Down under, looking ahead: UK and Australian higher education compared

Here, Dr Rhinannon Birch explores how Australia is placing universities at the centre of national policy discussions ahead of the 2025 Federal Election. With a comparable sector and shared challenges, the UK can draw valuable insights from Australia’s approach to tertiary reform.

On billboards and bus stops across Australia, a striking Universities Australia campaign reads: “Universities matter because we need…” It’s more than a slogan — it’s a statement of intent, surfacing just as higher education becomes a defining theme in Australia’s upcoming federal election. At the recent Universities Solutions Summit (attended by SUMS Consulting International), policy leaders from both Australia and the United States gathered to discuss the future of tertiary education — a conversation that should catch the attention of the UK sector, too.

The Australian and UK sectors have historically been good comparators developing along similar lines and learning from each other. Both sectors have a similar regulatory structure, there is similar stratification between several types of university, although Australian HE sits in a wider tertiary environment with Technical and Further Education (TAFE) colleges offering more vocational and skills-based provision with international and private providers also operating in the sector. There are 43 universities in Australia but it’s important to remember that Australian institutions are often ~50% larger than UK counterparts in terms of student volume. However, they are facing remarkably similar challenges to those we are experiencing in the UK. 

Here are five things we learned about Australian HE: 

1. The operating environment – alike in autonomy: The operating environment is highly comparable as in the UK, Australian universities have a reasonably high degree of autonomy, usually acting in collaboration rather than competition. The shared agenda with the government is under debate in the run up to the election and there is a high degree of uncertainty about potential future direction depending on the new government.
2. Funding futures – a shared struggle: Meeting the cost of HE is an ongoing debate – but the Australian HE funding and policy environment is more complicated than the UK, with differential degrees of public funding for home students. Since 2020/21 the Job Ready Graduates scheme has injected significant investment into the sector aimed at specific subject areas and under-represented students. The current government’s aspiration is to increase participation in tertiary education to 80%, however it’s unclear how the full costs of HE for Australia’s population, or for research and development will be met longer term.
3. Financial pressures: rising risk, shrinking surplus: Institutional financial sustainability is a concern, as in the UK, the “good times” of strong international recruitment ended sharply in recent years as the government – in response to cost of living and housing pressures perceived to be exacerbated by high international student numbers –introduced caps on international recruitment, without addressing the shortfall for core tuition and research. In consequence, in 2023 around 65% of institutions reported financial deficit. There’s also a debate around Vice-Chancellor (VC) remuneration with suggestions of a possible cap being imposed to address high senior salaries.
4. Regulation: responding to new realities: Regulatory requirements are evolving and tightening. In 2024 the Government began to implement its new ‘National Higher Education Code to Prevent and Respond to Gender-based Violence (National Code)’. This is a new regulation applicable to both higher education providers and standalone accommodation providers who may also be required to operate under a new regulatory framework. The Senate Education and Employment Legislation Committee is also concluding its inquiry into the quality of governance at Australian higher education providers. This inquiry was tasked with exploring the adequacy of the powers available to the Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency (TEQSA) to perform its role in identifying and addressing corporate governance issues and is due to report in early April.
5. Reform by design – what the Accord tells us: As well as potentially strengthening the role of the regulator (TEQSA), the Australian Universities Accord Final Report (published in 2024) provides 47 recommendations aimed at creating a long-term reform plan for the HE sector. This includes setting up a new body the Australian Tertiary Education Commission as a statutory, national body to plan and oversee the creation of a high quality and cohesive tertiary education system to meet Australia’s future needs and an Implementation Advisory Committee to oversee the implementation of the recommendations in the Accord.  

Why should UK HEIs be interested?

The two sectors, both alike in autonomy, are facing similar challenges within a similar regulatory construct. However, what distinguishes the two is how Government is choosing to work with the sector to manage those challenges. In Australia, tertiary education is part of the election debate, and it will be interesting to see how the new government takes forward current concerns, challenges and debates. For the UK, the tertiary model and extent of regulatory control should be of interest. Could this be the next UK best practice import from down under? 

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