EXPLANATORY STATEMENT

Issued by the authority of the Minister for Education

Higher Education Support Act 2003

Higher Education Support (Other Grants) Amendment (Outreach Funding Program) Guidelines 2025

AUTHORITY

Section 238-10 of the Higher Education Support Act 2003 (the Act) provides that the Minister may make guidelines for the purposes of the Act. In particular, item 8 of the table at subsection 238-10(1) specifies that the Minister may make Other Grants Guidelines to, amongst other things, provide for matters necessary or convenient to be provided in order to carry out or give effect to Part 2-3 of the Act in relation to grants payable under that Part.

Under subsection 33(3) of the Acts Interpretation Act 1901, where an Act confers a power to make, grant or issue any instrument of a legislative or administrative character (including rules, regulations, or by laws), the power shall be construed as including a power exercisable in the like manner and subject to the like conditions (if any) to repeal, rescind, revoke, amend, or vary any such instrument. The amendments to the Higher Education Support (Other Grants) Guidelines 2022 (the Principal Instrument) made by the Higher Education Support (Other Grants) Amendment (Outreach Funding Program) Guidelines 2025 (the Amendment Instrument) rely on this provision.

PURPOSE AND OPERATION

The Amendment Instrument amends the Principal Instrument to specify a new program under which grants can be made, being the Outreach Funding Program. The amendments are in response to one of the recommendations from the Australian Universities Accord Final Report (Final Report), which was to increase the number of people from underrepresented groups to commence and complete higher education.

The Outreach Funding Program will support Table A providers to deliver activities to people from underrepresented groups designed to build their aspiration to undertake higher education. Specifically, the activities are to be targeted to people from low socioeconomic backgrounds, people from regional and remote areas, and Indigenous persons. Providing underrepresented groups with information about higher education options and increasing the desire to access higher education is vital to achieving the Government’s target that 80% of Australia’s working-age population will hold at least one tertiary qualification. This target is linked to projections that 9 out of 10 new jobs will require post-school qualifications and is a driver of productivity, prosperity, and fairness for all Australians.

Providers must use the grant on outreach activities, that is, pre-access activities that occur before a person enrols in higher education study, with the aim to encourage more people from the underrepresented groups to consider and enrol in higher education and grow future student numbers. Providers must directly target the outreach activities to address the specific needs that people from low socioeconomic backgrounds, people from regional and remote areas, and Indigenous persons, may have when making decisions about whether or not to undertake higher education study. The supports required will differ from group to group and from student to student, and should seek to address individual, institutional, geographic, and/or material barriers. Activities can be delivered in school, on campus or through community outreach and engagement and may be individual or group-based activities or events targeted at one or more of the eligible cohorts. Activities may include but are not limited to:

• activities to increase the awareness of careers and pathways that higher education can offer;
• providing information to explain the range of pathways into higher education and supports available to access and succeed in higher education;
• mentoring, experience days, residentials or guided tours.

The Outreach Funding Program will target prospective students before they make decisions about undertaking higher education. As such, the Higher Education Participation and Partnerships Program, which supported equity outcomes across the student life cycle, will be replaced with these two programs that target different stages of the student life cycle.

COMMENCEMENT

The Amendment Instrument commences on the day after this instrument is registered on the Federal Register of Legislation. 

CONSULTATION

The Outreach Funding Program is part of a broader reform in response to the recommendations of the Final Report, following extensive consultation and engagement with students, staff, institutions, community groups, subject matter experts, and across government.

The Department of Education (department) undertook consultation specifically on the Outreach Funding Program between June and October 2025 with a range of stakeholders that has informed the development of the Amendment Instrument. The main feedback following consultation involved stakeholders seeking further clarification about definitions and eligibility, which has been detailed thoroughly throughout the Amendment Instrument. The department:

• presented the program to higher education sector professionals (university leaders, teachers, academics, support staff, and equity practitioners) at the Unistars Student Success Conference in June 2025;

         sent emails to Vice-Chancellors at all eligible higher education providers with information explaining implementation matters, such as funding and eligibility requirements. As part of this, the department conducted one-on-one meetings with Vice-Chancellors to discuss the funding specifics for each provider in August and September 2025;

         met with the Regional Education Commissioner and provided an overview of the program and discussed specific program settings and cohort definitions. As a result of this meeting, further work will be undertaken on how to define low-socioeconomic students to inform future policy development;

         met with Open Universities Australia and the Medical Deans Association in September 2025;

         presented to the Queensland Widening Participation Consortium in October 2025; and

         included the program as a frequent discussion point at meetings and through email communication with providers.

The department has provided a detailed fact sheet and released a funding calculator to all Table A providers which gives an estimate of total grant funding to be provided under the program.  

STATEMENT OF COMPATIBILITY WITH HUMAN RIGHTS

Prepared in accordance with Part 3 of the Human Rights (Parliamentary Scrutiny) Act 2011

Higher Education Support (Other Grants) Amendment (Outreach Funding Program) Guidelines 2025

The Higher Education Support (Other Grants) Amendment (Outreach Funding Program) Guidelines 2025 (the Amendment Instrument) is compatible with the human rights and freedoms recognised or declared in the international instruments listed in section 3 of the Human Rights (Parliamentary Scrutiny) Act 2011.

Overview of the Legislative Instrument

The Amendment Instrument amends the Higher Education Support (Other Grants) Guidelines 2022 (the Principal Instrument) to specify a new program under which grants can be made, being the Outreach Funding Program. The amendments are in response to one of the recommendations from the Australian Universities Accord Final Report (Final Report), which was to increase the number of people from underrepresented groups to commence and complete higher education.

The Outreach Funding Program will support Table A providers to deliver activities to people from underrepresented groups designed to build their aspiration to undertake higher education. Specifically, the activities are to be targeted to people from low socioeconomic backgrounds, people from regional and remote areas, and Indigenous persons.  Providing underrepresented groups with information about higher education options and increasing the desire to access higher education is vital to achieving the Government’s target that 80% of Australia’s working-age population will hold at least one tertiary qualification. This target is linked to projections that 9 out of 10 new jobs will require post-school qualifications and is a driver of productivity, prosperity, and fairness for all Australians.

Providers must use the grant on outreach activities, that is, pre-access activities that occur before a person enrols in higher education study, with the aim to encourage more people from the underrepresented groups to consider and enrol in higher education and grow future student numbers. Providers must directly target the outreach activities to address the specific needs that people from low socioeconomic backgrounds, people from regional and remote areas, and Indigenous persons, may have when making decisions about whether or not to undertake higher education study. The supports required will differ from group to group and from student to student, and should seek to address individual, institutional, geographic, and/or material barriers. Activities can be delivered in school, on campus or through community outreach and engagement and may be individual or group-based activities or events targeted at one or more of the eligible cohorts. Activities may include but are not limited to:

• activities to increase the awareness of careers and pathways that higher education can offer;
• providing information to explain the range of pathways into higher education and supports available to access and succeed in higher education;
• mentoring, experience days, residentials or guided tours.

The Outreach Funding Program will target prospective students before they make decisions about undertaking higher education.  As such, the Higher Education Participation and Partnerships Program, which supported equity outcomes across the student life cycle, will be replaced with these two programs that target different stages of the student life cycle.

Human rights implications

The Amendment Instrument engages the right to education in Article 13 of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR).

Right to education

Article 13 of the ICESCR recognises the important personal, societal, economic and intellectual benefits of education. Article 13 also provides that secondary education in all its different forms, including higher education, shall be made generally available and accessible to all by every appropriate means. Article 13(2)(c) of the ICESCR provides that ‘higher education shall be made equally accessible to all, on the basis of capacity, by every appropriate means, and in particular by the progressive introduction of free education’.

The Amendment Instrument amends the Principal Instrument to establish the Outreach Funding Program to support providers on delivering outreach activities to people from low socioeconomic backgrounds, people from regional and remote areas, and Indigenous persons. The Amendment Instrument supports the right to education as the aim of the outreach activities are to build or enable the aspiration of people from underrepresented background to attend higher education, by directly addressing the specific disadvantages faced by them in relation to accessing higher education. The Outreach Funding Program supports the right to education as it aims to enhance opportunities for, and increase the likelihood of, people from underrepresented backgrounds across Australia accessing higher education.

Conclusion

The Amendment Instrument is compatible with human rights because it supports the right to education.

Minister for Education, the Hon Jason Clare MP

Higher Education Support (Other Grants) Amendment (Outreach Funding Program) Guidelines 2025

EXPLANATION OF PROVISIONS

Section 1: Name

1.      This provision specifies the name of the instrument as the Higher Education Support (Other Grants) Amendment (Outreach Funding Program) Guidelines 2025 (the Amendment Instrument).

Section 2: Commencement

2.      This section provides that the Amendment Instrument commences on the day after it is registered.

Section 3: Authority

3.      This section provides that the Amendment Instrument is made under section 238-10 of the Higher Education Support Act 2003 (the Act).

Section 4: Schedules

4.      This is a technical provision that explains that each instrument that is specified in a Schedule to the Amendment Instrument is amended or repealed as set out in the applicable items in the Schedule concerned, and any other item in a Schedule to this instrument has effect according to its terms.

Schedule 1—Amendments

Higher Education Support (Other Grants) Guidelines 2022

Item 1: After section 66C

1.       This item inserts a new Part (Part 9B) after section 66C in the Higher Education Support (Other Grants) Guidelines 2022 (Principal Instrument) to specify the Outreach Funding Program as a program under which grants may be made in accordance with subsection 41-15(1) of the Act.

Section 66AA

1.       New section 66AA outlines the program objectives. New subsection 66AA(1) provides that the Outreach Funding Program is specified for the purpose of supporting open access to higher education across Australia under item 11(c) of the table in section 41-10 of the Act.
    
2.       New subsection 66AA(2) provides that the objectives of the Outreach Funding Program are:

• at new paragraph 66AA(2)(a), to promote higher education to people from low socioeconomic backgrounds, people from regional and remote areas, and Indigenous persons; and
• at new paragraph 66AA(2)(b), to increase the number of people from these underrepresented backgrounds accessing higher education by delivering outreach initiatives to widen and enable higher education aspiration.

Section 66AB

1.       New section 66AB provides that there are no specified bodies corporate or extra conditions of eligibility for the Outreach Funding Program. The note under this section explains that under section 41-10 of the Act, Table A providers are eligible for grants made for the purpose of supporting open access to higher education across Australia.

Section 66AC

1.       New section 66AC provides that grants are to be made in respect of a year and the amount that will be spent in 2026. New subsection 66AC(1) provides that a grant made to a higher education provider under the Outreach Funding Program is made in respect of a year.

1.       New subsection 66AC(2) provides that the amount, being a part of the amount referred to in section 41-45 of the Act, that will be spent on the program is:

• at new paragraph 66AC(2)(a), $43,735,160 in 2026; and
• at new paragraph 66AC(2)(b), in all future years, the amount at paragraph (2)(a) as indexed annually under section 66AD.

1.       There are two notes under new section 66AC. Note 1 states that new section 66AD in the Amendment Instrument provides for the indexation of the amount for future years (2027 onwards). Note 2 explains that under section 41-20 of the Act, grants are subject to approval by the Minister.

Section 66AD

1.       New section 66AD provides that the amount listed in new subsection 66AC(2)(a) is to be indexed for subsequent years using the method of indexation set out in Part 5-6 of the Act. Note 1 under this section explains that Part 5-6 of the Act contains an indexation method that adjusts certain amounts against the Consumer Price Index. Note 2 explains that unspent grant amounts in a year are also subject to the rollover of grant amount rules in section 41-40 of the Act.

Section 66AE

1.       New section 66AE sets out the method by which the amount of grants under the program are determined for a provider. New subsection 66AE(1) provides that grants will be made to eligible higher education providers each year based on the provider’s percentage share of total students of all eligible providers who are domestic undergraduate students from a low socioeconomic background, students from regional areas and remote areas and students who are Indigenous persons, using the applicable formula for a year as set out in new subsection 66AE(2).

1.   New subsection 66AE(2) provides that grant amounts for a provider for a year are to be calculated by applying the specified formula (ignoring any amount rolled over because of section 41-40 of the Act). The formula outlines that there is a fixed total amount available for the year as set out in subsection 66AC(2) and that providers are paid based on the proportion of students in the target population enrolled at the relevant higher education provider compared to all providers. The formula sets out that a provider’s grant amount is based on factors relating to:

• the proportion of domestic undergraduate students from low socioeconomic backgrounds enrolled at the relevant higher education provider (based on each student’s address at the time the student first enrols in a course of study with the provider);
• the proportion of domestic undergraduate students enrolled with the provider with a permanent residential address in a regional area or a remote area (at the time the student first enrols in a course of study with the provider); and
• the proportion of Indigenous persons enrolled with the provider.

1.   New subsection 66AE(3) clarifies that a reference to the most recent data refers to data for a full year that is reported and verified by the provider through the HESDC as at the last quarter of the year prior to the year to which the grant relates.

Section 66AF

1.   New section 66AF outlines the conditions that apply to grants under the Outreach Funding Program. New subsection 66AF(1) provides that grants must only be spent on outreach activities and initiatives that are:

• at paragraph (a), for the purposes of building and supporting aspiration and further study, targeted to people who have not already decided to enrol in or to undertake higher education study and seeking to encourage more people to engage in higher education; and
• at paragraph (b), addressing the specific disadvantages faced by, people from low socioeconomic backgrounds, people from regional and remote areas, and Indigenous persons, in relation to accessing higher education; and
• at paragraph (c), designed to encourage people from low socioeconomic backgrounds, people from regional and remotes areas and Indigenous persons to aspire to access and participate in higher education.
• at paragraph (d), designed to attract people from low socioeconomic backgrounds, people from regional and remote areas and Indigenous persons to enrol in higher education; and

1.   The term ‘outreach’ is defined in section 4 of the Principal Instrument as “when used in context of higher education, refers to a range of programs and activities delivered by a higher education provider or other organisation that is designed to build or enable an individual’s aspiration to attend higher education”.
    
2.   New subsection 66AF(2) provides that, to avoid doubt, grants may not be spent on:

• at paragraph (a), infrastructure, including maintenance and construction of buildings, fixtures, roads and pathways; and
• at paragraph (b), services, activities or transport vehicles that are not principally for the use or benefit of people from low socioeconomic backgrounds, people from regional and remote areas, or Indigenous persons; and
• at paragraph (c), general marketing and recruitment activities or marketing and recruitment targeted towards a particular higher education provider; and
• at paragraph (d), activities which do not specifically target people from low socioeconomic backgrounds, people from regional and remote areas, and Indigenous persons; and   
• at paragraph (e), activities aimed at supporting people once they have already enrolled in higher education.    

1.   Subsections 66AF(1) and (2) make clear that the grant must only be used for activities leading to a person making a decision to enrol in higher education study. That is, the grant must not be used for activities after a person has enrolled in higher education study.
    
2.   New subsection 66AF(3) outlines the reporting conditions, that a provider must provide annual reports that comply with requirements specified by the Minister under subsection 41-25(2) of the Act. The note under this subsection provides that the Minister has the power under subsection 41-25(2) of the Act to impose further conditions on grants. This includes conditions in relation to reporting which, without limitation, may require reports that deal with:

• at paragraph (a), strategies and policies which aim to increase the number of people from low socioeconomic backgrounds, people from regional and remote areas and Indigenous persons accessing higher education;
• at paragraph (b), activities planned and undertaken with grant funding;
• at paragraph (c), evaluation of activities undertaken; and
• at paragraph (d), acquittal of expenditure.