering with business to build micro-credentials and conversion programs, and collaborating with small-to-medium businesses to turn research into commercial outcomes.

“Universities stand ready to help – providing the research, talent, infrastructure and partnerships small businesses need to grow, adapt and become more productive.”

Mr Sheehy said if “we want a more prosperous, productive nation, we need to unleash the full potential of our people and ideas”.