Australia's higher education system provides education for approximately 1.6 million students (in 2019) through 186 registered higher education providers, including 40 Australian universities. The Australian Government is the primary funder and regulator of the system. In 2020, the sector experienced two significant funding challenges. First, [Coronavirus Disease 2019] COVID-19 travel restrictions disrupted entry for overseas students, leading to a 5.1 per cent decline in enrolments, and a 23.2 per cent decline in commencements to December 2020, compared with December 2019. Universities... [+] Show more
Australia's higher education system provides education for approximately 1.6 million students (in 2019) through 186 registered higher education providers, including 40 Australian universities. The Australian Government is the primary funder and regulator of the system. In 2020, the sector experienced two significant funding challenges. First, [Coronavirus Disease 2019] COVID-19 travel restrictions disrupted entry for overseas students, leading to a 5.1 per cent decline in enrolments, and a 23.2 per cent decline in commencements to December 2020, compared with December 2019. Universities Australia has estimated the resulting revenue loss for its members in 2020 compared with 2019 was $1.8 billion, and predicts $2.0 billion losses in 2021. Then, in October 2020, the passage of the Higher Education Support Amendment (Job-Ready Graduates and Supporting Regional and Remote Students) Act 2020 (JRG Act) legislated a reduction in average per-student funding for domestic Commonwealth supported students, and other changes to key learning and teaching funding programs from January 2021.
These changes occurred against a backdrop of little real growth in government funding in recent years, during which time universities have increasingly relied on overseas student fees as a source of revenue growth. The 2020-21 Budget included a one-off additional investment in higher education research in response to COVID-19, leading to record estimated expenditure of $11.4 billion in 2020-21. However, expenditure is expected to decline from this high over the forward estimates. Measured in June 2020 dollars, higher education expenditure in 2023-24 is estimated to be $9.3 billion, approximately the same as it was in real terms in 2009-10.
This paper provides an overview of key current Australian Government funding programs and recent funding trends in higher education learning and teaching. It aims to provide a guide to current policy settings, now that the key funding components of the JRG Act are in effect, although considerable uncertainty remains in relation to international education, and the effects of COVID-19.
Excerpt from publication.
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