Kirsten Livermore (Capricornia, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Education) Share this | Hansard source

Again on the Higher Education Endowment Fund, it is unclear whether or not universities will have to provide matching funds. The budget press release of the Minister for Education, Science and Training states:

The Board would take into consideration whether universities had been able to raise matching funds, for example from state or territory governments, industry, alumni or members of the public.

However, the Australian Financial Review on 10 May reported:

·                       ... Professor Sutton said he had been assured by Department of Education, Science and Training officials that it was not a requirement that universities must raise matching funds to get earnings from the endowment.

Will the Higher Education Endowment Fund favour universities that provide matching funds from their own resources, endowments from commercial contributions or other areas? If so, doesn’t this mean that the fund potentially negatively impacts on those universities with less financial capacity, such as regional universities?

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