In Australia, a policy designed to redirect students toward science by pricing them out of the humanities has instead priced lower-income students out of higher education altogether — and the regulator now charged with correcting this acknowledges the failure while deferring any remedy until 2028. Barney Glover, head of the Tertiary Education Commission, frames the delay as a matter of gathering sufficient evidence, even as universities warn that debt and exclusion accumulate in the meantime. The episode sits within a longer story about who gets to shape their own mind, and at what cost — a qu
Arts degree fees frozen at $50,000 until 2028 as reform stalls
Lower-income students face reduced access to arts education due to elevated fees, contributing to a 'segregated' higher education system.
unfair fees and unreasonable debt for years to come
Mark
Why is Glover willing to call the scheme a failure but unwilling to fix it immediately?
Mimi
He's caught between acknowledging reality and needing what he calls "compelling evidence" to convince government. It's not that he doesn't want to act—it's that he believes moving slowly will produce a stronger case for change.
Mark
But students are paying $50,000 for arts degrees right now. How does waiting help them?
Mimi
It doesn't, which is why Williams and Faruqi are frustrated. Glover is optimizing for a permanent fix rather than a temporary patch, but that calculus assumes the people paying today can afford to wait.
Mark
What's the connection between this delay and the international student situation?
Mimi
Both point to the same problem: universities are financially fragile. If Glover moves too fast on fees without understanding the full cost picture, he risks destabilizing institutions that are already losing their international revenue cushion.
Mark
So the sector is being squeezed from two directions at once?
Mimi
Exactly. Domestic fees are artificially high for arts, and international student growth—which many universities relied on to absorb those costs—has flatlined. Universities need to diversify, but that takes time and money they may not have.
Mark
Is Glover's warning about international students realistic, or is he overstating the problem?
Mimi
The data supports him. Growth went from 10 percent annually to near-zero in two years. That's not a minor adjustment—it's a structural shift. Universities that built their budgets around perpetual growth are now facing a reckoning.
The Pulse
- Arts degrees locked at $50,000 through at least 2028, despite the regulator openly calling the scheme that created those fees a failure.
- Lower-income students have already retreated from humanities enrolment, raising alarms that Australia's universities are hardening along class lines.
- University leaders and Greens politicians are pushing for immediate reform, but Glover insists his commission needs time to build 'compelling evidence' before recommending change to financially pressured governments.
- International student numbers — the sector's financial safety net — have stopped growing reliably, with federal migration policy tightening the pipeline further.
- From 2027, Glover's commission will control how international enrolments are distributed across institutions, signalling a shift toward managed stability over growth.
- Universities caught between stalled domestic reform and shrinking international revenue are exploring offshore expansion, adding complexity to an already strained sector.
In Australia, a policy designed to redirect students toward science by pricing them out of the humanities has instead priced lower-income students out of higher education altogether — and the regulator now charged with correcting this acknowledges the failure while deferring any remedy until 2028. Barney Glover, head of the Tertiary Education Commission, frames the delay as a matter of gathering sufficient evidence, even as universities warn that debt and exclusion accumulate in the meantime. The episode sits within a longer story about who gets to shape their own mind, and at what cost — a question made more urgent as the international student revenue that once cushioned the sector quietly recedes.
Barney Glover, the newly appointed head of Australia's Tertiary Education Commission, has confirmed that reforms to the Job-ready Graduates scheme will not be recommended before 2028 — meaning arts and humanities degrees will remain priced at $50,000 for years yet. The admission is striking because Glover himself has called the scheme flawed. Knowing something is broken, he seems to be saying, is not the same as being ready to fix it.
The scheme, introduced under the Morrison government, was built on a simple premise: cut fees for STEM subjects, raise them for the humanities, and students would follow the price signal toward fields deemed economically useful. What followed instead was a measurable retreat of lower-income students from arts education, prompting warnings that Australia's universities were becoming segregated by class rather than shaped by curiosity or vocation.
George Williams, vice-chancellor of Western Sydney University, called the ongoing fees 'unfair' and the debt they generate 'unreasonable,' urging urgent action so that every Australian retains a genuine path into higher education. Greens deputy leader Mehreen Faruqi was sharper still, pointing out that the current prime minister attended university when it was free, and questioning why that opportunity should now be rationed by price.
Glover's defence rests on complexity. Determining what it actually costs to deliver different degrees involves variables that resist easy calculation, and he argues that governments under financial pressure require compelling evidence before acting. His commission is doing that work — but the timeline frustrates a sector already under strain.
That strain has a second source. International student enrolments, which grew roughly ten percent annually before the pandemic and surged twenty-seven percent in 2023, have since plateaued or declined at several institutions. Glover is now advising universities to plan for stability rather than growth, and from 2027 his commission will hold authority over how international student numbers are distributed — a significant lever. A recent audit in Western Australia found all state universities carry medium to high exposure to international revenue, and federal migration restrictions are already beginning to constrict that flow. Some institutions are turning to offshore campuses as an alternative, though that path carries its own complications. For a sector squeezed from both ends, the landscape ahead looks considerably less forgiving than the one it has known.
Barney Glover, the newly appointed head of Australia's Tertiary Education Commission, has decided to hold off on recommending any changes to the Job-ready Graduates scheme until well into next year—meaning arts degrees will remain locked at $50,000 in fees through at least 2028. This is a significant delay for a program Glover himself has publicly called a failure.
The Job-ready Graduates scheme, introduced during the Morrison government, was designed to steer students toward science and mathematics by slashing fees in those fields while simultaneously raising costs for arts and humanities. The logic was straightforward: make STEM cheaper, make the humanities more expensive, and enrollment patterns would shift accordingly. What actually happened was more troubling. Enrollment in arts subjects among students from lower-income backgrounds dropped noticeably, prompting observers to warn that Australia's higher education system was becoming increasingly segregated by class.
When Glover spoke to The Guardian, he acknowledged the frustration. "I absolutely appreciate the frustration of people who'd like to see immediate action," he said, before explaining that his team needed time to gather "compelling evidence for change" at a moment when governments worldwide are under financial pressure. He had already told The Australian in May that the scheme was clearly flawed. But knowing something is broken and fixing it are different things, and Glover's timeline suggests the latter will take considerably longer than many in the sector hoped.
George Williams, vice-chancellor of Western Sydney University, did not hide his concern. The delay means humanities students will continue paying what he called "unfair fees" and accumulating "unreasonable debt" for years to come. "This needs to be fixed urgently so every Australian has the opportunity to further their education," he said. The Greens deputy leader Mehreen Faruqi was more pointed, calling on the government to make university free—as it was, she noted, for the current prime minister—rather than "dragging their heels" on what should be an easy reform.
Glover's work is genuinely complex, he argues. His team is trying to determine exactly what it costs universities to deliver different degrees, a calculation that sounds simple but involves countless variables. Still, the delay comes as the sector faces another pressure: international student numbers, which have been a financial lifeline for Australian universities, have stopped growing. After climbing roughly 10 percent annually between 2014 and 2019, then plummeting during the pandemic, international enrollment spiked 27 percent in 2023. But the past two years have brought small declines at some institutions, though New South Wales universities managed a 7.5 percent increase between 2024 and 2025.
Glover, who previously served as vice-chancellor of Western Sydney University, is now warning the sector to plan for stability rather than growth. From 2027, his commission will control how international student numbers are distributed among universities, a power that gives him considerable leverage. He frames this as potentially beneficial—removing volatility could spare universities from the painful restructuring and redundancies that come with sudden enrollment swings. But the underlying message is clear: the days of using international students as a financial cushion are ending.
A report from Western Australia's auditor general, released in May, underscored the risk. All universities in the state face medium to high exposure to international student revenue, and recent federal migration policies have already begun restricting that flow. Some universities are responding by expanding offshore operations, a strategy that opens new possibilities but also introduces complications that may be difficult to manage. For a sector already stretched thin by the Job-ready Graduates scheme, the tightening of international student pipelines adds another layer of financial uncertainty to an already unstable landscape.
Notable Quotes
The longer it takes to fix Job-ready Graduates, the longer it is that students will be paying unfair fees and taking on unreasonable debt.— George Williams, vice-chancellor of Western Sydney University
It's clear the JRG reforms have failed.— Barney Glover, head of the Australian Tertiary Education Commission
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