Message from the Executive Director

This edition of Equity Insights contains an important set of articles with a common message: that the equity challenge for our universities is changing. Our contributors have written concisely and persuasively about a host of pressures facing increasing numbers of students—pressures such as financial and food insecurity, housing stress, racism, mental health challenges, caring responsibilities, and more. These are faced by many students, but they disproportionately affect students from equity cohorts and are becoming more widespread. Therefore, they are pressing matters for university leaders and equity practitioners to address for a much wider student cohort.

The good news is that the current higher education landscape offers unique opportunities for reform. Specifically, the current policy environment (centred on the implementation of the Australian Universities Accord, the establishment of the Australian Tertiary Education Commission, and Needs-based Funding coming on stream) offers the opportunity for genuine transformation in the sector.

The question is how prepared the sector is to redesign systems so that success is within reach for all students.

This depends on shifting the conversation from access to success, and this report is an important contribution to that shift. While we are successfully widening participation, how can we ensure that students succeed in, and benefit from, higher education?

The contributions to this report show that solutions exist already. The articles demonstrate a wide range of perspectives from key stakeholders around the sector. The respective authors don’t just describe problems but highlight practical examples of what works. We have no excuse if we cannot learn from what others are already doing.

This year’s Equity Insights articles collectively note an opportunity for system-wide changes—changes that would benefit all learners.

Professor Shamit Saggar CBE FAcSS
Executive Director
Australian Centre for Student Equity and Success

Contributors to Equity Insights 2026:

Sarah Bendall, Dr Matt Brett, Dr Patrick Broman, Professor Jonathan Bullen, Professor Tyrone Carlin, Professor Carolyn Evans FASSA, Clare Field, Bree Glasbergen, Professor Barney Glover AO, Paul Harris, Professor Braden Hill, Jacinta King, Alison Knapp, Professor Kerri-Lee Krause, Professor Ian Li SFHEA, Josh Mason, Natalie Nelmes, Professor Karen Nelson, Professor Susan Page, Jesse Parmar, Professor Shamit Saggar CBE FAcSS, Luke Sheehy, Giridharan Sivaraman, Brooke Szucs, Professor Michelle Trudgett, and Dr Lauren Tynan.