Simon Birmingham (SA, Liberal Party, Minister for Education and Training) Share this | Hansard source

I thank Senator Reynolds for yet another informed policy question coming from senators on this side of the chamber in contrast to those opposite, who continue to just be interested in political game playing. I'm pleased to tell the Senate that, indeed, the Turnbull government's reforms to higher education are about providing a more student-centred approach in terms of higher education, providing students with more choice, more information and a more relevant experience. Our reform proposals include expansion of sub-bachelor places, associate degree opportunities and the chance to take more relevant, work-linked, industry-linked, shorter programs that are still—to differentiate them from VET—clearly articulated into other higher degree pathways; equally, allowing students to decide where they should take their postgraduate subsidies to ensure that, rather than old historical deals of postgraduate place allocations, we actually have a system where the most worthy students in the most appropriate disciplines choose the field in which they want to undertake their studies and the university that best fits them to do so.

Our reforms also expand for the very first time funding for work placements into university courses so that universities will have a direct incentive to help place their students in work-integrated learning environments to give them a more relevant work experience as part of their training. Overall, there are additional reforms in enhancing transparency of information around admissions and, indeed, measures to help hold universities accountable in the future for ongoing institutional improvements in student satisfaction, in teaching and graduate processes and in employment outcomes for their graduates—all of which are critical. And, yes, there are measures to ensure financial sustainability across the sector as well, a sector that has seen funding grow by 70 per cent since 2009 and which, under our reforms, will still see 23 per cent growth in funding over the next four years.