This report examined the prevalence and impact of financial hardship on Australian university students. It evaluated the effectiveness of existing financial support services and identified barriers that prevent students from accessing essential assistance. It recommends that government funded payment schemes be enhanced, and that universities should expand and enhance their emergency and non-monetary support services.

This publication provides a graphical summary of information contained in the Australian Government's 2026–27 Budget. It covers trends in the budget aggregates; programs and measures; expenses and revenue; and key terms and notes. Of the 137 measures in the 2026–27 Budget, the largest 10 measures improve the underlying cash balance by around $10.9b.

This report evaluates Victoria's Free TAFE initiative introduced in 2019. It finds that while the program successfully boosted training participation in priority skill areas and provided substantial tuition fee savings to students, it resulted in higher per-enrolment government costs and failed to significantly shift the overall proportion of priority student cohorts.

This overview outlines the key initiatives for the Australian Government Budget, and presents the international and domestic economic outlook. The Budget aims to get Australia through the global oil shock and take pressure off Australians, while continuing to build a stronger economy, better tax system, fairer housing market and a more sustainable budget.

This report considers the impact of the State Government's decision to delay raising Victoria’s school funding to 75% of the Schooling Resource Standard. It makes a number of recommendations for the Victorian and Commonwealth Government to improve funding levels and mechanisms for public schools.