Media releases

Federation University Australia welcomes the Australian Labor Party’s (ALP) higher education announcement that promises to tackle skills shortages through 20,000 new university and 465,000 free TAFE places.

Tackling skills shortages and encouraging university and TAFE participation aligns to Federation’s key objective of driving economic growth and jobs in regional communities.

Vice-Chancellor and President Professor Duncan Bentley said the university sector must be well resourced if it is to fulfil the ever-increasing demand for skilled graduates.

Federation is proud to be the number one university in Australia for students who are the first in their family to study at university and a focus on prioritising this area is particularly pleasing.

Free TAFE places, complemented by those already offered in Victoria, will help to address current and future skills shortages in regional areas, including in childcare, aged care, disability care, nursing, and community services.

Federation also welcomes the appointment of Fiona Nash as Regional Education Commissioner. A key role of the Commissioner will be to oversee and coordinate the implementation of the National Regional, Rural and Remote Tertiary Education Strategy.

The University worked closely with the former Senator during the amalgamation of the former University of Ballarat with Monash University’s former Gippsland campus in 2014 to create Federation University Australia.

Federation looks forward to again working closely with Ms Nash to produce good educational outcomes in our regional communities.

Quotes attributable to Federation University Vice-Chancellor and President, Professor Duncan Bentley

“Federation University Australia welcomes the ALP’s focus on higher education and TAFE and looks forward to hearing from the Federal Government as we get closer to the next election.”

“By providing more opportunities for people to study we can fill future skills needs by training more engineers, registered nurses, tech workers and teachers.”

“Our dual-sector strengths and our focus on serving regional communities across Victoria means we are well placed to support school leavers and mature-aged workers retraining for emerging industries that will ensure the economy can grow as we emerge from the pandemic.”

“Commissioner Nash has a demonstrated commitment to and understanding of regional education and we look forward to working with her in this new role.”