Dear Students and Staff,


The 2014-15 Federal Budget, the first from the Abbott Government, is ambitious and is likely to be far-reaching with sweeping changes for all of us – as students, as staff
and for the communities Deakin serves.

Some will believe the changes are long overdue, others will be horrified. But we know, especially from our experience in Geelong that we now live in a very fast moving and globally connected world and change is essential if Australia is to prosper and be a force for innovation, for public good and for the values and activities that are in our national interest.

And so my first point is that this Budget statement is not the end of life as we know it. No Budget ever is. We do, however, need to carefully consider the implication of the matters that affect us.

Our current and future students will be concerned about fee deregulation, what that means for their futures and how they will manage; our staff will be equally concerned about what competition from the private providers actually means, how research funding will fare and what the implications are for the future of the academy if PhD students are required to pay fees. And we need to think of these matters in the context of the other implications for all of us as citizens of Australia. These matters are connected.

It is true that we argued against additional fee deregulation. We lobbied for consistent investment in higher education. And we remain convinced that a world class and equitable higher education system requires strong and consistent policy and long term Government investment.

Our responsibility now is to respond to the new reality we confront. There are definitely challenges in the Budget, but there are also opportunities and we will begin developing a coordinated, longer-term strategy and continue to contribute to the national discussion on the shape of things to come.

I will keep you all involved as always through my emails, and through consultation of the options available to us. We will continue to hold true to our promise which in just 40 years has taken us from a green field site to a ranking of 59 globally amongst those universities under 50 years old. Take heart from what we have achieved, be confident that we can make our own opportunities and that while change is now the only constant, we will find the path that enables us to meet the challenges and do what we do best: provide education for the jobs of the future and research that makes a difference to the communities we serve.

For those of you who wish to have the detail, it is attached below, or you can go to the Government’s website (see Budget Paper No. 2, ‘Education’) or the Universities Australia website for a good summary of the issues:
http://www.budget.gov.au/2014-15/index.htm
https://www.universitiesaustralia.edu.au/

The Budget headlines relevant to higher education are as follows:

Education
· The demand driven system will be expanded to sub-bachelor places and non-university higher education providers (the NUHEPs).
· Student fees will be fully deregulated from 1 January 2016 – allowing all higher education providers to set their own tuition fees so long as these are below those of our international students.
· The government contribution to student fees will drop by an average of 20%. For students who started or deferred their courses before 14 May this year, their contributions will remain capped until 31 December 2020. Clearly this means that our Trimester 2 commencers may be affected. We have taken this matter up with the Department to obtain clarity on what it means.
· From 1 January 2016, the existing 25% FEE-HELP loan fee will be removed.
· The minimum income threshold for HELP repayments will drop to $50,638 and will apply to graduates starting repayments from 1 July 2016.
· The annual indexation applied to HELP debts will increase from the existing CPI rate to a rate equivalent to the 10 year government bond rate.

Equity Scholarships
· Higher education providers will be required to direct 20% of the additional revenue raised through higher fees to a new Commonwealth scholarship scheme to provide access and participation opportunities for disadvantaged students

Research and science
· The Government will reduce Research Training Scheme funding, meaning students undertaking higher degrees by research, including doctoral and master degrees may well have to pay fees (up to a maximum of $3,900 per equivalent full‑time student for high cost courses and $1,700 for low cost courses). This is an unexpected and surprising change to Australia's research funding and a potentially significant blow to the nation's innovation system.
· The Government will establish a Medical Research Fund on 1 January 2015 – this will build to $20 billion between now and 2019-20.
· Ongoing funding has been provided for the Future Fellowships Scheme and an additional year's funding for the National Collaborative Research Infrastructure Strategy – this may mean that the Government will use the next year to review models for longer term collaborative research infrastructure funding. If that is the case this presents an opportunity for Deakin.
· The Government will cut $75 million by applying a one‑off 3.25% efficiency dividend to the Australian Research Council's administered funding and announced almost $169 million in efficiency cuts to the CSIRO, the Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation, and the Australian Institute of Marine Science.
· Funding for the Cooperative Research Centres program has also been reduced by $80 million and the 17th selection round will not proceed.
Quality
· The Budget cuts $31.1m from the Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency. This is surprising given the expanded role the Regulator will have in relation to NUHEPS.