ATEC, Commonwealth prac payments, productivity roundtable: Latest rundown of higher education
From our Chief Executive Officer
What a week for higher education! The Australian Tertiary Education Commission (ATEC) is now up and running, albeit in an interim capacity, and Commonwealth prac payments are rolling out. These are significant Accord-era reforms, both of which will have a defining effect on our sector, students and the nation more broadly.
Our engagement with the ATEC has started well. Vice-chancellors attended a briefing with the interim commissioners on Tuesday, day one of ATEC’s operations. This speaks volumes about their commitment to working closely with the sector from the start, and I’m pleased UA was able to facilitate this on behalf of, and for the sector’s benefit.
The briefing served as a crucial opportunity to help shape the ATEC’s focus and ensure it delivers real value. We’ll build on this early interaction by taking a constructive approach to our engagement and advocacy as we look to build a strong, ongoing partnership to ensure long-term policy stability, planning and funding certainty for the sector. Onward and upward!
Of all the recommendations in the Accord, the Commonwealth Prac Payment is one of my favourites! This is an absolute game-changer for students undertaking mandatory placements in some disciplines. It means fewer Australians will have to choose between paying the bills and studying for the qualifications they want, and Australia needs. I want to thank Minister Jason Clare MP for making this a reality.
The UA Board met on Wednesday and part of our discussion focused on where we think the Government should go next. Minister Clare has been clear on most of his immediate priorities (wiping HELP debt, university governance, etcetera), but I think we have an opportunity to shape the agenda beyond delivering election promises and I look forward to having that discussion with you all at our next Plenary meeting in August.
Of course, we can’t afford to ignore the Government’s broader productivity agenda and how we feed into that. With productivity being Canberra’s top economic priority, we’d be wise to link any ask of government to this national challenge and that’s exactly what UA will seek to do in our submission to the Treasurer’s upcoming economic reform roundtable. We’ve used this week to shape our thinking around this initiative, including having a discussion with senior staff at the Productivity Commission and continuing our ongoing work with the Business Council of Australia (BCA) and other industry groups.
I’m very keen to hear your views on what solutions UA can take to government to help solve the productivity challenge. We’ve been consulting with members this week and are calling for your ideas and input by COB 9 July. Please feel free to contact me directly on this or reach out to your usual UA contact. I’m also convening a roundtable with the sector groups next week to consolidate broad sector support for policy recommendations and ensure alignment across respective submissions.
I’ll leave it there for today. I hope you all have a wonderful and relaxing weekend!
Luke Sheehy
Chief Executive Officer, Universities Australia
Parliamentary update
Parliament returns 22 July 2025.
Media update
UA’s media engagement since 21 June 2025 has generated 42 mentions and reached a potential audience of more than two million across online, print, radio and television news.
Skills and Innovation key to lifting productivity (18 June 2025)
Roundtable a welcome initiative in addressing productivity challenge (10 June 2025)
UA calls for access to Horizon Europe to secure Australia’s economic future (7 June 2025)
Submissions
Recent submissions
Productivity Commission: 5 productivity inquiries (6 June 2025)
Statutory Review of the Data Availability and Transparency Act 2022 (30 May 2025)
Strategic Examination of R&D – discussion paper (16 April 2025)
Policy Review of the National Competitive Grants Program (14 April 2025)
Inquiry into the Tertiary Education Legislation Amendment (There For Education, Not Profit) Bill 2025 (4 April 2025)
In progress
