The Higher Education Access Act is the biggest rewrite of university funding since fees were introduced. Here is what it actually changes, and when.
Who stops paying, and when
Students starting at any of the twelve public universities in autumn 2027 pay no tuition from day one. Continuing students stop paying from autumn 2028. The last fee-paying cohort graduates in 2029. Part-time and mature students are included on identical terms; international students, whose fees are set by institutions, are not covered.
What about existing debt
Loans already on the books are not cancelled. Repayment terms are softened instead: the income threshold rises from $24,000 to $29,000 next April, and outstanding balances are written off after 25 years rather than 30. The Treasury puts the cost of the softer terms at $340m a year.
The maintenance grant
A new national grant of up to $6,200 a year covers living costs for students from households below median income, tapering to zero at 1.6 times the median. Roughly two in five undergraduates are expected to qualify. Grants are paid monthly, replacing the current patchwork of bursaries.
Who pays for it
Employers with more than 250 staff pay a graduated training levy, and two corporate tax reliefs close. Together the Finance Ministry scores these at $4.5bn a year against a scheme cost of $3.1bn plus grants — a margin the independent Fiscal Council calls “credible but tightly drawn”.
What could still change
The funding formula — how the $3.1bn divides between institutions — is published in October and will decide whether laboratory-heavy universities come out whole. Watch, too, for the capacity question: modelling suggests applications could rise 12 per cent within two years, and the act obliges ministers to report annually on places.