A Senate committee has been told that the Australian government’s proposed higher education funding overhaul risks reducing rather than increasing participation, giving too much power to ministers and undermining diversity by installing a flawed measure of socio-economic disadvantage.
Submissions to the Education and Employment Committee, which is enquiring into the “Open the Doors of Opportunity” bill, warn that the proposals may not open the doors any wider – and may even close them slightly.
The government expects the measures to spawn an extra 200,000 commencing domestic university students over the next decade. But critics say the bill appropriates no new funding to bankroll this growth, and some of its provisions – particularly fines for exceeding “over-enrolment” caps – could have the opposite effect.
The Australian Technology Network of Universities (ATN) highlighted the “uncertainty” surrounding the proposals. “Nothing in the bill requires growth in places,” ATN’s submission says. “The growth allocation is a power the commission may use, not a duty it must meet.”
Universities Australia (UA) said access to additional places remained dependent on future ministerial decisions with no “guaranteed pathway” for growth. “The bill…largely legislates ceilings without corresponding floors,” UA’s submission says.
