The Australian government has allocated $8.3m to break down barriers preventing regional and remote students from accessing higher education through a collaborative outreach initiative.
The Regional Partnerships Project Pool Program funds projects in areas currently underserved by higher education initiatives, according to the Department of Education. The program aims to encourage students, including those experiencing disadvantage, to consider tertiary study.
The initiative responds to the 2019 National Regional, Rural and Remote Tertiary Education Strategy, which identified additional challenges acting as barriers to aspiration and preparedness for higher education among regional and remote students.
Aiming to foster pathways into higher education
The program fosters partnerships between universities, Regional University Study Hubs, other higher education providers, schools, vocational education and training providers, and community organisations. Funding has been awarded to eight projects through a two-phase competitive process, with $704,628 distributed in Phase 1 and $7.6m in Phase 2.
Two major projects received Phase 2 funding. The University of Technology Sydney leads the Eastern Australia Regional University Centre Partnership, bringing together more than 30 universities and Regional University Study Hubs with communities across Queensland, New South Wales, and Victoria. Flinders University heads the Northern Territory Youth Engagement in Allied Health project, working with partners including Batchelor Institute of Indigenous Tertiary Education and Indigenous Allied Health Australia to encourage First Nations youth to consider allied health higher education pathways.
The program also funded the 2025 National RUSH Widening Participation Forum, which drew 151 participants, including Australia’s Regional Education Commissioner Fiona Nash. The forum provided a platform for sharing ideas, tools, and approaches to strengthen equitable education pathways.
Chris Ronan, chief executive officer of Country Universities Centres, said having aligned stakeholders in one room proved valuable.
“The highlight for me was actually facilitating a panel on the first day. It’s rare to have the Regional Education Commissioner, the Deputy Secretary of the Department of Education, a CEO of a Study Hub and the university representative all working together in the same way,” Ronan said.
“The Study Hubs enable people to access education without leaving their community, and something that I think collectively we want to see is that no matter where you live, you should be able to access tertiary education.”
The program operates under the Higher Education Support Act 2003 and forms part of the Indigenous, Regional and Low SES Attainment Fund.