Higher education emerges as key battleground for election

Ahead of the forthcoming national election, the promise by the Australian opposition Liberal-National Coalition (LNP or Coalition) to uplift infrastructure in regional areas to boost higher education has won support from Universities Australia as the race for the top seat nears a climax.

Universities Australia, a peak body of dozens of universities that advocates the vast social, economic and cultural value of higher education and research, has said that the Coalition’s promise of new funding for campus infrastructure and additional free tertiary (TAFE) courses recognises the university sector’s role in driving Australia’s future, particularly in the regions.

“This is a vote of confidence in our sector and a major boost for regional Australia,” Chief Executive Officer of Universities Australia, Luke Sheehy, said last week.

Another peak body, the Group of Eight (Go8), which represents Australia’s top research-intensive universities, has publicly responded to various education proposals from political parties.

Vicki Thomson, CEO of the Go8, warned in a statement on Wednesday 16 April that Australia’s productivity is waning, resilience is under threat and our confidence has eroded.

“Over the past decade, we have experienced the lowest productivity growth in 60 years, and investment in R&D as a percentage of GDP is now 1% below the OECD average. We need a kickstart and a commitment from an incoming government to boost investment in R&D to 3% of GDP over the next 10 years,” she said in her election pitch.

Universities Australia has previously called on both major parties to re-establish the Education Investment Fund (EIF), a dedicated fund for university campus infrastructure projects. The EIF contained almost AU$4 billion (US$2.56 billion) when it was closed in 2019, leaving universities with no source of dedicated government funding to build and upgrade campus facilities that benefit all Australians.

Parties pitch to win hearts and votes

Australia’s higher education sector found itself at the heart of heated and divisive political discourses among frontline parties as the countdown begins for the crucial polls next week deciding the country’s future in an ever-polarising global scenario.

With the campaign for the 3 May election in the final crucial stage, the latest polls suggest a tough contest between the conservative Coalition and the liberal Labor. There are some hints of improvement in the popularity of the incumbent Prime Minister Anthony Albanese as the Opposition leader Peter Craig Dutton tries to catch up on key issues such as housing, healthcare, the economy and education.

Labor is heading to the polls with a strong pitch of student debt reduction plans to reduce student loans by 20%, amounting to approximately AU$16 billion in debt relief for around three million Australians.

This initiative aims to alleviate cost-of-living pressures and is set to commence in June later this year if Labor wins the May elections. Another major offer by Labor to win hearts and votes is the promise of thousands of free TAFE courses if re-elected.

In clear contrast, the opposition’s Coalition has promised to cut international students enrolment in public universities and give priority to the locals. As per the Coalition’s proposed cap, public universities will be able to enrol no more than 115,000 international students a year, while private and non-university higher education facilities will be permitted to enrol up to 125,000.

According to the public broadcaster ABC, this total cap is 30,000 less than the figure Labor proposed when it tried to pass legislation that would grant the education minister the power to limit student numbers during the last term of parliament.

The country’s third leading political party, the Greens are advocating for the radical abolition of student debt, including Higher Education Loan Program (HELP), Student Financial Supplement Scheme (SFSS), and Vocational Education and Training (VET) debts.

As part of its election pitch, the Greens propose increasing PhD stipends to match the national minimum wage and providing paid parental leave to all PhD students, regardless of employment stats.

Peak HE bodies demand bold actions

Two of the country’s peak higher education bodies believe that Labor’s debt reduction and free TAFE plans would make education more accessible, potentially attracting both domestic and international students, while the Coalition's cap on international student enrolments could reduce universities’ revenue and impact their global rankings.

The Go8 strongly opposes the Coalition’s plan to cap international student numbers.

Earlier this month, Universities Australia condemned a Coalition pledge made public to cut international student numbers further and increase student visa fees, saying it would damage the economy and Australia’s global reputation without solving the housing crisis as the Coalition claimed.

Sheehy said: “Slashing student numbers by tens of thousands would take a sledgehammer to one of the nation’s biggest income generators.”

With huge stakes involved, the country’s higher education institutions are pushing hard to preserve and promote their interests in the backdrop of the election 2025. Australia is one of the top 5 destinations globally for international students, competing with the US, UK, and Canada.

The country has more than 40 universities in the public and private sectors with over 1.5 million students enrolled – around 30% international students.

Several Australian universities, such as the University of Melbourne, the Australian National University, the University of Sydney, and the University of New South Wales, consistently rank in the top 50 and top 100 globally, which is why they are sensitive to any political decisions impacting international students.