The funding system I have described parts 1 to 5 of this series of posts applies in full to the higher education providers listed on ‘Table A’ of the Higher Education Support Act 2003. The public universities and the Batchelor Institute of Indigenous Tertiary Education appear on Table A.

This post looks at the situation of other higher education providers. This includes 5 private universities, 8 university colleges and 166 other higher education providers.

Provider registration by TEQSA does not confer any funding entitlements. It is necessary but not sufficient for funding.

No non-Table A provider has any statutory right to Commonwealth supported places. Four of the five private universities are, however, listed on Table B of HESA 2003. This entitles them to research funding and some other government funding but not CSPs. This post describes how non-Table A providers can get CSPs under the new system.

All legislative references in what follows are to the Higher Education Support Act 2003 unless otherwise specified, ‘current’ signalling the legislation now in force, ‘new’ signalling the amending bill, the  Universities Accord (Opening the Doors of Opportunity) Bill 2026.

Eligibility for Commonwealth supported places

In the new funding system, as now, eligibility for Commonwealth supported places is based on history and politics, not any objective criteria.

The minister, rather than ATEC, will decide whether a provider should be eligible for CSPs. This is done by putting providers on a list in the Commonwealth Grant Scheme Guidelines: new section 30-1(10(a)(ii).

We can see the current policy on adding providers from the 2026 funding agreements. They make reference to CSPs for TAFEs and ‘other high-quality not-for-profit specialist providers’. Five TAFEs have been added since last year. NIDA is also new to the list. The only new not-for-profit is Excelsia University College, although I would not call it a specialist provider, as CSP allocations to teaching, early childhood, social work and counselling courses suggest.

There is no specific power for ATEC to advise on provider additions, but possibly it could do so as incidental to advisory subjects in section 41 of the ATEC Act 2026 including (a) policy settings for higher education and (e) the ‘diversity of the higher education system’.

While eligibility is conferred by the minister ATEC will decide whether or not to allocate CSPs.

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