The Australian Government has announced a review into higher education access and outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.


The review will provide advice and make recommendations to the Government on:

  • achieving parity for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students, researchers, academic and non-academic staff;
  • best practice and opportunities for change inside universities and other higher education providers (spanning both Indigenous specific units and whole-of-university culture, policies, activities, and programs);
  • the effectiveness of existing Australian Government programs that aim to  encourage better outcomes for Indigenous Australians in higher education; and
  • the recognition and equivalence of Indigenous knowledge in the higher education sector.

 

It will inform the development of a strategic framework to enable the Government and the higher education sector to collectively address higher education access and outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people to ensure parity in the sector.

 

The Review will be led by a panel of experts and chaired by Professor Larissa Behrendt, Professor of Law and Indigenous Studies at the University of Technology, Sydney. Panel members are Professor Steve Larkin, Chair of the Indigenous Higher Education Advisory Council, Mr Robert Griew, Associate Secretary of the Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations, and Ms Patricia Kelly, Deputy Secretary of the Department of Innovation, Industry, Science and Research.

 

It is expected that the Review Panel will call for formal submissions in June 2011 and will report their findings to the Australian Government within 12 months.

 

The terms of reference can be found on the Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations.