This interim report proposes that better support for Australians to transition through education and work are key to a stronger economy. It presents draft recommendations focused on three key policy reform areas: the best resources to improve school student outcomes, building skills and qualifications for a more productive workforce, and fit-for-purpose occupational entry regulations.

This paper posits that Australia’s fragmented research system and shrinking research workforce is undermining national productivity. Funding is too fragmented, the rules are too complicated and there is a lack of coordination across government. The paper suggests that aligning similar programs under the same portfolio – and linking strategy to delivery – is common sense.

The concentration of university campuses in Australian capital cities systematically diminishes opportunities for people living in regional locations. This article presents research that captures the voices and experiences of students studying on three small regional university campuses from Victoria, Tasmania and Western Australia. It calls for higher education policies to include regional student voices.

This paper calls on the next government to back Australian thinking, to invest in understanding the human condition. It contains three calls to action to position future citizens and the workforce for a world in which neither democratic institutions nor social cohesion can be taken for granted.

This report seeks to articulate the benefits of a more harmonised tertiary sector and provides recommendations on how to create a sustainable pathway forward in collaboration with key stakeholders. Harmonisation involves the effective coordination and cooperation of key system actors, to enable learners to obtain the combination of knowledge, skills and their application needed to...