The federal government’s Universities Accord reforms set the policy vision for improved productivity in Australia’s education and research sector. This paper provides reasons to accelerate the government’s reforms, outlining 25 practical recommendations for lifting Australia’s productivity and building a resilient economy. It notes Australia’s productivity challenge requires coordinated action across education, industry and research.

This report explores the current and emerging legislative and regulatory frameworks for data privacy in Australia, and how pending reforms might affect universities and the governance of student equity data. It makes a range of recommendations to improve practice in this area.

This paper argues that a stronger focus on skills is essential as the Australian labour market adapts to major changes including artificial intelligence, digital transformation, population ageing and the transition to a net-zero economy. The paper outlines a set of system-level reforms to improve how skills are described, recognised and transferred.

This study examines how assessment policies and practices around time are creating barriers for university students from equity groups. Four key recommendations and examples of high‑equity practices are provided to help universities shift away from individualised notions of “time management,” streamline adjustment processes and adopt more inclusive assessment designs that address systemic time inequities.

The final report from an inquiry into the adequacy of the powers available to the Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency to perform its role in identifying and addressing corporate governance issues at Australian higher education providers. It provides eight recommendations.