Concerns over funding for regional universities and regional students are not going to go away, with data showing that the job outlook for regional and remote people are still poor.
All remote areas offered poor job prospects, and while some regional areas had picked up, many were still poor, according to the Jobs and Skills Australia Pathways to Success report – as highlighted in the chart below. Metropolitan labour markets are significantly stronger on average.
Proportion of geographic areas by remoteness with below average or poor labour market ratings, March 2026
Source: JSA, Regional Labour Market Indicator, March 2026.
Federation University Vice-Chancellor Duncan Bentley has weighed into the debate today, writing in Future Campus that regional universities need to be treated – and funded – as regional infrastructure, as they are critical to improving employment outcomes for those living outside metropolitan boundaries.
The university said it educated more first-in-family students than any other university in Australia and many students were returning to study or balancing their course with work and caring responsibilities.
“That means our support needs to extend well beyond the classroom, from helping students transition back into education to practical support like free food pantries and professional clothing – giving students the support to succeed,” a University spokesperson said.
“The cost to deliver this support means needs-based funding is only part of the equation. Regional universities face higher costs from delivering education at a smaller scale and across dispersed communities, while supporting student cohorts with greater support needs.
“The significant downturn in international student revenue has further exposed the funding gap for regional universities, with revenue that has historically helped support regional and equity students no longer available.”
Restrictions on immigration had also affected the availability of regional services – making it harder for students to access healthcare, childcare and other services critical to enable them to be able to study.
The University called for further targeted structural adjustment funding to support regional campuses to transition away from international education revenue, as well as increased needs-based funding to reflect the full cost of student support.
Jason Clare presented Federation University with $4m in 'adjustment' funding in June and regional campuses will get a higher per-student funding rate now that Needs-Based funding has been ushered into legislation. However, that will be little help to campuses that struggle to attract students.
Federation posted a deficit of $32 million last year. It has attracted a 4% increase in domestic enrolments over the past decade, but this has not been enough to compensate for a 43% drop in international numbers.
Professor Bentley said Federation was one of the larger employers in the regional communities it served and most graduates worked in regional areas – making the ongoing viability of regional universities critical to the future of regional communities.
The commentary follows Monday’s article by Chris Roberts noting that the decision to provide needs-based funding to campuses rather than individuals also seriously disadvantaged students who can’t or won’t access a regional campus – noting that hundreds of thousands of regional Australians live far from any regional campus, as identified in a new model released this month by ACSES.
Given the well-documented economic pressures threatening the viability of regional universities and the potential political upside of merger discussions in WA, it would be difficult to not imagine that Professor Bentley and colleagues will also need to mount a campaign against merger proposals in the near future.