Event Wrap-Up

Student Equity in an Era of Change 2025: The Australian Student Equity Symposium

9–10 September 2025

Last week, the Australian Centre for Student Equity and Success (ACSES) held its annual Student Equity Symposium, hosted by the University of Technology Sydney (UTS). Student Equity in an Era of Change 2025: The Australian Student Equity Symposium brought together practitioners, policy makers, academics, professionals, and students from across the equity and higher education sector in Australia both in person and online. 

The two-day event provided authentic and meaningful panel discussions and keynotes on student equity across various areas of higher education. Audiences engaged with thought-provoking ideas and practices brought by speakers, and contributed to dialogues with further insights, critiques, and questions.

ACSES would like to thank everyone for their contributions and involvement in Student Equity in an Era of Change 2025: The Australian Student Equity Symposium. We hope that this event encourages us all to strive for a collaborative and equitable future for all students in Australian higher education. Please enjoy some photo highlights and a summary of the event below. The livestream recordings will be made available soon. You can view the full photo gallery here. 

ACSES would like to acknowledge the generous support of the Centre for Social Justice and Inclusion at the University of Technology Sydney, for providing the venue and event support.

Symposium Summary

9 September 2025

Day 1 kicked off with a powerful Welcome to Country by Uncle Michael West, who acknowledged the Symposium taking place on the lands of the Gadigal people. This was followed by opening remarks from Professor Shamit Saggar CBE FAcSS (ACSES) and Professor Ian Li SFHEA (ACSES) and a formal welcome from UTS by their Deputy Vice-Chancellor and Vice-President (Education and Students), Professor Kylie Readman. Professor Saggar noted that since the last Symposium in May 2024, the higher education landscape has shifted. Professor Li referred to the Australian Universities Accord and the message of growth through equity, and the changes in the sector that have occurred recently, bringing challenges and opportunities for the sector. Professor Readman commented on the significant challenges that the sector currently faces. She highlighted that "equity and excellence go hand in hand", which is why there is a major need to re-commit to addressing the barriers that people face when coming into university.

The first panel of the day "Success from the Perspective of Students" was moderated by Dr Nicola Cull (Australian Catholic University) and featured Em Bagg (Deakin University), Kayla Barker-Peris (UTS), Eunice Cheng (UNSW), Samuel North (UNSW), and Lachlan Sibir (University of Sydney) as student panellists. The panel addressed what success means to each of them as students, challenges faced by students from equity cohorts, and ways to improve equity. Both Miss Barker-Peris and Miss Cheng stressed the need for diverse representation and cultural competency throughout all aspects of university leadership, and many of the panellists pointed out resourcing as being an issue, as well as student voices being omitted during decision-making and university processes.

The next session of the day featured a keynote address by the Minister for Education, the Hon. Jason Clare, who also participated in a Q&A session with Professor Harlene Hayne CNZM (Curtin University) as moderator. Minister Clare praised ACSES for its decision to lead the 2025 Symposium with a student panel and for its work in supporting participation and success in higher education. In his keynote address, Minister Clare announced the creation of the Teaching and Learning Commission, made up of four existing Commonwealth agencies, to provide a national focus on learning outcomes across education.

The second panel of the day "What Works for Regional Student Outcomes?" was filled with critical discussions on the importance of regional universities and regional university study hubs. The panel included insights from Timothy Connolly (Taree Universities Campus), Professor Chris Moran (University of New England), Natalie Nelmes (Geraldton Universities Centre), Alec Webb (Regional Universities Network), and Dr Kylie Austin (Edith Cowan University). Mr Webb highlighted the importance of data in the discussion, which he explained is critical to inform the development of initiatives and policy. From his personal experience as a student studying at a regional university study hub, Mr Connolly explained just how crucial career advisors are for regional students. He described that students benefit greatly from independent and personalised career advice. 

"Financing the Future – Innovation and Equity in Higher Education Funding” marked the final session of Day 1. Moderated by Dr Catherine de Fontenay (Productivity Commission), panellists Associate Professor Gwilym Croucher (The University of Melbourne), Professor Andrew Norton (Monash Business School), Penny Szybiak (Charles Darwin University), and Mark Warburton (The University of Melbourne), discussed the “managed growth” system. Professor Norton noted it being a complex system, with institutions facing overall caps on enrolments and no caps on equity students. Associate Professor Croucher added that policy changes will always involve trade-offs, for instance, replacing the Job-Ready Graduates scheme will have a cost in terms of revenue that could go to increasing the number of student places. The topic of student income support was also heavily explored, Mr Warburton said that “one of the most important things government can do for equity students is to provide decent income support”.

Day 1 concluded with the ACSES Symposium Dinner and Awards night during which Professor the Hon. Verity Firth AM gave a keynote speech addressing the fact that the sector sector is currently too divided at a time when higher education is under attack. She stressed that harmonisation and collaboration are key in overcoming imbalances and noted that student equity is about lifting “all boats” and not about “redistributing scarcity”. The night concluded with the presentation of the ACSES Awards for Innovation and Excellence in Impact on Higher Education Policy and Practice 2025. Winner for “Impact and Effectiveness” was Indigenous-led Redesign of Diabetes Education: Breaking Barriers for Vulnerable Learners at UTS, University of Technology Sydney, winner for “Evidence and Research-Based Approaches” was The Institute for Social Science Research (ISSR), The University of Queensland, and the winner for “Collaboration and Stakeholder Engagement” was The Eastern Australian Regional University Centre Partnership (EARUCP). Awards were presented by three of ACSES’s Advisory Board Members, Professor Leanne Holt (UNSW), Kathleen Nelly (Curtin University), and Professor Paul Harpur OAM (University of Queensland Law School).

10 September 2025

Day 2 commenced with a virtual keynote address delivered by the Shadow Minister for Education, Senator the Hon. Jonathon Duniam. He voiced his support for the "managed growth" model of university funding and the need to address cascading disadvantage in education where disadvantage in the early years of education translates into disappointing outcomes in higher education. He also backed minister Clare's support for a bipartisan approach to the education sector.

The next keynote speaker of the day was Dr Timothy Renick (Georgia State University) who presented “The Georgia State Model: Using AI and Analytics to Transform Outcomes for Undeserved Students”. He revealed that Georgia State University is a minority-majority institution with 83% of students coming from minority backgrounds. In addition to this, their cohort predominantly come from low-income households. Dr Renick's National Institute of Student Success (NISS) has undertaken work to improve student equity at the university and has successfully raised their progression rate substantially. His presentation segued into the first panel of the day which featured insights and discussion based off his presentation. The panel featured Professor Shaun Ewen (Griffith University), Sonal Singh (UTS), Nadine Zacharias (Equity by Design), and Professor Shamit Saggar (ACSES). Panellists addressed the critical importance of high quality data and the fact that more investment needs to go into data infrastructure. 

“Alternative Pathways into University” explored why alternative pathways such as enabling programs are vital to equity students as well as the work that needs to be made on credit transfer and recognition of prior learning to support student mobility. This session was moderated by Sonal Singh (UTS) with Jenny Dodd (TAFE Directors Australia), Professor Barney Glover AO (Jobs and Skills Australia), Professor Alphia Possamai-Inesedy (Western Sydney University), and Karen Seary (School of Access Education) as panellists. The panel discussed how harmonisation between university and TAFE institutions is critical to support student success, both into and within higher education.

The following panel, "Getting it Right – Equity, Policy, and Data”, looked at how data can direct us to make better-informed policy decisions to enable success across equity groups in higher education. The session featured Dr Angela Baker (The Social Research Centre), Geoffrey Mitchell (Queensland Education Department), Dr Fiona Navin (Edith Cowan University), Kristy Naylor (Department of Education), and Associate Professor Gemma Cadby (ACSES) as moderator. Panellists voiced the necessity of data in higher education, with Dr Baker using the example of QILT data and how its analysis can contribute to institutions' response on tackling inequity. Audience participation was invited at the end of the session, results of which can be found below.

The final panel of the day was “Reimaging Equity in Higher Education”, which included six contributors of ACSES’s new Equity Insights Report 2025 as panellists: Sarah Bendall (National Student Ombudsman), Dr Matt Brett (Deakin University & ACSES), Dr Patricia Vermillion Peirce CE (ACSES), and Dr Tracy Woodroffe (Charles Darwin University), and Distinguished Professor George Williams AO as moderator. Each speaker discussed changes they believe need to be made to ensure an equitable future for higher education in Australia. These changes included income support for students, a less fundamental approach to higher education that doesn’t exclude or minimise others’ beliefs, and “a seat at the table” for those on the ground.

The two-day event was closed with a keynote address by Luke Sheehy (Universities Australia). Mr Sheehy addressed equity in higher education being about opportunity, and that a lack of opportunity is holding our nation back. He asked for an immediate reform to the Job-ready Graduates (JRG) package, calling JRG “the antithesis of participation” and acknowledging the backwards impact it has had on equity student enrolments. In her closing remarks, student panellist Eunice Cheng (UNSW) commented on how inspiring it was to hear from the Minister and Shadow minister for Education and their collaborative approach to combating student inequity. Professor Ian Li wrapped up the 2025 ACSES Symposium urging the idea that we shouldn’t simply redesign programs but redesign the system to ensure success for all students.

Data Panel | Interactive session

At the conclusion of the Symposium panel on "Getting it Right – Equity, Policy, and Data”, the audience was invited to offer their thoughts on data gaps in higher education. The audience responded to an online poll sharing what data in higher education they would like to have. These responses were used to generate the following word cloud.

Themes that emerged from the audience response include the desire for: i) better data infrastructure and tracking from a unique student identifier and linked data; ii) calls for better measures of socioeconomic status and tracking of social mobility; and iii) capturing more diverse identity dimensions such as gender equity, LGBTQI+ communities.

The audience responses are also tabulated by frequency of response and can be downloaded in Excel format here, if of interest.

Our 2025 ACSES Award Recipients

Congratulations to the winners of the ACSES Awards for Innovation and Excellence in Impact on Higher Education Policy and Practice 2025.

During the ACSES Symposium Dinner and Awards night we recognised trailblazers whose work is reshaping equity in higher education across Australia.

🏆 Impact and Effectiveness
Dr Shannon Lin and Auntie Grace Ward accepted their award on behalf of their team at the University of Technology Sydney for their Indigenous-led Redesign of Diabetes Education: Breaking Barriers for Vulnerable Learners at UTS program, transforming Indigenous health workforce pathways.

🏆 Evidence and Research-Based Approaches
Associate Professor Mark Robinson accepted the award on behalf of the Institute for Social Science Research (ISSR) team at The University of Queensland for their groundbreaking research shaping national equity policy and frameworks.

🏆 Collaboration and Stakeholder Engagement
Chris Ronan and Erin Wrafter accepted their award on behalf of The Eastern Australian Regional University Centre Partnership (EARUCP), for their work in building access through partnerships with 23 universities and 14 Regional University Study Hubs.

“These awardees are driving change that makes higher education more inclusive and more effective,” ACSES's Executive Director Professor Shamit Saggar said.

Congratulations to all our winners and nominees for their powerful contributions to student equity. You can read more about each award recipient here.

Just Launched: Equity Insights 2025

ACSES's flagship publication Equity Insights 2025: Policy, Power, and Practice for a Fairer Australian Tertiary Education System is now live.

Featuring contributions from 22 leaders, researchers, policymakers, and students, the report explores what has changed for student equity—and what still must change.

Launched at the Welcome Reception for our Student Equity in an Era of Change 2025 Symposium, the report highlights issues including Indigenous leadership, disability inclusion, AI in higher education, student voice, and pathways across VET and universities.