The Australian Government has announced it will fund more than 4,600 new commencing Commonwealth supported higher education places, growing to more than 12,700 places by 2010.
These places include the recent announcement by the Prime Minister, in conjunction with the recent Council of Australian Governments meeting, of 605 medical school places, 1,036 general nursing places, 431 mental health nursing places, 210 clinical psychology places and 573 other health related places.
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“This enormous injection of new places will provide more students with opportunities to study at university and boost our graduate workforce in key areas,” the Minister for Education, Science and Training, the Hon Julie Bishop MP said.
“New places have been allocated to areas of skills needs and student demand, particularly in regional and outer-metropolitan areas. This year our strongest commitment is being made to the training of nurses (1,467 places), doctors (605 places), health professionals (573 places), teachers (650 places with 390 places specifically targeted at training secondary teachers) engineers (510 places) and clinical psychologists (210 places).”
Other disciplines for which new places have been allocated include science, agriculture, accounting, planning and design, and Indigenous higher education pathways.
“The vast bulk of the new places are provided to public universities, but 296 places will be provided to private higher education institutions, primarily in the National Priority Areas of nursing and teaching.”
Since 2004, the Government has already created over 18,000 new places and unmet student demand has fallen by more than 60%. This year more than 90% of eligible year 12 students received a university offer, the best result in more than two decades.
As part of the Backing Australia’s Future reforms to higher education, the Australian Government will inject an additional $11 billion into the higher education sector over 10 years and create more than 39,000 new Commonwealth supported places.
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