Daily Brief — Australian Education

Norton reports that agreement has been reached on amendments to the Universities Accord (Opening the Doors of Opportunity) Bill 2026 that will secure its passage through the Senate, with Greens Senator Mehreen Faruqi announcing the party had "secured" twelve specific modifications — including extending the 5% over-enrolment buffer to all providers, removing ministerial power to designate specific courses, setting minimum equity modifiers (1.0 for equity students; 0.5 for regional campus students), and accelerating the bill's review to commence before 1 January 2030 (21 September). Senator Pocock's amendments are also noted for prioritising parliamentary scrutiny over administrative discretion; Norton assesses that both Greens and Liberal amendments "improve the bill's internal coherence." (Norton, 21 September)

Universities Australia CEO Luke Sheehy warns that the 2026 Intergenerational Report projects degree attainment reaching only 47% by 2065–66 — falling short of the Universities Accord's 55% target by 2050 — and that Commonwealth higher education and VET spending will decline by 0.2 percentage points of GDP without policy change, with student income support projected to fall from 3.4% to 2.6% of GDP (21 September). Sheehy: "The 55% attainment target is a workforce necessity, not just an education ambition," calling for expanded student support including concession cards for domestic students and replacement of the Job-Ready Graduates scheme. (Universities Australia, 21 September)

Languages Canada executive director Gonzalo Peralta warned that the ILAC closure — which left 1,362 students displaced after the company filed for bankruptcy on 18 September — is "nearly threefold" harder to manage than the EC English case resolved four days earlier, as Languages Canada coordinates alternative placements across member schools without being able to guarantee placement dates or cover travel and accommodation costs (21 September). Separately, ILAC co-founder and former CEO Jonathan Kolber announced the immediate opening of Dream English School in Toronto — occupying a property formerly housing an ILAC location — one day after the bankruptcy filing; Kolber, who departed the ILAC CEO role in 2024, described the opening as "an opportunity for those who want to work." Peralta: "The sudden and disorderly closure announcement...would be a shock to everyone." (The PIE, 21 September; The PIE, 21 September)

12 October 2026 — 2026 National Student Safety Survey closes (opened 31 August across all 38 Universities Australia member universities; results expected 2027).

17–18 November 2026 — TEQSA 2026 Conference, fully virtual.

19 May 2027 — ASQA 12-month VET/ELICOS registration pause expires.