In Australia, a range of financial services, including education bonds, high interest personal loans and credit card debt, have long been used to help families pay for the cost of schooling. However, innovative financial technology (fintech) solutions are emerging which align with the growth of a lower risk 'buy now, pay later' phenomenon.…

Parent-generated revenue in public schools, in the form of fee-giving or fundraising, is fast developing as a robust source of financial revenue for public schools in OECD countries. In this paper we draw on a comprehensive empirical dataset of parent-generated financial revenue for public schools located in New South Wales, Australia. We draw on…

In Australia, debates around school funding tend to focus on comparisons of funding between school systems and what this means for equity. In this paper, while we look at school-level funding between systems, our emphasis is on private funding in public schools with a particular emphasis on the relationship between private funding and ICSEA. Using…

Australian universities have used the revenue from overseas student fees to enhance their international research standing. COVID-19 has undermined this business model. A new strategy is required, based on the universities' contribution to making Australian industry more self-reliant. This outcome will require a national industry policy, such as…

Parent involvement in their child's schooling is routinely celebrated and emphasised in government education policy in many countries. We take a critical lens to examining parent involvement by investigating voluntary parent fees in public secondary schools, and how these fees are patterned by school socioeconomic status (SES). In Australia, where…

New conceptions of public governance across nations have taken hold globally. In this article, we explore the involvement and expansion of a broad range of actors in public services delivery, beyond the remit of traditional government. While there are common features of this trend, variations reflect the significance of context-sensitive policy,…

There has been substantial growth in postgraduate coursework study in Australia since moves towards deregulation began in the early 1990s. This growth in postgraduate coursework education has brought benefits for both institutions and individuals. However, in a deregulated fee environment these benefits now risk being outweighed by the mounting…

There are several common trends and challenges in the higher education (HE) system around the world, like expansion and diversification of HE, fiscal pressure and orientation to markets, demand for greater accountability and great quality and efficiency (e.g. The financing and management of higher education: a status report on worldwide reforms,…

This publication provides financial information on the government-funded vocational education and training (VET) system in Australia. Reporting includes VET funds transacted through government accounts of the Australian and state and territory government departments and their controlled training organisation entities such as TAFE institutes and…

In England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, the funding systems for full-time, first-time undergraduate students differ. Despite these differences, universities in each of the three parts of the United Kingdom (UK) with tuition fees--England, Wales and Northern Ireland--all share a common tendency to set them at the same (maximum) rate for…

The recent growth in privately administered secondary education in many developed countries has been a widely observed phenomenon. The Australian private secondary school sector has grown faster than those in any other "OECD" nation, even though the average tuition fees charged by these schools have increased at double the nation's…

Federal free-college policies are now at the center of the Democratic higher education agenda. Sen. Bernie Sanders helped move the idea into the mainstream during the 2016 presidential campaign, and other lawmakers have since worked to advance the policy in Congress. Joe Biden effectively put free college on the ballot in 2020 when he fully…

This study examines inequalities of school funding as exclusively generated by the parent community in urban public schools, and potentially illuminates a secondary impact of between-school segregation. For schools that are largely understood as free, the substantial injections of private financing into public schools indicate a concerning tension…

This study compares tuition funding arrangements, debt at graduation, and earnings outcomes for full-time domestic undergraduates in eight Anglophone countries: the United Kingdom (England, Wales, Northern Ireland, and Scotland), United States, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand. According to multiple estimates, the average English student faces…

The current and first independent review of Australia's student visa program by The Honorable Michael Knight AO is a welcome indication of the Government's recognition of the importance of international education to Australian society. It represents a crucial opportunity for reform to ensure Australian education institutions can compete for the…