An expert advisory panel will work ‘hand in glove’ with the Turnbull Government to help develop a future plan for Australia’s higher education system to ensure it promotes excellence and innovation and is sustainable for generations to come.
Minister for Education and Training Simon Birmingham said the panel would work alongside him to take the more than 1,000 submissions made in response to the Driving Fairness, Innovation and Excellence in Australian Higher Education policy options paper from ‘paper to policy’.
“This expert panel will be outcome-focussed and help us take higher education reform from paper to implementable policy,” Minister Birmingham said.
“This is an important step in the Turnbull Government’s considered and consultative efforts to provide equitable access, excellence and innovation in higher education while also ensuring that the system is financially sustainable for future generations of students and taxpayers.
“We must ensure our world-class higher education institutions adapt in the face of increasing global competition and continued changes to the future skills our economy requires.
“Policy settings must create the optimal incentives for higher education institutions to be responsive to both student needs and economic demands for high-quality, employment-focussed outcomes, as well as leadership in research and innovation, while operating within budget constraints.”
The expert panel’s members will be:
• Dr Michele Allan – Director of CSIRO, Chair of Meat & Livestock Australia and Chancellor of Charles Sturt University,
• Professor Peter Noonan – Mitchell Professorial Fellow at Victoria University and Member of the Expert Panel for the Review of Australian Higher Education (Bradley Review),
• Andrew Norton – Grattan Institute Higher Education Program Director and co-author of the Review of the Demand Driven Funding System; and
• Professor Sally Walker – Principal at Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu and former Vice-Chancellor of Deakin University.
Minister Birmingham said the members of the panel would bring extensive and diverse experience and expertise in higher education policy and delivery to the reform process.
“Kicking off with their first meeting today, I expect the panel to work with me and my department in considering the merits of the numerous policy options presented by the many and varied stakeholders across the sector,” Minister Birmingham said.
“In addition to their consultations, the panel will have access to data and analysis on the efficient cost of delivering higher education teaching and scholarship, ensuring Australia’s higher education system represents value for money.
“In response to the policy options paper released in May we received more than 1,200 submissions from experts, universities, researchers, student groups and members of the public that we will also use to inform the development of firm plans for the future.”