Now lawSchools & Uni Introduced in the House of Representatives, 25 Jun 2026

A new commission now hands out each uni's funded places

A new national body now decides how many paid-for places each uni gets. Unis get extra money for students from poorer homes, First Nations students and country campuses. The law also lets the minister cap new overseas students.

Official name: Universities Accord (Opening the Doors of Opportunity) Bill 2026

Who it affects

• Students from poorer families and country areas: The government can add more paid-for places if the commission says there are not enough for them in bachelor degrees.
• First Nations students: They keep a paid-for place in any bachelor degree they qualify for. Their uni gets extra money to support them.
• Universities: They get a set number of paid-for places each year. They lose money if they take in too many over it.
• Country campuses: They get extra money per student. This helps with the higher cost of running a campus outside the big cities.
• Overseas students: The minister can cap how many can start a course. The commission shares out the places.

Why it exists

Most Australian uni students study in a place the government helps pay for. The law calls this a Commonwealth supported place. The government pays part of the cost. The student pays the rest, mostly through a student loan they pay back later.

Before this law, each public uni got a top dollar amount for these places. It could choose how many students to take and in which courses. If it took more students than its money covered, it kept the students' fees. But it got no extra government money.

In February 2024 a big review called the Australian Universities Accord made 47 suggestions. It said the old system did not let unis grow enough to meet the country's need for skills. It set a goal for 2050. By then, 80 per cent of working-age people should have a uni or TAFE qualification. TAFE is the network of public colleges for job training.

The Accord said unis were growing without a plan and without enough money. It said there should be a new body to plan the system. It also called for extra money for groups who are less likely to go to uni.

That body, the Australian Tertiary Education Commission, was set up on 29 April 2026. This law gives it the job of handing out places. Education Minister Jason Clare brought the bill in on 25 June 2026.

This article explains the bill as the government wrote it. Parliament made changes before it passed, and the government's notes do not cover those.

Set places for each university

Part 1 sets up a new system called the Managed Growth Funding System. Each year the minister sets the total number of paid-for places for the whole country. This is called the total allocation pool. For 2027 it must be set before 1 January 2027. For later years it must be set before 1 July of the year before.

The commission then shares those places out to each uni. It looks at what the government wants and how many students want to study. It looks at how well each uni is doing and what it is for. It also checks that unis can keep going. Unis cannot appeal their share to a review body.

Places are counted in full-time loads. One place equals one student studying full-time for a year. It could also be two students each studying half-time.

The minister can add to the total, alone or when the commission asks. The government's notes say this is mainly for students from poorer or country homes. It covers bachelor degrees at public unis, apart from medicine. The government says this means places for these students will in effect have no cap.

Limits on extra students

A uni can go a little over its share. It can take up to 5 per cent more, or a set number in the rules if that is lower. The government's study of the bill says that number is 750 full-time places.

If a uni goes past that, its government grant is cut. It does not keep the student fees for those extra places.

Some unis already have more students than they are paid for. They get time to adjust. The commission sets a limit on how many new students they can take each year. If they stay under it, they do not lose money for students already studying.

Some unis have too few students. They can get a safety net on their money until the end of 2031, so it does not suddenly drop. The government's study says it would be 97.5 per cent of the year before's grant, from 2027.

Say a big city uni has a share of 20,000 places. It can go up to 750 places over before losing money. Past that point, it loses the grant and the student fees for the extra students.

Courses without caps

Some courses follow demand. That means the uni gets paid for every student who can enrol, with no limit. This covers bachelor degrees for First Nations students, including medicine.

The law keeps this. It lets the minister add other courses, or kinds of courses, in a written rule. The government's notes give nursing or teaching as examples, if the country needs more of those workers.

Extra money for support

Part 2 puts Needs-based Funding into law. Unis get an extra payment for every student who qualifies, on top of normal money. It starts on 1 January 2027. It replaces a 2026 version that ran through written guides.

The fairness part pays for First Nations students in any course. It also pays for first-degree students from what the law calls low socioeconomic backgrounds. That means from a poorer area or family. The base amount is $1,535 per full-time student. It rises with prices and is adjusted by a set factor.

The country part pays for students at campuses outside the big cities, from towns near cities out to very remote areas. The base amount is $1,398 per full-time student. It is also adjusted by a set factor.

The fairness money must mainly help those students get in, keep going and finish. The country money can go on running country campuses or on helping country students.

Say you are the first in your family to go to uni. You grew up in a poorer suburb. Your uni gets extra money for things like tutoring and support for students like you.

Limits on international students

Part 2 of the law also changes the law that set up the commission. The government may decide to limit overseas student numbers. If so, the minister can set the total number of overseas students who can start a course at unis and colleges in a period.

The commission then shares those places out to each uni or college. The minister can tell it which kinds can get places and what else it must think about. Some groups of overseas students can be left out of the count.

Before giving places to a public or private uni, the commission must talk to it first. Parliament cannot cancel the minister's limit.

In 2024 the government tried to set caps by uni, course or place through a different law. That bill failed. The Parliamentary Library works for all MPs and takes no side. It says this bill could still let the commission take course and place into account.

Checking universities against compacts

Each uni signs a deal with the commission called a mission-based compact. It sets out the uni's goals and role.

Part 3 says the commission must check each uni against its deal at least once a year, starting in 2028. Only deals that start on or after 1 January 2027 are checked. A deal starts on the date written in it, not the date it is signed.

Sharing information and more

Part 4 lets the Education Department share information about overseas students with the commission. It can also share it with the Commonwealth Ombudsman. That is an official who handles complaints about the government. The office includes the National Student Ombudsman, who handles student complaints about unis. People given this information can also see the department's student records, under conditions.

It also lets two other bodies share information with the commission. One is the complaints office. The other is the agency that checks the quality of unis and colleges.

Part 1 also tidies up how the minister sets the yearly limit on other uni grants.

The minister must order outside reviews of both the new place system and Needs-based Funding. Both reviews must start by early 2031.

Law since October 2026

The House of Representatives debated the bill over several weeks. It passed it on 20 August 2026, with 17 changes from the government.

The Senate is the second house of Parliament. It began debating the bill on 7 September 2026. It debated it more from 15 to 17 September 2026. On 12 October 2026 it voted for the main idea of the bill. Then it went through it line by line.

At that stage the Senate agreed to 43 changes. There were 6 from the government and 5 from the Liberal and National parties. There were 32 from the Australian Greens. The Senate then passed the bill in a final vote the same day.

The Senate changed the bill, so it went back to the House of Representatives. On 12 October 2026 the House agreed to 42 of the 43 changes. It said no to one change and put its own change in its place. On 13 October 2026 the Senate agreed to the House's change, so the bill passed both houses.

The Governor-General, the King's representative, signed it into law on 16 October 2026. It is now Act number 97 of 2026.

Most of the law started the day after it was signed. Needs-based Funding starts on 1 January 2027. The new place system covers money from 2027.

How they voted

Its journey through Parliament

Official sources

• Bill page on aph.gov.au
• Text of the bill
• Explanatory memorandum
• Bills Digest

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