Universities Accord (Australian Tertiary Education Commission)

“Similarly, with the international student allocations, which a number of speakers have touched on, the ATEC should have a role in allocating international students as part of mission compacts. I make the point really clearly that each institution can have its own mission, its own mandate, to serve its community—whether that's a region or a part of a metropolitan area—and focus on its areas of excellence and research, the right blend of teaching, its international profile, offshore international partnerships. But what kind of cake are they trying to bake? What kind of entity are they trying to create? That's the mission compact. What's the vision? International students have to be part of that. Some universities want a very small percentage of international students; that's the kind of experience they want to create. Others are big, particularly in their postgrad—a lot of the Go8 are big globalised institutions—where they want a truly international experience in some of those courses. That's OK, but each university has to go through the discipline of articulating their vision, their mission, what they're trying to create and get that agreed through the mission compact. There's more work to come, but I really commend this bill to the House. We'll have a look at what the Senate inquiry puts forward and listen to sensible suggestions, but this is a really big structural reform.”

Australian Labor Party • MP • 09 Feb 2026

“The government has implemented 31 of the accord's 47 recommendations. The accord is a blueprint for sector reform for the decades ahead. It will take a long-term vision and a long-term commitment to deliver. To ensure its success, it needs a steward to drive and to steer these reforms, and the ATEC will formally take on this role for the tertiary education sector. As the Minister for Education has said, of all the recommendations in the accord, the establishment of the ATEC may be the most important. The establishment of the ATEC provides a singular opportunity for Australia's future. It provides an opportunity for an independent, expert body to drive real and lasting reform in the higher education sector. It provides an opportunity to uplift the coordination and administration of the sector. It's an opportunity to coordinate and align efforts across higher education institutions—as the Minister for Education says, 'to get the sector to work more like a system'. The ATEC will have its own decision-making powers, and it will take on responsibility for new mission based compacts with individual universities. The ATEC will provide expert advice to government on policy settings and strategic direction, the cost of teaching and learning in higher education, student demand, and meeting Australia's current and future skills and knowledge demand.”

Australian Labor Party • MP • 09 Feb 2026

“These bills establish ATEC as an independent statutory authority. To help deliver the future tertiary system Australia needs one that is equitable, joined up, responsive to skills needs and focused on student support. It will help us reach the 80 per cent attainment target by encouraging diversity, providing expert evidence based advice to governments, monitoring skills and equity targets and, as I said, helping to deliver a joined-up tertiary system that brings higher education and vocational education together.”

Australian Labor Party • MP • 09 Feb 2026

“I rise today to speak in support of the Universities Accord (Australian Tertiary Education Commission) Bill 2025. This bill is about the future of universities and higher education in Australia. At the heart of it is the creation of the Australian Tertiary Education Commission or ATEC. The purpose of this bill is to set up the Australian Tertiary Education Commission. Think of it as a coach or a navigator for our universities and TAFE. It doesn't run the universities, but it makes sure they're doing what they should—giving students a great education and offering courses that actually matter. ATEC is going to be the blueprint for improving our higher education system. It will make sure universities deliver high-quality teaching. It will support world-class research, and it will help students get the skills Australia needs—the skills to contribute to our economy, support their local communities and play their part in shaping a stronger, fairer and better Australia.”

Australian Labor Party • MP • 09 Feb 2026

“At its core, the establishment of the Australian Tertiary Education Commission is about acting now to set our tertiary education up to deliver what Australia needs in the future. It's a future focused step—like Labor's funding for more university places—and it is an example of our prioritisation of higher education.”

Australian Labor Party • MP • 05 Feb 2026

“This legislation rejects that short-termism. It chooses planning over drift, equity over exclusion and national interest over political convenience. It's an opportunity to build foundations for the next decade and the one after that, to open the doors of opportunity wider than they are today and to ensure that people in my community are not locked out of their potential. That is what this legislation does, and I'm proud to support it. I commend the bills to the House.”

Australian Labor Party • MP • 09 Feb 2026

“These are not abstract changes. They make study more accessible. They make campuses safer. They make the cost of learning fairer. Tangible ambition in education cannot slide backwards. It needs a steward. If we are serious about the accord, we need an institution that can think long term. It must bring coherence across the VET and higher education sectors. It must monitor progress. It must keep reform moving. This bill establishes that steward, the Australian Tertiary Education Commission, or ATEC. Creating a system steward was a key accord recommendation. It is essential to building the tertiary system that our future needs. What will ATEC do? It will start by encouraging provider diversity, different missions, shared purpose and better choices for students. It will also provide expert advice to government on higher education settings, stable rules, clear signals and evidence based change. It will monitor skills and equity targets, track what matters and fix what isn't working. It will help keep the system honest. It will also join up the system so students can get the qualifications they need when they need them.”

Australian Labor Party • MP • 09 Feb 2026

“Since the federal election last year, I have had the pleasure of serving as a member of the House Standing Committee on Education, and I am so pleased to rise in support of the Universities Accord (Australian Tertiary Education Commission) Bill 2025 and the Universities Accord (Australian Tertiary Education Commission) (Consequential and Transitional Provisions) Bill 2025.”

Australian Labor Party • MP • 09 Feb 2026

“In my first speech in this place, I shared how I am forever grateful for the education, the keys to the kingdom, that I received and acknowledged that education changes lives. It changed mine, and it does so for many Australians in our communities. The words I shared in 2022—that I'm passionate about ensuring we have a robust higher education system that values intellectual curiosity and supports people to think, to experiment and to create new ideas, systems and solutions—are beliefs that I still hold, and I'm very pleased to support the Universities Accord (Australian Tertiary Education Commission) Bill 2025. The Labor Party is the party of education, and the Albanese Labor government has invested in education ever since it was first elected. Whether that be through cutting student debt by 20 per cent while making the indexation system fairer, establishing a Commonwealth-paid prac system so students can get paid on placements, establishing a student ombudsman or making free TAFE permanent, we are absolutely committed to making sure that every Australian has the opportunity to pursue a great education in this country.”

Australian Labor Party • MP • 05 Feb 2026

“This bill continues a long and proud tradition of reform, which began with the Curtin government and was strengthened under the Menzies government. Both sides of politics recognised then, as we do now, that education is nation-building. This legislation builds new foundations for the decades ahead. It expands opportunity, it strengthens skills, and it ensures the system—importantly—remains fair, accessible and sustainable. For these reasons, I commend the bill to the House.”

Australian Labor Party • MP • 09 Feb 2026

“For my community in Holt, these reforms matter deeply. They matter for the young person who wants to be the first in their family to graduate, they matter for the parent retraining to secure a better future, they matter for the aspiring teacher, nurse or social worker who wants to serve their community with dignity, and they matter for Australia because a strong, fair and future-ready tertiary education system is one of the most important investments we can make for our people and for our prosperity. I'm proud to be a part of a government that takes education seriously. My parents taught me that education is a gift, but, in a country like Australia, it shouldn't just be a gift for a lucky few; it should be a right for everyone regardless of where they live or how much their parents earn. This bill sets us on that path. It builds on the architecture we need for the future. It delivers on the promise of the Universities Accord. I want to thank the Minister for Education, Jason Clare, for his leadership on this. He has listened to the sector, he has listened to the students and he has acted. I commend this bill to the House.”

Australian Labor Party • MP • 09 Feb 2026

“The Australian Tertiary Education Commission is a key piece of the puzzle in this regard. This was, of course, a recommendation from the Australian Universities Accord, a blueprint that tells us about the kind of work that we need to get on with doing to set up the system for the next 20 years and those structural reforms that we need to pursue: building stronger links between vocational education and universities, allocating funding under the new Managed Growth Funding System, implementing needs based funding within the core funding model and negotiating mission based compacts to support the sector. Fundamentally, what the accord tells us is that, in the coming years, there will be more jobs requiring more skills and requiring vocational qualifications, higher education qualifications or both. Australia needs to grow the number of Australians with a tertiary qualification to four in five. To achieve this, we need to set the system up to meet the modern needs of Australians.”

Australian Labor Party • MP • 05 Feb 2026

“I commend these bills to the House. It is a very good policy area that ensures we plan for the future and we plan together in partnership with our universities, TAFEs and vet courses, to ensure we produce the workforce that's required to keep this country's economy going for many years into the future.”

Australian Labor Party • MP • 09 Feb 2026

“For Australia, there's no turning back. We must embrace the challenges identified in the final report of the Australian Universities Accord. Not only that; we need to ensure that the overall governance of our tertiary education system makes us a match for decades to come. The establishment of ATEC will mean that our best and sharpest minds will be devoted to this incredibly important sector. I commend the bills to the House and thank the minister for his leadership in implementing these reforms in the university sector.”

Australian Labor Party • MP • 09 Feb 2026

“There is also a practical side to the bills which makes a lot of sense. Universities will have to be clearer about what they're there to do and what their goals are, and how that lines up with national and local needs—and I don't think that's some outrageous ask. If institutions are receiving public support, it's fair to expect them to be thinking about students, communities, workforce needs and outcomes, not just operating in their own bubble. Some people are worried this could become another layer of bureaucracy. Some are worried it won't be independent enough. Some think the bills don't go far enough. While these are valid things to discuss, for me the big picture is this: the current system is not perfect and pretending it's fine is not a serious option.”

Australian Labor Party • Senator • 30 Mar 2026

“We know the sector strongly supports the establishment of an ATEC. For that reason, our report recommended that the Senate pass these bills. Over the course of this inquiry we heard evidence that the ATEC has the potential to become one of the most consequential transformations of the Australian higher education sector since the reforms of the eighties. Any further delay in creating a steward would leave the sector without the guidance it so urgently requires.”

Australian Labor Party • Senator • 30 Mar 2026

“I acknowledge Senator Pocock has put forward amendments including on the number of commissioners, and I thank him for his contribution to strengthening the ATEC. The Australian government also appreciates the support of many stakeholders for the establishment of the ATEC. These bills let us to deliver the ATEC in legislation. This is real, lasting reform, and it's disappointing but not surprising that the coalition have opposed the reform. The ATEC will make our university system stronger. I commend the bills to the Senate.”

Australian Labor Party • Senator • 30 Mar 2026

“So today I urge the Senate to support this bill. This is not a debate about politics. This is about nation building. Supporting this bill means backing students, giving them clearer pathways to qualifications without unnecessary barriers. It means backing universities, offering policy certainty that allows them to plan, invest and innovate. It means backing regional Australia, ensuring country campuses and regional students are not left behind. It means backing equity and fairness, direct support to those who need it the most. If you want a system that offers opportunity to every Australian regardless of their background, support this bill. Australia needs a strong, competitive tertiary sector. Partner with us in delivering it.”

Australian Labor Party • Senator • 30 Mar 2026

“An Australian Tertiary Education Commission, or ATEC, as envisaged by the accord, has the potential to provide stability and stewardship to the higher education sector. However, the proposal in this bill requires significant changes. The Greens have secured a number of amendments to the bill that will improved ATEC's ability to confront the significant challenges facing the higher education system.”

Australian Greens • Senator • 30 Mar 2026

“At the same time, the sector has waited a long time for clearer stewardship, and many accord reforms depend on having a body like this in place. I support the accord, and I support the principle of an ATEC. However, I support the amendments put forward by Kate Chaney, Monique Ryan and Julian Leeser. They strengthen this bill. They deal with many of the design flaws that I have highlighted in my speech. I think the government should look carefully at these amendments, and I think this is an example of where strengthening our democracy is strengthened by broadening participation in the contest of ideas. This bill could be strengthened. I believe this bill should be strengthened, because we do need a university system that opens doors, not closes them, and a system that fuels ambitions, not burden. We do need a system that ensures every Australian, regardless of background, can experience the transformative period of discovery, independence and learning that so many of us in the House remember so well. But we have a lot of work to do here, and we need this commission, if established, to be as strong and robust as possible. There is more work to be done on this bill.”

Independent • MP • 09 Feb 2026

“As has been pointed to in some of the contributions, our universities are critical national institutions. They educate the next generation, they drive innovation and they underpin our economic and social prosperity. So getting the settings right clearly matters. However, if ATEC is to fulfil its promise, it must be more than a new layer of administration. It must be genuinely independent, properly resourced and empowered to provide frank and fearless advice. That's why the second reading amendment I'll be moving makes three key points. First, it notes that the creation of ATEC is positive reform. Second, it recognises that ATEC's long-term effectiveness depends on its independence. This was raised a number of times through the committee process. That means independence in its functions, in its resourcing and in its reporting. Third, it urges ATEC to prioritise one of the most urgent and pressing issues in higher education today: fixing the failed job-ready graduates scheme.”

Independent • Senator • 30 Mar 2026