Charles Sturt University welcomes the Senate’s strengthened Australian Tertiary Education Commission (ATEC) legislation, which supports the Commission's enhanced independence, expertise and expanded role. 

This latest step toward the establishment of the ATEC marks an important milestone in the implementation of the Australian Universities Accord. 

We remain committed to working constructively with the Commission once its work commences. 

The Accord’s core ambition is to lift participation and attainment in higher education for disadvantaged Australians, including those living in the regional communities we serve. 

To deliver on this goal, ATEC must be guided by Commissioners and staff who understand regional Australia - people with lived experience of the barriers faced by regional students and the structural challenges regional universities navigate every day. 

We welcome the inclusion of additional Commissioners and urge the Government to ensure that one of these is a designated Regional Commissioner. 

As we have previously stated, regional Australians deserve a higher education system that supports their aspirations and strengthens their communities. 

More than 80 per cent of Charles Sturt’s regional students go on to live and work in regional Australia after graduation. 

ATEC’s decisions will determine whether universities like Charles Sturt can continue to educate the doctors, nurses, teachers, social workers, agricultural scientists and allied health professionals regional Australia’s communities urgently need.