The Australian government has unveiled a “Universities Accord” that aims to develop a long-term strategy for the nation’s higher education sector.

Since the Bradley Revision in 2008, the system has undergone its “first broad review,” according to the Minister of Education Jason Clare. The Accord, he said, offers a chance to examine everything from funding and access to affordability, transparency, regulation, job conditions, and how higher education and vocational education and training may and should function together.

Students, staff, business and industry groups, peak bodies, and other experts will work as a team to provide advice, reflecting a mixture of STEM and humanities expertise from cities and regions across the nation. The government will get an interim report in June of the following year, and the full report is due in December of 2023.

The panel will assess the sector’s quality and viability with regard to overseas students in particular. It has promised to foster a competitive and resilient international education sector and will assess the difficulties faced by domestic and foreign students and staff as a result of the epidemic, including the temporary and long-term implications.