Higher Education Group

The Branch is responsible for:

• Strategic policy advice on higher education matters, in particular those related to
  
  
  
• the financial health, governance and accountability of higher education providers;
  
  
• the availability of higher education student places and the level of subsidy for those places
  
  
• the charging of contributions and fees for higher education award courses
  
  
• the assistance available to students to pay their contributions and fees; and
  
  
• voluntary student unionism
  
  
• Policy and administration of the Commonwealth Grant Scheme (CGS) which provides over $3 billion in funding to higher education providers for student places under the Higher Education Support Act 2003.
  
  
• Policy and administration of the Higher Education Loan Programme (HECS HELP, FEE-HELP and OS-HELP) which provides over $2 billion to students for the payment of student contributions and fees.
  
  
• Prudential assurance and accountability of Australian Government funding to higher education providers.

The Branch is responsible for:

• Coordinating a range of cross-group and cross-sectoral policy and parliamentary services, and management of activities such as legislative services and the preparation of the Higher Education Annual Report.
  
  
• The implementation of an accountability framework for higher education funding (the Institutional Assessment Framework).
  
  
• Managing the university statistics collections including data collection, analysis and statistical reporting to the Department, Minister, sector and the community.
  
  
• Research on higher education.
  
  
• Managing the review of the Higher Education Support Act 2003.

The Branch is responsible for:

• developing policy in relation to higher education to:
   
  • promote quality outcomes through the Australian Higher Education Quality Assurance Framework
     
  • strengthen application of the National Protocols for Higher Education Approval Processes
     
  • improve credit transfer and articulation between vocational and technical education and higher education
     
• co-ordinating cross-group and cross-sectoral policy and parliamentary services for Higher Education Group and managing the Group’s legislative program
   
• managing legislation, policy and communication in relation to private higher education providers
   
• providing Secretariat support to the Joint Committee on higher education, and policy input on higher education matters to bodies such as the Ministerial Council for Employment, Education, Training and Youth Affairs (MCEETYA); the Australian Qualifications Framework Advisory Board and the Australian Universities Quality Agency Board.

The branch is responsible for:

• developing policy and delivering programmes in higher education to:
  
  
• improve equity of access for identified target groups through the Higher Education Equity Support Program, the Disability Support Program and the Commonwealth Learning Scholarships
  
  
• promote and support excellence in teaching and learning through funding The Carrick Institute for Learning and Teaching in Higher Education and the Australian Awards for University Teaching
  
  
• encourage universities to manage their workplace relations consistent with the government’s workplace relations policies
  
  
• improve collaboration between universities, other institutions, business and the community through the Business Industry Higher Education Collaboration Council (BIHECC) and the Collaboration and Structural Reform Program (CASR)
   
• managing the development and implementation of the Learning and Teaching Performance Fund
   
• providing policy input and/or Secretariat support to:
  
  
  
  • Business Industry Higher Education Collaboration Council
    
    
  • the Steering Committee for the National Report to Parliament on Indigenous Education and Training
    
    
  • the Sir John Monash Foundation (and Awards)
    
    
  • the Ministerial Council for Education, Employment, Training and Youth Affairs (MCEETYA)

The unit is responsible for:

• administering payment of financial assistance to higher education institutions and other bodies under the Higher Education Funding Act (1988) and annual appropriation acts including
  
  
  
  • maintaining higher education cost indexes and cost adjustment factors
  • calculating grant supplementation levels based on cost-adjustment factors; and
    
    
  • monitoring and advising on amounts to be included in legislation and appropriation bills
    
    
• supporting the Group by
  
  
  
• developing and maintaining the Group's operating budget and human resources strategy
  
  
• advising on best management and accounting practice; and
  
  
• providing general administrative support.

Phone

• DEST Switch:  02 6240 8111

Email

There are specific areas of DEST that can assist you.

If you are enquiring about:

• general information about our programmes, publications and services: highered@dest.gov.au

• the general administration of student support programme policies: aip@dest.gov.au

• issues in relation to HEIMS and the CHESSN: heimshelpdesk@dest.gov.au

• issues regarding submission of data files into DESTPAC: university.statistics@dest.gov.au

• ordering DEST’s student information publications (eg. booklets and forms) send your order, with a street address for delivery, to: aip@dest.gov.au

• higher education provider finances: ppfinance@dest.gov.au

• issues regarding specific programmes: please go to the relevant programme webpage.

If you are a student please contact us through the student contact and enquiry form on the Going to Uni website    

Address

Physical address

Levels 2 & 3
71 Northbourne Avenue
CANBERRA  ACT  2600

Postal address

Location 031

GPO Box 9880
CANBERRA  ACT  2601