While the government claims this is the “first stage of a multi-year reform agenda” based on the Accord, much more will need to be done to achieve the equity Chalmers promises in his speech. The proportion of low socio-economic students at university has dropped post-COVID. It remains to be see if this budget will reverse that trend.
Browsing: accord report
In a joint statement through the Australian Tertiary Education Network on Disability (ATEND), ten advocacy and representative groups requested an “immediate retraction of ableist language used in the Accord and a recalculation of the target participation rate for people with disability to be inclusive of all people.”
Legislation introduced in November 2023 to reform the Australian Research Council (ARC) passed through parliament today. The reforms were in response to the recommendations of last year’s review into the ARC Act.
While bold in its diagnosis of the issues facing Australian education and skills development, the report’s largely excellent recommendations will be quickly overshadowed by its cost, alongside the multiple levels of negotiations across federal and state governments required to legislate and implement any changes.