Higher Education Support Legislation Amendment (A More Sustainable, Responsive and Transparent Higher Education System) Bill 2017

The majority agreed with the main idea of the bill. In parliamentary jargon, they voted in favour of giving the bill a second reading.

What is the bill's main idea?

The bill makes changes to the way higher education funding works. For example, the bill proposes to:

• reduce Commonwealth funding of tuition costs for undergraduate courses at universities through increasing the student contribution towards these costs, and reducing the funding universities receive to cover these costs; and
• make changes so that those in the workforce will commence repayment at much lower income levels and at higher rates.

The bill also proposes to change arrangements for permanent residents and New Zealand citizens by:

extending access to HELP loans to students in this situation, but at the same time removing access to CSPs [Commonwealth Supported Places] ... [so they will] effectively be treated the same as domestic full-fee paying students.

Find out more about the bill in its bills digest.