Support students policy frequently asked questions

General

Why is the Government introducing new Support for students policy requirements?

The Government has removed the 50 per cent pass rate, as recommended as a priority action in the Accord Interim Report.

The Accord Interim Report found that the practical effect of this requirement has fallen disproportionately on students from First Nations, students from low socioeconomic status backgrounds, and other under represented or educationally disadvantaged cohorts.

In place of the pass rate requirements, from 1 January 2024, higher education providers approved under HESA must have a policy that describes the support services they have available for their students, in order to assist them to successfully complete their units of study.

The Government acknowledges the value of the good student support policy and practice already in the sector. These requirements will further strengthen this policy and practice.

What is required from 1 January 2024 when section 19-43 of HESA commences?

From 1 January 2024, HESA will include a new requirement to have a Support for students policy. During the transition period, between 1 January and 1 April 2024, providers may meet the requirement by making their policy available to students on a website, landing page or through other appropriate media that is accessible to students.

From 1 April 2024, higher education providers will need to expand this policy to include additional requirements as set out in the Higher Education Provider Guidelines.

The Department of Education is the regulator for the purposes of the Support for students policy requirements. We will be working collaboratively with providers to ensure it is implemented in the best interest of students and in a way which takes into account practical considerations for providers during this transition period. During the first 12 months, the approach to compliance will be educational and to establish good practice implementation of the policy. The department’s intention is that more significant compliance action will only be considered in the unlikely event that serious and systemic issues are identified during this period.

Providers are also required to comply with their policy from 1 January 2024. The first report on their Support for students policy is due on 1 March 2025. This report must include information about activities in 2024. Further information on how to report will be developed through 2024.

What is a Support for students policy?

The Support for students policy must describe both how the provider identifies students at risk of not successfully completing their units of study and what support is available to help students succeed.

A Support for students policy may be an overarching document that lists the support policies a provider already has in place on 1 January 2024.

An example that is compliant with the requirements to apply from the commencement of the transition period on 1 January 2024 is the Support for students policy. Please note this is only an example of how a provider might meet the requirements, and not the department’s preferred or required format.

More requirements will apply from 1 April 2024, and will be set out in the Higher Education Provider Guidelines.

Do providers need to combine all their policies relating to student support to comply with the new requirements?

A provider must have a single Support for students policy that satisfies the requirements in section 19-43 of HESA. However, that policy may be an overarching policy which consolidates, or simply references, other existing policies which together meet the requirements.

What are providers required to do during the transition period between the commencement of section 19-43 of HESA on 1 January 2024 and the HEP Guidelines on 1 April 2024?

On 1 April 2024, the detailed requirements specified in the HEP Guidelines will commence. Between 1 January 2024 and 1 April 2024, providers are expected to be working towards having a Support for students policy in place that meets the detailed requirements.

What happens on 1 April 2024?

From 1 April 2024, providers will be required to implement their compliant Support for students policy including the additional detailed requirements in the HEP Guidelines. Providers will not report on compliance with their Support for students policy until 1 March 2025.

Each institution will have their own internal governance arrangements that will need to be managed prior to a new policy being implemented.

Which providers are required to have a Support for students policy?

The Support for students policy requirements apply to higher education providers approved under HESA.

Providers who are registered with TEQSA, but not approved under HESA, and providers whose study offerings are solely for international students are not covered.

Which students are covered by the new requirements?

Students enrolled in units of study in a Commonwealth supported place (CSP) and/or accessing a HECS-HELP or FEE-HELP loan are covered by the Support for students policy.

The department expects that higher education providers will be pragmatic in their approach to ensuring all students are afforded the same types of support. 

However, it will be appropriate that support will be tailored as much as possible to meet individual and cohort needs.

For example, students commencing their first higher education qualification – who are often coming directly from secondary education and may still be under 18 – will often have different support needs from postgraduate students who are more familiar with the higher education environment, or from international students.

How is compliance with the Support for students policy managed?

The department currently undertakes compliance activities with a staged approach. In the first instance the department will seek more information and work with providers to achieve compliance.

The department continues to take a risk-based approach to compliance in relation to the new requirements.

The focus in the first year, from 1 January 2024, is on informing the sector to clarify what is expected and how higher education providers can comply.

In exceptional circumstances, where there is evidence of systemic, serious and/or extended non-compliance, the department may progress to the use of powers under s19-43 for the Support for students policy, which are consistent with existing powers under HESA.

What are the assurance requirements?

Providers will be required to report and provide assurance on their compliance on 1 March of each year for the prior calendar year. Compliance will also be monitored through other sources, including data available to the department through TCSI, the Student Experience Survey, or student complaints.

What are the reporting obligations on the Support for students policy?

Providers are required to report on their Support for students policy on or before 1 March 2025, following the first year of implementation.

Section 49B of the Higher Education Provider Guidelines sets out what providers must report, including qualitative information on how providers have implemented their Support for students policy. Providers are encouraged to consider including de-identified quantitative data where it is available, particularly where such data supports or adds value to their report, but are not required to do so. Read the online Guidelines.

The reports will also include information about how the provider assesses which kinds of support are required to meet the needs of its student cohorts, assessment and assurance activities in relation to its support for students policy, and how the provider identifies opportunities for improvement, including its response to student complaints.

The department will establish a new working group in January 2024, drawing on a range of sector representatives, to investigate additional data that could be collected to provide a deeper understanding of student need and support.

How is “student support" defined?

At a practical level, student support includes, but is not limited to, academic support (literacy, numeracy, digital), health (including mental health), crisis support, career and employability support, and peer mentoring.

Frontline academic staff may also provide support as part of their teaching, for example by connecting students to specialist assistance or offering special consideration or other accommodations.

A provider is not required to provide every type of support in-house but is expected to facilitate student access to supports. For example, by providing referrals or links to external services. Together, these will be considered the types of support which have been made available by the provider.

How is the diversity of the sector recognised in the Guidelines?

The Guidelines do not prescribe specifically how providers should support students. They do require that providers have appropriate student supports in place, relevant to their particular context. This provides flexibility that reflects the diversity of the sector. Providers will be encouraged to define their particular mission and context within the report provided to the department annually.

How do the Guidelines recognise a student’s responsibility for their own success?

Providers are expected to document their processes and procedures that will ensure support is available in compliance with the requirements of the Guidelines. The provider will not be assessed on the responsiveness of its students, only on whether the required support was made available.

The Government understands that it is ultimately a student’s responsibility whether to accept support and assistance that is offered to them, and to put this into action – providers cannot force students to accept this support.

Is there an expectation for providers to replicate public or private clinical psychological, social welfare, and other specialised health services support?

No. Providers are not expected to replicate these services if these can be better offered externally. However, a provider should have appropriate pathways in place to refer students to community-based non-academic support services.

How is students’ privacy protected in the requirements to provide support to students?

The HEP Guidelines have been amended to require providers to comply with the Australian Privacy Principles (APPs) for the collection, handling, use and disclosure of personal information obtained in relation to the provider’s compliance with the Support for student policy requirements. Read more information on the Australian Privacy Principles.

The Guidelines do not require a provider to collect sensitive student information and if they collect sensitive information, including medical information, it can only be collected from a student if they consent.

Providers cannot compel students to provide sensitive information.

How is a student’s privacy protected where a provider is required to report on their Support for students policy?

The HEP Guidelines require that a provider’s report on their Support for students policy contains de-identified data. De-identified is defined to have the same meaning as the Privacy Act and means information that is no longer about an identifiable individual or an individual who is reasonably identifiable. The Guidelines do not require a provider to report on individual students.

Why are providers required to report on their Support for students policy?

The department will use information on student progress and completion currently available through TCSI in conjunction with reporting on student supports to understand how student support influences outcomes.

Reporting will also be used in the department’s assessment of whether a provider behaved in the manner, provided support services and conducted activities as described in their Support for students policy, in conjunction with other data available to the department.

How does the Support for students policy ensure that victim-survivors of sexual violence receive the expert care and support they need from their provider? How does the Support for students policy intersect with the proposed National Higher Education Code to Prevent and Respond to Gender-based Violence?

The purpose of the Support for students policy is to ensure that higher education providers have practices and services in place to identify and support students that are identified as at risk of not successfully completing their units of study for many and varied reasons.

We know that victim-survivors need expert, trauma-informed care and support, which is why we have proposed the National Higher Education Code to Prevent and Respond to Gender-based Violence. The Code would set requirements for providers embedding a whole-of-institution approach to address gender-based violence, including specific criteria for critical incident management, reporting and reports handling around gender-based violence, including the prioritisation of student and staff safety and agency in these processes. It would also set requirements for the provision of student support.

Removal of the pass-rate requirements

When does the pass rate cease?

The 50 per cent pass rate ceases from 1 January 2024, this means that students in units with census dates on or after 1 January 2024 will not need to be assessed for successful completion. Providers should continue to use their own academic progression policies.

Providers are reminded that there are no changes to eligibility requirements in relation to academic suitability under section 19-42 of HESA.