End-of-year thank you event, passage of legislation to underpin the National Student Ombudsman: Latest rundown of higher education
From our Chief Executive Officer
It was an absolute pleasure seeing so many of you in Canberra for our end-of-year thank you event at Parliament House on Wednesday evening. Here’s some photos you might like to take a look at.
It’s always special when we gather as a sector and this week was no exception, even if it is at the conclusion of a particularly eventful year! I think, collectively, we are all somewhat relieved this year is fast coming to an end. I must admit, my first 10 months in this role haven’t quite been what I thought they would be, but that is the nature of the environment in which we operate! Sometimes, perhaps more often than not, the only constant is change.
I’ll save my full review of the year for a couple more weeks, but I want to thank not just those in attendance on Wednesday but everyone in and around our great sector for your engagement with and support of UA throughout a challenging 2024. I am a firm believer that we are stronger together and I certainly feel like we have operated as a united cohort this year. The results we have achieved suggest as much!
Parliament has now risen for the year after the Senate sat late into last night. The Government has secured the bulk of its legislative agenda, clearing the decks for a fresh policy agenda ahead of next year’s election. Minister Jason Clare MP had a busy week, securing the passage of legislation to underpin the National Student Ombudsman and give effect to the student support measures contained in this year’s federal budget, among other non-university bills. As expected, the ESOS Bill remains parked in the Senate.
David Lloyd and I met with Minister Clare this week to discuss where the Government’s thinking is at around international student caps and to reinforce the damage being done by Ministerial Direction 107. As you all know, UA has been advocating strongly, both publicly and privately, for its removal. We understand the Government is working on alternatives and are confident that we will soon have a new measure in place that is fairer across the board. We have also written to the Prime Minister and the Leader of the Opposition, asking for our sector to be brought to the table to develop longer term policy options for student visas.
This week, we have continued our engagement with Jillian S. , contributing to her work to develop a national definition of antisemitism and training materials for staff and students. This is such important work, and I was pleased to be able to update the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Human Rights on our involvement at a public hearing this morning for its inquiry into antisemitism at Australian universities.
Finally, the UA Board met on Wednesday for our final meeting of 2024. We had a very constructive discussion around UA’s election positioning and our policy statement, so I look forward to sharing this with you all soon. We have also been working on a paper entitled Critical challenges in Australia’s university sector: securing a sustainable future, which captures the current financial state of the sector. I’m pleased to share this with you all, which I think will assist us all in articulating the parlous circumstances we are operating in.
It has been another big week for our sector, as most of them seem to be at the moment, so I will leave it there for today. We aren’t far off a well-earned break over the Christmas period. I hope you all have a relaxing weekend.
Luke Sheehy
Chief Executive Officer, Universities Australia
Parliamentary update
Chief Economist's Update
We can be cautiously optimistic about future demand for university places among year-12 graduates. From 2020-2023, demand from this group fell, which aligned with a decrease in the number of year-12 students overall.
However, there are positive signs for the future. More students are now progressing through earlier years of high school, such as year-10. Additionally, completing high school has become more appealing over the past two years, as opportunities for low-skilled labour have decreased. This shift is reflected in a noticeable rise in the youth unemployment rate since its low point in 2022.
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Media update
UA’s media engagement since 16 November 2024 has generated 403 mentions and reached a potential audience of more than seven million across online, print, radio and television news.
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Student Finance Strategist | Author | Money Management | Reducing Financial Stress | Budgeting | Money Plans
1moOn reflection it appears to have been a turbulent year but there are some strong outcomes. I do believe that young people commencing higher education need to be given the opportunity to learn the basics of money management. Improving their student experience from the tart. It doesn’t have to be complex and it benefits each university. What needs to happen before universes are open to this concept ?
Empowering Global Dreams | Overseas Education Counselor | Mentor | Trainer | Career Coach | Translator
1moWhat an initiative 👏