Universities Australia CEO Luke Sheehy
Thank you Chair, and members of the Committee, for the opportunity to appear today.
As Chief Executive Officer of Universities Australia, I represent Australia’s 38 comprehensive universities.
Together, our members educate more than 1.5 million students each year.
Right now, the cost of going to university is becoming a barrier for too many Australians.
Students are paying more.
They are taking on more debt.
And that is shaping who goes to university and who misses out.
This is worth talking about.
University matters.
Not just for individuals, but for the nation.
There is a growing narrative that university is not necessary – that it’s not worth it.
That narrative is wrong, and it’s dangerous.
For individuals, higher education changes lives.
It opens doors.
It lifts wages.
And it leads to more secure work.
For the country, it builds our future.
It powers productivity.
It builds the workforce.
It drives research and innovation.
And it underpins the industries and jobs Australia is counting on.
Universities are not a nice to have – they are a need to have.
And if we believe that, we need to fund them properly.
Access to post-secondary education – whether TAFE, apprenticeships or university – is essential to people’s success and to our economy.
We will fail Australians if we put barriers in the way of Australians getting the skills they need.
Which brings me to the Job-ready Graduates Package.
This policy is not working.
It is a barrier to opportunity.
It has pushed costs onto students, driving up debt.
It has failed in its core objective by not meaningfully changing student behaviour.
It has pulled around $4 billion out of the system since 2021.
And it is weakening the system.
It needs to be fixed and fixed now.
But let’s be clear about what this bill does.
It cuts student fees on one hand and quietly cuts funding on the other.
Without additional Commonwealth investment, it strips a further $1.3 billion from the system each year.
That is not reform.
That is cost-shifting.
And when government steps back, students pick up the bill.
Not always through fees.
But through fewer services.
Less support.
And a diminished university experience.
Lower fees mean very little if the system delivering that education is being hollowed out.
That is the reality this bill creates.
And it comes at exactly the wrong time.
Universities are already under pressure.
The government is not funding our sector the way it used to.
International education – long a stable funding base – is now being actively constrained.
That revenue is not being replaced.
So, we are being asked to do more with less – again.
That is not sustainable.
Because we cannot keep pretending the system can absorb these cuts without consequences.
It just can’t.
Students will feel it.
Staff will feel it.
And the country will feel it.
So, let’s be clear about the choice in front of us.
If we want lower costs for students, we must fund it.
Properly and fully.
That means reducing student contributions where they are too high and replacing that funding with increased Commonwealth investment.
Not shifting the burden.
Not disguising the trade-offs.
But funding the system for what it actually delivers.
Because university is not just a private benefit.
It’s a public good.
It builds capability.
It drives growth.
It underwrites Australia’s economic future.
And if we get this wrong, the consequences will be real.
Fewer students.
Less opportunity.
A weaker skills pipeline.
And a country that falls short of its ambitions.
Our message is simple.
Fix Job-ready Graduates.
But don’t do it on the cheap.
Lower costs for students and fund it properly.
Because if we don’t, students will still pay.
Just in different ways.
Thank you, and I’m happy to answer any questions.
