$20 MILLION FOR NEW INDIGENOUS UNI COLLEGE

THE HON TANYA PLIBERSEK MP.
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5 years ago
$20 MILLION FOR NEW INDIGENOUS UNI COLLEGE
THE HON TANYA PLIBERSEK MP
A Shorten Labor Government will help double the number of First Nations students at the University of Technology Sydney by investing $20 million towards a new landmark Indigenous Residential College.
 
The 250 bed College will be open to all, but will specialise in supporting First Nations students.
 
The College will encourage more Indigenous Australians to go to university by offering scholarships and accommodation.  Support services will be available through the College to help First Nations students excel when they are at university. 
 
Indigenous students are still underrepresented in our universities.  First Nations people are 3.1 per cent of the working age population, but make up only 1.7 per cent of Australian students.
 
University completion rates for Indigenous students continue to be much lower than for non-Indigenous students.  Only 47 per cent of Indigenous students finish their undergraduate degree, compared to 74 per cent of non-Indigenous students.
 
We believe it should be someone’s ability, not their background or bank balance that determines whether they get the chance to study at university.
Tertiary education should be part of the imagined future of every Australian child.
 
Australian universities can only benefit from more First Nations thinkers.

Labor’s $20 million investment for this Indigenous Residential College is part of our $300 million University Future Fund. 

We have committed to abolish Scott Morrison’s unfair cap on student places, which will see the number of Australians getting a university education soar by around 200,000.  Labor has also said we will invest $174 million for better mentoring, support, and other specialised programs designed to boost opportunities for university study in communities where graduation rates are low.  

The last Labor Government doubled funding for universities.  That saw an extra 190,000 Australians get the opportunity of a university education, and increased the number of Indigenous students by 26 per cent.
Education and Training