Government receives report of Base Funding Review

The Government has received the report of the expert panel chaired by Dr Jane Lomax-Smith into higher education base funding.

The Base Funding Review was asked to make recommendations on the principles for public investment in Australian higher education and inquire into the levels of funding that are appropriate to ensure that Australian higher education remains internationally competitive.

“I would like to thank Dr Lomax-Smith and other panel members for the contribution that each made during the course of the Review,” said Senator Evans.

The Government will publicly release the Final Report of the Base Funding Review before the end of this year and invite comment from the higher education sector on the recommendations in the report.

Since coming to office, Commonwealth support for higher education has outstripped even the strong growth in student numbers.

Since 2007, there has been an increase of 22% in the number of Commonwealth-supported students in our universities.

Over the same period, the Commonwealth’s investment in higher education has increased by more than 50% – from $8 billion in 2007 to more than $12 billion this year.

For more information: http://www.deewr.gov.au/HigherEducation/Policy/BaseReview/Pages/default.aspx