This bill is currently before Parliament.
Education & skills
Higher education providers will pay a yearly levyA compulsory charge imposed on higher education providers. to fund the National Student OmbudsmanAn independent service that handles higher education student complaints., a free and independent service that handles student complaints.
The government says the levyA compulsory charge imposed on higher education providers. will replace establishment funding with an ongoing provider-funded model for the National Student OmbudsmanAn independent service that handles higher education student complaints.. It initially provided $19.4 million over two years from 1 February 2025; the new arrangement is expected to recover $33.2 million over three years from 2027–28 and $11.3 million each year after that. By 31 August 2026, the Ombudsman had received 7,690 student contacts and resolved 6,016, or 78 per cent. The minister also said 80 per cent of surveyed providers were improving systems or services after receiving the Ombudsman's advice.
Australia already had a free, independent National Student OmbudsmanAn independent service that handles higher education student complaints. within the Commonwealth Ombudsman, but the sexual violence crisis and weak university responses created pressure for an external complaints pathway, reflected in the Universities Accord and ministers’ 2024 action plan. After the Ombudsman opened in February 2025 with temporary Commonwealth funding, this bill shifts it to ongoing cost recoveryCharging enough to cover a service's costs, without raising extra revenue. from higher education providers while keeping complaints free for students and tying payment to provider registration.
Monique Ryan (Independent) argued that too much of the scheme's practical design—including how costs will be divided among providers—is being left to rules made by the government rather than written into the bill. She said the government should explain its calculation method, questioned whether student numbers fairly measure demand for the service, and sought clearer grounds for exemptions. She also called for transparent reporting on complaints, investigations, spending and staffing, and warned that the levyA compulsory charge imposed on higher education providers. would add costs when some universities were already running deficits.
Hon Jason Clare MP introduced this bill. Supportive speeches so far have come from Labor, Liberal, some crossbench members.
Did it become law?
Not yet
Final passage
No final vote yet
The bill has not yet completed passage through Parliament.
Days since introduction
26 days
Updated 06 Oct 2026.
Meaning
Higher education providers will pay a yearly levyA compulsory charge imposed on higher education providers. to fund the National Student OmbudsmanAn independent service that handles higher education student complaints., a free and independent service that handles student complaints. A provider can still owe the levyA compulsory charge imposed on higher education providers. for a year even if its registration is cancelled during that year, and the Australian National University is included despite its usual tax exemption.
The bill does not set each provider's bill. RegulationsDetailed legal rules made under authority given by an Act. will set the amount or calculation method, may set a nil amount or increase specified amounts over time, and may create exemptions. Before those regulationsDetailed legal rules made under authority given by an Act. are made, the minister must be satisfied that the levyA compulsory charge imposed on higher education providers. will recover no more than the Commonwealth's likely costs for the Ombudsman's work.
Paying the levyA compulsory charge imposed on higher education providers. and any late-payment charge will become a condition of a provider's registration. Failure to pay may lead to enforcement action by the Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency, the national higher education regulator.
The Secretary of the Department of Education may send a levyA compulsory charge imposed on higher education providers. notice. If a notice is sent, it must state the relevant year, the amount owed and a due date at least 30 days after the notice is given. A notice may also be sent to a person who remains liable after their provider registration is cancelled.
Detailed rules may allow extra time to pay, refunds, reductions or waivers, and reviews of collection decisions. The rules may also impose financial charges for late payment. The explanatory memorandum says these charges are intended to be administrative and that the rules are not intended to create criminal offences or civil penalties.
The levyA compulsory charge imposed on higher education providers. is intended to begin on the later of 1 January 2027 or the first quarter-start date at least 28 days after Royal AssentThe formal approval that turns a passed bill into law.. Providers will pay after the Ombudsman's yearly costs have been incurred, while students will continue to use the service free of charge.
Subclause 6(1) of the Bill provides for when levy is imposed on a body that is a higher education provider, for a calendar year. Paragraph 6(1)(a) provides that, for the calendar year in which this clause commences, the levy is imposed at any time in the period starting at the commencement of this clause to the end of that calendar year. Paragraph 6(1)(b) provides that after the clause commences, a levy for each subsequent calendar year is imposed on a body that is a higher education provider at any time during that calendar year. The levy applies to a body that is a higher education providNational Student Ombudsman Levy explanatory memorandum
7 Amount of levy (1) The amount of levy payable by a body for a calendar year is the amount (including a nil amount): (a) prescribed by the regulations for that calendar year; or (b) worked out for that calendar year in accordance with a method prescribed by the regulations. (2) Before the Governor‑General makes regulations for the purposes of subsection (1), the Minister must be satisfied that the effect of those regulations will be to recover no more than the Commonwealth’s likely costs in connection with the National Student Ombudsman’s performance of its functions and exercise of its pNational Student Ombudsman Levy introduced text
The Bill will amend the Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency Act 2011 (TEQSA Act) to require higher education providers to pay the National Student Ombudsman levy (NSO levy) as a condition of their registration, and authorise the Secretary of the Department of Education to give notices to higher education providers in relation to the NSO levy. Item 1: Section 5 Item 1 amends section 5 of the TEQSA Act to insert relevant definitions, including the following: National Student Ombudsman levy means levy imposed by the National Student Ombudsman Levy Act 2026. National Student OmbudsNational Student Ombudsman Levy explanatory memorandum
The Bill will amend the Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency Act 2011 (TEQSA Act) to require higher education providers to pay the National Student Ombudsman levy (NSO levy) as a condition of their registration, and authorise the Secretary of the Department of Education to give notices to higher education providers in relation to the NSO levy.National Student Ombudsman Levy explanatory memorandum
(a) penalties for late payment of NSO levy; (b) to whom penalties for late payment of NSO levy are payable; (c) the issue of notices extending the time for payment of NSO levy or penalties for late payment of NSO levy; (d) the refund, remission or waiver of NSO levy or penalties for late payment of NSO levy; (e) the review of decisions made under the rules in relation to the collection or recovery of NSO levy or penalties for late payment; (f) any other matters relating to the collection or recovery of NSO levy or penalties for late payment of NSO levy; (g) any matters necessary or conveNational Student Ombudsman Levy explanatory memorandum
The table in this clause sets out the commencement date for when the Bill’s provisions commence. It provides that the whole of the Bill commences on the later of: 1 January 2027 or the first 1 January, 1 April, 1 July or 1 October to occur after the end of the period of 28 days beginning on the day the Bill receives Royal Assent. This aligns commencement to the start of the first quarter of the year following Royal Assent. This clause provides that the Bill binds the Crown in right of each of the States, of the Australian Capital Territory and of the Northern Territory. However, it does not bNational Student Ombudsman Levy explanatory memorandum
Context
Australia already had a free, independent National Student OmbudsmanAn independent service that handles higher education student complaints. within the Commonwealth Ombudsman, but the sexual violence crisis and weak university responses created pressure for an external complaints pathway, reflected in the Universities Accord and ministers’ 2024 action plan. After the Ombudsman opened in February 2025 with temporary Commonwealth funding, this bill shifts it to ongoing cost recoveryCharging enough to cover a service's costs, without raising extra revenue. from higher education providers while keeping complaints free for students and tying payment to provider registration.
Sexual violence crisis prompts calls for a national student ombudsmanAn independent service that handles higher education student complaints.
Education ministers began considering a national, independent watchdog after students raised concerns about sexual violence and universities’ responses.
ABC News ↗Education ministers agree on a national student ombudsmanAn independent service that handles higher education student complaints.
The Action Plan Addressing Gender-based Violence in Higher Education included the Ombudsman as part of a national response to complaints about university handling of student safety issues.
National Student Ombudsman Levy explanatory memorandum ↗Commonwealth funds the Ombudsman’s establishment
The budget provided $19.4 million over two years to establish the Ombudsman from 1 February 2025, with ongoing sector cost recoveryCharging enough to cover a service's costs, without raising extra revenue. planned from 2026–27.
National Student Ombudsman Levy explanatory memorandum ↗National Student OmbudsmanAn independent service that handles higher education student complaints. opens to students
The service began investigating complaints about universities, including sexual violence and racism, giving students an independent avenue outside internal provider processes.
ABC News ↗Budget shifts the Ombudsman to provider-funded cost recoveryCharging enough to cover a service's costs, without raising extra revenue.
The budget set out full cost recoveryCharging enough to cover a service's costs, without raising extra revenue. through a provider levyA compulsory charge imposed on higher education providers., estimating $33.2 million over three years from 2027–28 and $11.3 million a year thereafter.
National Student Ombudsman Levy explanatory memorandum ↗Hon Jason Clare MP introduces the levyA compulsory charge imposed on higher education providers. bill
Hon Jason Clare MP introduced the bill in the House of Representatives alongside a companion bill setting out levyA compulsory charge imposed on higher education providers. collection arrangements.
Hansard ↗House passes the bill
The House agreed to the bill’s third reading, completing its passage through that chamber before Senate consideration.
Parliamentary timeline ↗Legislative route
The bill was formally presented to the chamber and read a first time, which starts its parliamentary journey.
Introduced and read a first time
A minister or sponsoring member moved the second reading, opening the main debate on the bill's purpose and principles.
Second reading moved
The bill reached this recorded parliamentary step.
The bill reached this recorded parliamentary step.
Referred to Federation Chamber
The bill reached this recorded parliamentary step.
Second reading debate
The chamber agreed to the bill at second reading, meaning it accepted the bill in principle and allowed it to continue.
Second reading agreed to
The bill reached this recorded parliamentary step.
Reported from Federation Chamber
The chamber agreed to the bill at third reading, which completed passage through that chamber.
Third reading agreed to
The bill was formally presented to the chamber and read a first time, which starts its parliamentary journey.
Introduced and read a first time
A minister or sponsoring member moved the second reading, opening the main debate on the bill's purpose and principles.
Second reading moved
Key criticism
Monique Ryan (Independent) argued that too much of the scheme's practical design—including how costs will be divided among providers—is being left to rules made by the government rather than written into the bill. She said the government should explain its calculation method, questioned whether student numbers fairly measure demand for the service, and sought clearer grounds for exemptions. She also called for transparent reporting on complaints, investigations, spending and staffing, and warned that the levyA compulsory charge imposed on higher education providers. would add costs when some universities were already running deficits.
Ryan welcomed the Ombudsman and the cap on the levyA compulsory charge imposed on higher education providers., describing it as limited to the service's actual costs; the bill's legal test is that it recover no more than the Commonwealth's likely costs. Julian Leeser (Liberal) said the Coalition did not oppose the bills and supported moving the roughly $11 million annual cost from taxpayers to the higher education sector, while promising to scrutinise the eventual regulationsDetailed legal rules made under authority given by an Act..
Further sources
Votes
No recorded votes have been found yet for this bill.
Parliamentary debate
Start here — lead voices
Jason Clare supports the bill because its levyA compulsory charge imposed on higher education providers. on higher education providers will fund the National Student OmbudsmanAn independent service that handles higher education student complaints. on a cost-recovery basis while keeping the service free for students.
Read in Hansard ↗Leeser says the coalition will support the levyA compulsory charge imposed on higher education providers. because shifting the National Student OmbudsmanAn independent service that handles higher education student complaints.'s operating costs from taxpayers to higher education providers is appropriate, although it will scrutinise the regulationsDetailed legal rules made under authority given by an Act. that determine how the levyA compulsory charge imposed on higher education providers. is distributed.
Read in Hansard ↗Ryan supports the bill’s levyA compulsory charge imposed on higher education providers. to fund the Student Ombudsman, but calls for transparent calculation, exemptions and reporting safeguards while criticising the shift of public-interest costs onto financially strained universities.
Read in Hansard ↗Comer strongly supports the bill because it creates a sustainable, sector-funded model for the National Student OmbudsmanAn independent service that handles higher education student complaints. while keeping its independent complaints service free for students.
Read in Hansard ↗All speeches by bloc
11 speakers · 10 support · 1 unclear
“As someone who has been a university student, who has represented students and who understands how important student voices and student safety are, I am incredibly proud to support this legislation. I strongly support the National Student Ombudsman, I strongly support giving students an independent voice when they need one, and I strongly support this bill. I commend the bill to the House.”Read the full speech in Hansard ↗
“Through the Universities Accord, student debt relief, paid prac, expanding access to universities and with the establishment of the National Student Ombudsman, Labor is strengthening the institutions that help Australians build better futures. This legislation helps ensure that important work continues. It will ensure students retain access to a free and independent pathway for complaints and support. It will strengthen confidence in Australia's higher education sector, and it forms part of Labor's broader commitment to making education more accessible, more affordable and more responsive to the needs of students. That's because, for Labor, education has never just been about qualifications. It has always been about opportunity—opportunity for the student who is the first in their family to attend university, opportunity for the young person trying to build a better life and opportunity for communities, industries and a country that depends on the skills and talents of its people. That belief remains at the centre of Labor's agenda today. I commend the bill to the House.”Read the full speech in Hansard ↗
“In a little over a year and a half of operation, thousands of students have already reached out for assistance, thousands of matters have been resolved, and providers are changing their system as a result. That demonstrates the value of this reform and reinforces why it needs a sustainable funding base. For those reasons, I commend this bill to the house.”Read the full speech in Hansard ↗
“A student deserves fair treatment throughout their course. They deserve a safe place to learn and a serious response to concerns about their wellbeing, and they deserve somewhere independent to turn to if university lets them down. The National Student Ombudsman provides that independent service and the bill before us, the National Student Ombudsman Levy Bill 206, will support its ongoing operation, keeping it free for students who need help.”Read the full speech in Hansard ↗
“The National Student Ombudsman is working. It is resolving the majority of complaints it receives, improving institutional practice across the sector and giving students—especially those who have been silenced in the past—a powerful, independent voice. It costs students nothing, but it makes a profound difference in their lives. This bill ensures that difference endures. It transitions the ombudsman from establishment funding to a sustainable, fair, cost recovery model, with the levy commencing on 1 January 2027. It keeps the service free for students, places the costs where they belong—on the higher education providers who benefit from its existence—and embeds the ombudsman as a permanent feature of Australia's higher education landscape.”Read the full speech in Hansard ↗
“The legislation before the House today is about fairness, integrity and future-readiness. We have a generational goal to build the 80 per cent of our workforce that will hold a tertiary qualification. To reach that goal, we must continue to make higher education fairer, more accessible and more supportive. As I said, we're doing that by wiping 20 per cent off student debt, by supporting students in mandatory placements and with the study hubs in outer suburbs and regional towns. We're backing First Nations students and expanding the fee-free bridging pathways. And, with this bill, we're ensuring that an independent, trauma informed, fully funded watchdog will hold providers accountable and ensure every student is treated with the dignity and fairness they deserve. That is what good government looks like—being practical, being principled and being focused on the future. I commend the bill to the House.”Read the full speech in Hansard ↗
“It's not easy for people to voice complaints. Indeed, we know in the past people have disengaged from education because they have felt there was no-one who would either listen or act for them when they have had unsafe experiences on their campuses. So I'm really pleased that we're taking the next step to ensure the future of the National Student Ombudsman, an incredibly important part of our higher education architecture in Australia now, and I commend this bill to the chamber.”Read the full speech in Hansard ↗
“There is a fairly straightforward principle at the heart of this legislation: if we want more Australians to pursue tertiary education, we also have to build a system worthy of their confidence. That means affordable study, better access, support during training and placement, safe campuses and institutions, and accountability when things go wrong. The National Student Ombudsman is now an important part of that system. These bills give it a sustainable funding base, while keeping access free for students. That is fair, that is practical and it strengthens the confidence in Australian higher education. I commend these bills to the House.”Read the full speech in Hansard ↗
“It will amend the Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency Act 2011 to provide for collection and administration of the levy established in the previous bill, including any penalty for late payment.”Read the full speech in Hansard ↗
“It will ensure students can continue to access the National Student Ombudsman free of charge and that the costs of providing this critical service are borne fairly by higher education providers.”Read the full speech in Hansard ↗
“These bills establish the legislative framework to introduce a levy on higher education providers to recover the costs of administering the National Student Ombudsman and provide for collection arrangements associated with the levy and its payment. It's nerdy, and it's niche, but it's important. The method for calculation of the amount of the levy will be set out in the regulations to this bill, following further consultation with the sector, and the bill makes clear—importantly, I'll finish on this point—that will be on a cost recovery basis. These things are done in accordance with the government's cost recovery framework, as is appropriate, and I commend the bills to the House.”Read the full speech in Hansard ↗
1 speaker · 1 support
“The more salient point is about the shifting of the cost burden. In effect, these bills move the ombudsman from direct taxpayer funding to a cost-recovery model. Its ongoing operating costs of around $11 million a year would be funded by the higher education sector. It moves the burden from the taxpayer to the sector, and we will support it on that basis. This is an appropriate legislative change. But the broader point here is that there is a clear need for the ombudsman, and this parliament shouldn't forget that context, because there's no joy in that conclusion. I thank the House.”Read the full speech in Hansard ↗
1 speaker · 1 support
“The government expects to recover $33.2 million over three years from 2027-28 from this measure and then $11.3 million per year ongoing from higher education providers. I'm glad that there's a provision in this legislation that the minister must ensure that the cost recovery levy is no more than the actual costs of the ombudsman, but cost recovery arrangements should also include safeguards against unnecessary growth in the ombudsman's activities, staffing and costs. This should and could include clear reporting on complaint volumes, on the nature and outcomes of investigations undertaken by the ombudsman, on expenditure by activity, on staffing levels and on the effectiveness of education and outreach undertaken by the ombudsman. It seems only reasonable, given that the tertiary institutions have to pay for this facility to be established on an ongoing basis, that they should be able to understand the basis of the activities on an ongoing basis through some transparent reporting arrangements.”Read the full speech in Hansard ↗
Record
House · Introduced and read a first time
Introduced
The bill was formally presented to the chamber and read a first time, which starts its parliamentary journey.
House · Second reading moved
Second reading opened
A minister or sponsoring member moved the second reading, opening the main debate on the bill's purpose and principles.
House · Second reading debate
Second reading debate
The bill reached this recorded parliamentary step.
House · Referred to Federation Chamber
Referred to Federation Chamber
The bill reached this recorded parliamentary step.
House · Second reading debate
Second reading debate
The bill reached this recorded parliamentary step.
House · Second reading agreed to
Second reading agreed
The chamber agreed to the bill at second reading, meaning it accepted the bill in principle and allowed it to continue.
House · Reported from Federation Chamber
Reported from Federation Chamber
The bill reached this recorded parliamentary step.
House · Third reading agreed to
Third reading agreed
The chamber agreed to the bill at third reading, which completed passage through that chamber.
Senate · Introduced and read a first time
Introduced
The bill was formally presented to the chamber and read a first time, which starts its parliamentary journey.
Senate · Second reading moved
Second reading opened
A minister or sponsoring member moved the second reading, opening the main debate on the bill's purpose and principles.
