Additional university places to grow Australia’s AUKUS workforce

The Australian government will support an additional 4,001 places at 16 Australian universities to help grow the skilled workforce required to deliver the AUKUS nuclear-powered submarine pathway.

The Department of Education is investing $128 million to fund the extra university places over four years, starting in 2024. These additional places will apply to 38 STEM-related courses, designed to attract more students to train in engineering, mathematics, chemistry and physics.

Students will be eligible to apply and commence their studies for STEM-related courses from the beginning of next year.

Of the 4,001 additional places, more than 1,000 will be allocated to South Australian universities to support the construction of Australia’s conventionally armed, nuclear-powered submarines in Adelaide.

Australia’s acquisition of nuclear-powered submarines is a national endeavour and targeted training to meet the future workforce needs of the submarine program will be vital to supporting this capability.

As part of the allocation, universities were assessed against the ability of proposed courses to meet the increased demand for advanced technical skills. Other criteria included planned investments to engage quality teachers, the expected level of unmet demand from students, plans to support the expansion of enrolment levels and initiatives to increase participation of students from underrepresented backgrounds.

To find out more, visit the Department of Education website.