Labor to end university funding freeze

Federal Labor will end the Turnbull government’s freeze on university course funding.

Deputy Opposition Leader Tanya Plibersek in parliament yesterday. Picture: AAP

Federal Labor will end the Turnbull government’s freeze on university course funding and commit to the demand-driven funding system that allows universities to get subsidies for an unlimited number of bachelor degree students.

Labor education spokes­woman Tanya Plibersek will tell the Universities Australia conference in Canberra today her party is “absolutely committed to the demand-driven system” that Labor introduced when last in government and which boosted the number of Australians doing university bachelor degrees by more than 30 per cent.

It means that Labor, if elected, will end the Turnbull government’s funding freeze that meant about 9500 fewer places were available for new students this year than in 2017.

“It’s simply not good enough that students working hard in Year 12 this year or those in an enabling or pathway course are faced with continuing uncertainty about whether or not there will be a place for them at university,” Ms Plibersek will tell the conference.

If a student has the ability and works hard, they should have the opportunity of a university education, she will say.

The government’s funding freeze cut about 9500 new student places from universities this year.

Ms Plibersek will also give universities an undertaking to return to three-year funding agreements to give them more budget certainty.

“We will end the cycle of last-minute, one-year and totally inadequate funding agreement that we’ve seen in government,” Ms Plibersek will say.

Even though Labor is pledging to restore the demand-driven system, which gives universities a course subsidy for as many bachelor degree students as they choose to enrol, it has not said what level the subsidy will be at, nor whether it will restore the funding lost because of the government’s two-year freeze.

While Labor’s promise will please universities, they will ­remain concerned that its promise — made last week — to hold a major review of all post-school education will see money transferred away from universities to boost TAFEs, whose funding has collapsed in recent years.

Ms Plibersek will say that ground to be covered by the ­review will include student subsidies and loans.

“We can’t allow a system that sees students taking on qualifications that have no relevance to the workplace or saddle them with bad debt,’’ she says.

“We need to be bold and look at whether current qualification structures, mix of institutions, and financing models are still fit for purpose.

Ms Plibersek will also signal a crackdown against any universities and student residential colleges that do not take tough action against sexual assault and sexual harassment.

“I want to be very clear, if we need to force colleges to do the right thing by their students and staff, we will,’’ she said.