The Universities Accord (Opening the Doors of Opportunity) Bill 2026 has passed the House of Representatives, clearing the way for an extra $3.6 billion in university funding over the next decade for students from disadvantaged and regional backgrounds.
It is the seventh piece of legislation the Albanese Government has introduced to implement the Australian Universities Accord, according to Minister for Education Jason Clare MP.
"Talent is everywhere. It's opportunity that's not," Clare said. "These reforms will mean more young people from poor families and from the regions and the bush get a crack at university."
The Bill establishes Managed Growth Funding, under which the Government will set the total number of Commonwealth Supported Places (CSPs) each year, with the newly created Australian Tertiary Education Commission (ATEC) responsible for allocating them across universities.
An additional 16,000 places will be added each year over the next three years, rising to 19,000 a year from 2030 – part of what the Government expects will be 230,000 extra students commencing university over the decade.
Places for students from disadvantaged, regional and remote backgrounds will be effectively uncapped, building on the additional university places funded in the 2022 federal budget.
Needs-based funding modelled on Gonski
The second reform, Needs-based Funding, mirrors the Gonski model used in schools, giving universities more funding as they enrol more students from low socioeconomic backgrounds, First Nations students and those studying at regional campuses.
It responds to long-running concerns about the equity challenges facing disadvantaged students entering university, and draws on needs-based funding models used in other parts of the education system.
Regional universities are expected to be major beneficiaries: Charles Sturt University, with campuses in Wagga Wagga, Orange, Bathurst, Dubbo, Albury-Wodonga and Port Macquarie, could receive between $200 million and $500 million over the decade, while Central Queensland University, with campuses across Townsville, Rockhampton, Mackay, Bundaberg, Cairns, Gladstone and Emerald, could receive up to $260 million.
The Bill now moves to the Senate for consideration.