Universities Accord (Australian Tertiary Education Commission) Bill 2025 and another

The majority voted in favour of a motion to agree with the main idea of the bills. In parliamentary jargon, they voted to read the bills for a second time. This means the bills can now be considered in greater detail.

What does this bill do?

According to the bills digest, which is a document prepared by the parliamentary library:

The Universities Accord (Australian Tertiary Education Commission) Bill 2025 (the Bill) provides for the establishment of the Australian Tertiary Education Commission (ATEC) to provide stewardship of the higher education system.

The Bill enshrines a National Tertiary Education Objective (NTEO), to which ATEC must have regard in performing its functions.

Establishing ATEC was a recommendation of the Australian Universities Accord, although not all components of the recommendations are included in the Bill.

The Minister would appoint three commissioners, including a First Nations Commissioner. At least one must have experience with vocational education and training (VET). ATEC will be assisted by the Department of Education.

As well as the NTEO, and specific criteria in the Bill, ATEC must have regard to the Minister’s short-term and long-term strategic priorities when performing functions or exercising powers.

ATEC is to provide advice and recommendations on a number of prescribed areas and/or upon request by the Minister. It would also provide:

• an annual report on the state of the tertiary education system

• advice and recommendations on the Higher Education Standards Framework.

ATEC would establish and monitor performance through mission based compacts with Table A and B providers, which will outline how the provider’s purpose, values and goals align with national, state and local priorities, planning and strategy.

The Universities Accord (Australian Tertiary Education Commission) (Consequential and Transitional Provisions) Bill 2025 (the C&T Bill) amends related legislation to implement the Bill, including transferring responsibilities for the Higher Education Standards Framework to ATEC, and enabling information sharing between the Department of Education and ATEC.

The Coalition has questioned the need for an additional bureaucratic layer, but is yet to announce its position on the Bill.

The Greens have not announced a position on the Bill; however, they appear to generally support the creation of a statutory ATEC.

Sector stakeholders have generally been supportive of an ATEC, but have criticised elements of the Bill, such as ATEC’s limits on providing advice on its own initiative.

The Bills have been referred to the Senate Education and Employment Legislation Committee, due to report on the 26 February 2026.