There is little for the university sector to get excited about in this week’s federal budget. 

Last year’s $1 billion boost for research to compensate for lost international student revenue appears to have been a one-off, with no such commitment this year despite the issues remaining the same. 

The Federal Government has announced an incentive program to increase the number of industry-engaged PhD students.

It is also providing some funding to promote women in science, technology, engineering and mathematics through a $42.4 million university scholarship program. 

The government has pledged to boost the research capacity of regional universities too, paying $30,000 for each PhD student who graduates having undertaken an industry placement in the first 18 months of their degree.

There is a new $54 million global science and technology diplomacy fund, which the government says will support strategically important research collaborations with global partners. However, this funding was freed up by scrapping other international science programs, ultimately saving the government $6.6 million.

The government has increased funding for the Higher Education Tuition Protection Fund by $500,000 over the forward estimates, which is designed to reimburse students their fees in the event of a private college going broke.

There were some hopes of relief through a research commercialisation fund, but this did not materialise in the budget announcement. 

The government appears to be banking on looming skill shortages to be addressed by historic investments in the vocational education and training sector.

The budget measures relevant to the higher education sector include:

  • $1.1 million over two years from 2020-21 to create new employment pathways for students and boost financial incentives for universities to enrol students in ‘Industry PhDs’

  • A new $54.2 million Global Science and Technology Diplomacy Fund to support strategically important science and technology collaborations with global partners

  • $42.4 million over seven years to establish the Boosting the Next Generation of Women in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) Program by co-funding scholarships for women in STEM in partnership with industry

  • Initiatives to support the delivery of primary care and the health workforce in rural and remote Australia

  • $216.7 million over three years from 2021–22 to grow and upskill the aged-care workforce through additional nursing scholarships and places and related measures

  • $27.8 million to increase the number of nurses, psychologists and allied health practitioners working in mental health settings through 280 scholarships and 350 clinical placements

  • A $9 million cut over five years to the Quality Indicators for Learning and Teachers (QILT) suite of surveys

  • Funding for the Australian Awards for University Teaching and the Learning and Teaching Repository will end after the 2021 awards

  • Additional post-graduate scholarships for Aboriginal and Torres Strait nurses and allied health professionals to undertake formal aged-care and dementia qualifications