Barney Glover, the new head of the Australian Tertiary Education Commission (Atec), told Guardian Australia he would provide advice to the government on funding for degrees in the second half of next year.<\/p>\n
Sign up for the Breaking News Australia email <\/a><\/p>\n \u201cI absolutely appreciate the frustration of people who\u2019d like to see immediate action on Job-ready Graduates,\u201d Glover said.<\/p>\n \u201cOur mandate is to get compelling evidence for change at a time when governments, not just here in Australia, but around the world, are under pressure in terms of investment in education.\u201d<\/p>\n He had previously said the scheme was flawed, telling The Australian in May: \u201cIt\u2019s clear the JRG reforms have failed.\u201d <\/p>\n The timeline has raised concern in the sector. The Western Sydney University vice-chancellor, George Williams, said it would mean the cost of humanities degrees would remain high until at least 2028.<\/p>\n \u201cThe longer it takes to fix Job-ready Graduates, the longer it is that students will be paying unfair fees and taking on unreasonable debt,\u201d Williams said.<\/p>\n \u201cThis needs to be fixed urgently so every Australian has the opportunity to further their education.\u201d<\/p>\n Glover said work was already under way to determine how much it cost universities to provide degrees.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m confident we\u2019ll deliver a compelling argument to government, and I appreciate the challenges, but I think this work has to be done well, and it\u2019s very challenging to do it more rapidly, because it\u2019s complex.\u201d<\/p>\n Prof Barney Glover, the new head of the Australian Tertiary Education Commission, told The Australian in May the JRG reforms \u2018have failed\u2019. Photograph: Joel Carrett\/AAP<\/p>\n Data analysis by Innovative Research Universities, released in February, found Job-ready Graduates had led to a decline in commonwealth funding<\/a> for the sector. It said the commonwealth provided $1.2bn less in funding in 2024 than it would have under pre-JRG settings, while the base funding for universities was $813m lower in 2024, despite the increase in student contributions.<\/p>\n The Greens deputy leader, Mehreen Faruqi, also called for an immediate fix, rather than waiting another 18 months.<\/p>\n \u201cWe should be making uni fee-free, just like it was for the prime minister,\u201d Faruqi said.<\/p>\n \u201cInstead we\u2019ve got Labor dragging their heels on the easiest of reforms.\u201d<\/p>\n Glover, who will next year take charge of allocating international student numbers to universities, has also put the sector on notice to find new sources of funding, warning the international student boom was over.<\/p>\n
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