Medicare Levy Amendment (National Disability Insurance Scheme Funding) Bill 2017 and 10 related bills [provisions] Submission 25
Nation-Building Funds Repeal (National Disability Insurance Scheme Funding) Bill 2017
University of Western Australia response
The Nation-Building Funds Repeal (National Disability Insurance Scheme Funding) Bill 2017 includes the closing of the Education Investment Fund (EIF), the purpose of which was to finance capital expenditure, renewal and refurbishment in universities and vocational education and training institutions, research facilities and major research institutions.
Australia’s higher education system punches above its weight on the world stage. The University of Western Australia is one of ten Australian universities in the World’s top 200, according to the Academic Ranking of World Universities 2017. This is an increase from seven Australian universities in the top 200 in 2013. Government infrastructure funding such as the EIF has been instrumental in this improvement.
For Australian universities to continue to improve in an increasingly competitive world, or even to hold their positions, they need continued investment in research and teaching infrastructure. The closing of the EIF puts an additional strain on universities’ finances, when added to the other funding changes proposed by the Government in its Higher Education Support Legislation Amendment (HESLA) bill. Those universities which have chosen not to grow student numbers significantly through the Demand Driven System are under increasing financial pressure and do not have the funds to maintain and renew world-class research and teaching infrastructure. Australia is in danger of losing ground against international research competitors, and Australian students risk paying more money for less.
The closing of the EIF leaves no alternative Government source of funding for mid-scale university teaching and research infrastructure, and the Research Infrastructure Investment Plan which is in development is likely to focus on large-scale national infrastructure.
The EIF has funded the following projects either at UWA or with UWA as a partner:
- The Indian Ocean Marine Research Centre (IOMRC), which is home to the largest cohort of marine researchers in Australia, bringing together more than 300 marine scientists across a variety of disciplines who will collaborate to increase knowledge in areas such as biodiversity, commercial and recreational fishing, tourism, Indigenous engagement, climate change, oceanography, sustainable use of marine resources and the conservation of marine life and ecosystems.
- UWA’s Student Service Centre, which was the creation of a world-class “one stop shop” for student services and student support at UWA.
- The UWA-based Population Health Research Network – a ground-breaking program aimed at creating Australia’s first national data linkage network, which will enable existing health data from around the nation to be brought together and made available for vital health and health related research purposes.
- The National Geosequestration Laboratory collaboration between CSIRO, UWA and Curtin University. This is a world-class carbon storage research facility focused on delivering research and development solutions to help enable commercial-scale storage of carbon dioxide to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. It will play a vital part in Australia achieving a carbon-reduced resources and energy economy.
- The purchase of autonomous underwater ocean gliders for the Australian National Facility for Ocean Gliders (ANFOG). These collect subsurface ocean data, providing data critical to understanding the effects on Australia of global warming. The data was also used in successfully predicting where the debris of MH370 would wash up.