Introduction by Croakey: Education is such an important determinant of health, for individuals, communities and societies. It is noteworthy that an important new review of higher education doesn’t explicitly mention the social determinants of health or health equity.
Yet the report’s 47 recommendations – described as a blueprint for future reform – have significant implications for health equity, and hopefully in positive ways, given that ‘equity’ is mentioned more than 200 times in the 398-page report, and Education Minister Jason Clare has stressed the importance of education as “the great equaliser in an unequal world”.
The review, by the Australian Universities Accord Panel, identifies four groups – First Nations people, people with disability, people from regional, rural and remote areas, and people from low socio-economic status backgrounds – who are substantially under-represented in higher education.
“Every Australian should have the opportunity to experience the life transforming benefits of tertiary education,” says the report. “This is vital for Australia’s future. Only by expanding access to tertiary education to currently under-represented groups – including people from low SES backgrounds, First Nations, people with disability and regional, rural and remote students – can the nation meet its projected skills needs.
“Access to tertiary education must include high quality teaching and learning targeted to students with lower educational attainment, alongside access to income support where necessary, affordable student housing and the ability to find reasonable work and placement opportunities.”
The review makes many recommendations relevant for First Nations people participating in higher education, whether as students, academics or in other roles such as governance, and highlights the importance of cultural safety within university settings.
It calls for dedicated PhD scholarships and postdoctoral fellowships for First Nations researchers “to support, broaden and grow the pipeline of First Nations researchers at Australian universities”.
Among recommendations to accelerate the supply of medical graduates in communities experiencing doctor shortages and to increase the number of medical graduates from under‑represented backgrounds, the review urges the Australian Government to provide places for all First Nations students who apply and meet the entry requirements for a medical degree.
The review also notes that the current Closing the Gap Target 6 aims for 70 percent of First Nations people aged between 25 and 34 years to have completed a tertiary qualification (Certificate III and above) by 2031.
But it’s too early to know whether the report and its recommendations will have the desired impact, according to academics writing below.
“The accord aims to build a more inclusive and equitable higher education for all Australians, but we need to see more detail and timelines for action,” they say.
The article below, first published at The Conversation, is by academics from Griffith University, Queensland University of Technology and The University of Queensland (full bio details are at end of article, as well as links to the Minister’s related statements).
Peter Anderson, Angela Baeza Peña, Levon Blue, Melanie Saward and Thu Pham write:
The Universities Accord final report calls for meaningful steps to increase the numbers of Indigenous graduates and Indigenous leaders in higher education. In post-referendum Australia, this is more important than ever.
The philosophy of “nothing about us without us” runs through the report, with recommendations for Indigenous leadership in policies, programs, funding and decision-making.
Is this enough?
What does the accord recommend?
One of the key recommendations of the report is to raise Indigenous participation at university. The accord wants Australia’s university student population to reflect the demographic composition of Australian society.
It wants to do this by introducing equity targets. At the moment, Indigenous Australians make up 3.7 percent of the Australian population but only 1.5 percent of university completions.
In part, it hopes to do this with more government-supported university places for Indigenous students and scholarships.
It also has a strong element of self-determination, with a proposed First Nations-led review of universities and a First Nations council to provide advice to the Federal Education Minister and sector. The report also calls for an increase of more Indigenous people in leadership and governance positions within universities.
This is not the first time
While the sentiments in the report are welcome, this is not the first time there have been plans to boost Indigenous enrolment at university. Although previous reports have advocated for increased Indigenous Australian participation at universities, completion rates have remained low.
So we need more than just good intentions or targets. Preparing Indigenous Australian students for university also needs to involve recognising and valuing different pathways into higher education. This should include recognising work experience and preparatory programs (and not just Year 12 results) and/or participation in pre-university experiences and courses.
It also needs to include mentorships, career counselling and work experience in high school.
Once students are enrolled, universities also need to provide support to Indigenous students throughout their study. This may include culturally responsive approaches to teaching, access to support services, and nurturing a sense of belonging on campus.
For example, Indigenous support units for both undergraduate students and postgraduate students are essential. This support must be tailored to the individual needs of each student.
Financial support is a problem
Financial challenges can prevent students from completing their degrees, especially those from low socioeconomic backgrounds, regional areas or Indigenous students.
Rising living costs are exacerbating students’ financial struggles.
Many Indigenous students may also experience intergenerational poverty as a legacy of colonisation. As the National Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisation notes, poverty is “reinforced and entrenched” by ongoing experiences of racism.
Our research involving 308 Indigenous Australian students who completed their university degrees between 2018 and 2022 found economic conditions, particularly financial hardship, were one of the key factors affecting Indigenous students’ completion. Students often had to rely on support from family and/or take on work while studying to make ends meet.
So it is vital that Indigenous students get adequate financial support that covers the cost of food, accommodation and study materials. The review suggests financial support to students needs to increase. While costly, this should be a priority.
Approximately 63 percent of Australia’s Indigenous population also live in outer regional areas or very remote areas.
The report talks at length about boosting infrastructure for regional campuses. This is a crucial component. Indigenous Australians need to be able to study in places close to where they live and that they can easily access.
First Nations review
The report recommends a First Nations-led review of tertiary education with a view to “strengthening” student and university workforce numbers of Indigenous peoples, as well as First Nations knowledge of research.
The Indigenous higher education sector has been calling for reforms for years, which have been documented in various government reports. National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Higher Education consortium: Accelerating Indigenous Higher Education consultation paper.
So while this proposed new review sounds like a significant and comprehensive piece of work, it isn’t a new idea.
What’s really needed is a commitment to implement recommendations from the years of work by Indigenous experts in the higher education sector, rather than starting a new process.
A call to action
The accord aims to build a more inclusive and equitable higher education for all Australians, but we need to see more detail and timelines for action.
The Government is still considering the report and has indicated it will take several budgets to implement.
So at this stage, it is only a call to action. Whether the call will be answered remains to be seen.
Author details
Professor Peter Anderson is from the Walpiri and Murinpatha peoples of the Northern Territory and is Professor and Director Indigenous Research Unit at Griffith University.
Dr Angela Baeza Peña is Diaguita First Nation from the north of Chile. She is Lecturer at the Carumba Institute at Queensland University of Technology. Angela is a Math teacher and has a Master in Education from Monash University and a Master in Learning Disabilities from PUC.
Dr Levon Blue is employed as a Senior Lecturer in the Office of the Deputy-Vice-Chancellor (Indigenous Engagement) at The University of Queensland. Her PhD focused on the financial literacy education practices in an Aboriginal community in Canada (that she is a member of) as a case study.
Melanie Saward is a Bigambul and Wakka Wakka woman and lecturer in creative writing at Queensland University of Technology. She is a writer, editor, and university lecturer based in Tulmur (Ipswich), Queensland.
Dr Thu Pham is originally from Vietnam and currently lives and works on the land of the Yugarabul, Yuggera, Jagera and Turrbal peoples in Queensland. She is a Senior Research Assistant in the Indigenous Research Unit, Griffith University.
Further reading
Education Minister Jason Clare speech to Universities Australia function, 27 February.
He said: “The Accord peels away any misconception that it’s okay if kids from poor families don’t get a crack at uni, they all go to TAFE. Eighty-seven pecent of young people from wealthy families have a TAFE or uni qualification. Only 59 percent of young people from poor families do. In other words, more than 40 percent of people from poor families don’t have the sort of qualifications that almost everyone is going to need in the years ahead.”
Minister’s media statement, 25 February.
He said: “The Accord says that in the years ahead, we will need 80 percent of the workforce to not just finish high school, we will need them to finish TAFE or university as well. The Accord will help to drive this change. It will help us build a better and fairer education system where no one is held back, and no one is left behind.”
See Croakey’s extensive archives of the social determinants of health, including education
