Now lawSchools & Uni Introduced in the House of Representatives, 10 Sep 2026

Unis must pay for student complaints service from 2027

Students can complain about their university or college to a free service. A new law makes about 170 universities and colleges pay a yearly charge for it from 2027. The Budget estimate is $11.3 million a year.

Official name: National Student Ombudsman Levy Bill 2026

Who it affects

• Unis and private colleges: Each gets a yearly bill to help pay for the student complaints service. The sources do not say if they may pass the cost on to students.
• The Australian National University: It has to pay too. The law that set it up says it does not have to pay some taxes, but this law says it must pay this charge.
• Students: The complaints service stays free for them. The law only changes who pays for it.
• Taxpayers: Taxpayers pay about $11 million a year for the service now. The charge pays that money back to the government, so taxpayers no longer carry the cost.

Why the service exists

The National Student Ombudsman started on 1 February 2025. It is an independent officer who looks into student complaints. We will call it the student complaints service. Parliament set it up in November 2024.

It sits inside a bigger office that looks into complaints about national government bodies. It works separately from the unis and colleges.

The service deals with complaints from students about their uni or college. That can include violence linked to gender, hatred of Jewish people, hatred of Muslims, racism or other unfair treatment on campus.

It can start its own investigations. It can train unis and colleges on how to handle complaints. It is free for students.

In March 2024, the Education Minister wrote to every uni and college. He said they would be expected to help pay the ongoing costs. The 2024 to 2025 Budget had said the same thing, from 2026 to 2027.

The 2026 to 2027 Budget is the government's yearly plan for spending and collecting money. It said unis and colleges would pay the full cost through a charge. The government says they should pay because the service looks into what they do. The money details are in the money section.

Two bills that work as a pair

This bill creates the charge and says who must pay it. A charge like this is also called a levy.

A partner bill changes the law for the national watchdog for unis and colleges. Its full name is the Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency. We will call it the watchdog.

That bill says a uni or college must pay the charge to stay registered. Registered means on the official list that lets it run and give out degrees. One that does not pay could face action from the watchdog. That can include fines or losing its registration. The partner bill also lets the government set late fees in detailed rules. A late fee is an extra charge for paying after the due date. The partner bill is Act No. 103 of 2026. It passed on 15 October 2026 and was signed into law on 26 October 2026.

Who has to pay

The charge falls on every listed uni and college. That means a body that is registered with the watchdog and on the national list.

There are about 170 of them. They include public and private universities and other colleges and institutes.

A uni or college owes a charge for each year it was registered at any time. The amount is meant to match the part of the year it was registered. So a college that loses its registration in June still gets a bill for that year.

The law says universities and colleges run by a state or territory must pay too. This treats public and private unis the same way.

The law says the charge is not a tax on state property. The Constitution, Australia's founding rule book, does not let the national government tax that.

The Australian National University was set up by a federal law that says it does not have to pay some taxes. This new law says it must pay the charge anyway.

How much each one pays

The law does not set a dollar amount. It sets a limit. Before the rules are made, the Education Minister must be sure they will not collect more than the service costs.

The amount, or the way to work it out, will be set in detailed rules. These are rules the government writes without a new vote in Parliament. Amounts could also go up each year as prices rise.

The amount for a uni or college could be set at nothing. The sources do not say which ones or why.

The charge is worked out after the costs are known, so it may change from year to year. Every five years the Department of Education must review how the charge is set. The government's notes say this keeps the charge open to view and fair.

The Parliamentary Library works for all of Parliament and takes no side. It says the government has talked about splitting the charge by how many students each uni or college has. The bill and the government's notes do not say this.

Say a large city uni and a small country college both get bills. If the split is by student numbers, the big uni would pay much more.

Who might not have to pay

The detailed rules could also let some unis and colleges off paying. The government gives one example.

A college might be hit by a natural disaster. If it cannot sign up students or run all its classes, it might not have to pay.

Law since October 2026

The law starts on 1 January 2027. The rule is to start on the first 1 January, 1 April, 1 July or 1 October at least 28 days after signing. That way the charge begins at the start of a quarter. The bill was signed on 26 October 2026, so it starts on 1 January 2027. The first charge is for the 2027 calendar year.

Jason Clare, the Education Minister, brought the bill into the House of Representatives on 10 September 2026. The House passed it on 16 September 2026.

The Senate, Parliament's second house, took it up on 16 September 2026 but only passed it on 15 October 2026. It had now passed both houses.

The Governor-General, who stands in for the King, signed it into law on 26 October 2026, 11 days after the Senate passed it. It is now Act No. 102 of 2026.

Its journey through Parliament

Official sources

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

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