Daily Brief — Australian Education
Monday, 31 August 2026 · 05:00 AEST
The Strong Beginnings (Excellence) Fund awards $1.5 million to six projects, and Clare announces new mandatory core content requirements for teaching degrees. Domestic undergraduate teaching applications rose 6.5% in 2026.
Top of the brief
Clare announces the first round of the Strong Beginnings (Excellence) Fund, awarding $1.5 million across six projects at Melbourne Polytechnic, the University of New England and Charles Sturt University (jointly), QUT, the University of Melbourne, Griffith University, and RMIT University — part of a $7 million over four years (plus $1 million per year ongoing) investment in initial teacher education — alongside new mandatory core content requirements embedding neuroscience, literacy and numeracy instruction, and classroom behaviour management into all teaching degrees (27 August). Domestic undergraduate teaching applications rose 6.5% for 2026, with a 6.3% increase in offers made. Clare: "One of the best ways to help teachers from day one is to improve the training they receive at university." (Clare, 27 August)
Sector data
Standing figures: 2026 NPL 295,000 (+25,000 on 2025); visa refusal rates 69% Nepal, 42% India (early 2026); domestic commencements 413,133 (+4.3% YoY); $50m over-enrolment fund; $50m Structural Adjustment Fund.
Diary
17–18 November 2026 — TEQSA 2026 Conference, fully virtual.
19 May 2027 — ASQA 12-month VET/ELICOS registration pause expires.