Summary

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The majority voted in favour of a motion to pass the bill in the Senate. In parliamentary jargon, they voted to read the bill a third time. This means the bill will now be sent back to the House of Representatives, where our MPs will consider whether they agree with the Senate amendments so the bill can become law.

What does the bill do?

According to the bills digest (which is a document prepared by the non-partisan parliamentary library):

The purpose of the Higher Education Support Amendment (Response to the Australian Universities Accord Interim Report) Bill 2023 (the Bill) is to amend the Higher Education Support Act 2003 (HESA) to:

  • uncap the number of Indigenous students who can enrol in a Commonwealth supported place (CSP) by extending eligibility of demand-driven funding to all Indigenous students, rather than only Indigenous students living in regional and remote areas

  • remove the ‘unnecessarily harsh’ requirement—introduced as part of the Job-ready Graduates Package—that after 8 units of a bachelor degree, students need to maintain a pass rate of at least 50% to continue as a Commonwealth supported student and to be eligible for FEE-HELP assistance

  • motivate higher education providers to provide appropriate support for students by requiring providers to have and comply with a ‘support for students’ policy to assist in identifying students at risk of falling behind and to support them to complete their study.

The Bill implements 2 priority actions recommended in the Australian Universities Accord Interim Report that require legislation.

Votes Passed by a small majority

Nobody rebelled against their party.

Party Votes
Australian Greens (100% turnout) 11 Yes 0 No
Penny Allman-Payne Queensland Yes
Dorinda Cox WA Yes
Mehreen Faruqi NSW Yes
Sarah Hanson-Young SA Yes
Nick McKim Tasmania Yes
Barbara Pocock SA Yes
Janet Rice Victoria Yes
David Shoebridge NSW Yes
Jordon Steele-John WA Yes
Larissa Waters Queensland Yes
Peter Whish-Wilson Tasmania Yes
Australian Labor Party (80% turnout) 20 Yes 0 No
Tim Ayres NSW Yes
Catryna Bilyk Tasmania Yes
Carol Brown Tasmania Yes
Anthony Chisholm Queensland Yes
Raff Ciccone Victoria Yes
Don Farrell SA Yes
Katy Gallagher ACT Yes
Nita Green Queensland Yes
Karen Grogan SA Yes
Jenny McAllister NSW Yes
Deborah O'Neill NSW Yes
Fatima Payman WA Yes
Helen Polley Tasmania Yes
Tony Sheldon NSW Yes
Marielle Smith SA Yes
Glenn Sterle WA Yes
Anne Urquhart Tasmania Yes
Jess Walsh Victoria Yes
Murray Watt Queensland Yes
Linda White Victoria Yes
Patrick Dodson WA Absent
Malarndirri McCarthy NT Absent
Louise Pratt WA Absent
Jana Stewart Victoria Absent
Penny Wong SA Absent
Jacinta Nampijinpa Price NT Country Liberal Party No
Andrew McLachlan SA Deputy President No
David Pocock ACT Independent Yes
Lidia Thorpe Victoria Independent Absent
David Van Victoria Independent Absent
Jacqui Lambie Network (100% turnout) 2 Yes 0 No
Jacqui Lambie Tasmania Yes
Tammy Tyrrell Tasmania Yes
Liberal National Party (100% turnout) 0 Yes 2 No
Matthew Canavan Queensland No
James McGrath Queensland No
Liberal Party (86% turnout) 0 Yes 19 No
Alex Antic SA No
Wendy Askew Tasmania No
Andrew Bragg NSW No
Slade Brockman WA No
Michaelia Cash WA No
Claire Chandler Tasmania No
Richard Colbeck Tasmania No
David Fawcett SA No
Sarah Henderson Victoria No
Hollie Hughes NSW No
Jane Hume Victoria No
Maria Kovacic NSW No
Kerrynne Liddle SA No
Matt O'Sullivan WA No
Gerard Rennick Queensland No
Linda Reynolds WA No
Anne Ruston SA No
Paul Scarr Queensland No
Dean Smith WA No
Simon Birmingham SA Absent
Jonathon Duniam Tasmania Absent
James Paterson Victoria Absent
National Party (75% turnout) 0 Yes 3 No
Ross Cadell NSW No
Perin Davey NSW No
Susan McDonald Queensland No
Bridget McKenzie Victoria Absent
Pauline Hanson's One Nation Party (100% turnout) 0 Yes 2 No
Pauline Hanson Queensland No
Malcolm Roberts Queensland No
Sue Lines WA President Yes
Ralph Babet Victoria United Australia Party No
Totals (85% turnout) 35 Yes – 29 No