The Australian government has placed measures to reduce university fees on hold, meaning arts degrees are projected to cost $50,000 until at least 2028. Barney Glover, head of the Australian Tertiary Education Commission, stated he will not recommend interim measures to lower the cost of arts degrees and plans to provide advice to the government on degree funding in the second half of next year.

The decision impacts arts and humanities subject fees, which increased under the Job-ready Graduates scheme. This policy, introduced by the Morrison government, reduced costs for science and mathematics courses but raised fees for arts subjects. University enrolments from lower socioeconomic backgrounds decreased in some arts subjects after the scheme's implementation. In May, Glover stated the Job-ready Graduates reforms have failed.

Glover acknowledged the impatience for change. "I absolutely appreciate the frustration of people who'd like to see immediate action on Job-ready Graduates," Glover said. "Our mandate is to get compelling evidence for change at a time when governments, not just here in Australia, but around the world, are under pressure in terms of investment in education." He also said that work is underway to determine the actual cost for universities to provide degrees.

Critics expressed concerns about the delay. George Williams, vice-chancellor of Western Sydney University, stated, "The longer it takes to fix Job-ready Graduates, the longer it is that students will be paying unfair fees and taking on unreasonable debt." Williams added, "This needs to be fixed urgently so every Australian has the opportunity to further their education." Mehreen Faruqi, deputy leader of the Greens, criticized the government, saying, "We should be making uni fee-free, just like it was for the prime minister. Instead we've got Labor dragging their heels on the easiest of reforms."

Data analysis by Innovative Research Universities in February indicated that the Job-ready Graduates scheme led to a decline in Commonwealth funding for the sector. In 2024, the Commonwealth provided $1.2 billion less in funding than under pre-Job-ready Graduates settings. Base funding for universities was $813 million lower in 2024, despite an increase in student contributions. Glover addressed international education, noting that student numbers are flatlining after years of rapid growth due to government caps. "Universities at the moment should be carefully planning on stability in international education, rather than growth, and they certainly need to be looking at diversification," he said. "That's been a very key indicator of government. They should be diversifying if they're highly reliant on a single market." Glover added, "Having been a vice-chancellor, I know when you have growth, it's great, because it's important to bring international students to Australia, but I think right now it's going to be a period, hopefully, of stability. If you take the volatility out, then universities don't have the same unfortunate need to respond through restructure and downsizing and redundancies." Between 2014 and 2019, international student numbers increased by approximately 10% year-on-year, followed by a decline from 2020 to 2022 during the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2023, international student numbers rose by 27%. New South Wales institutions increased international student intake by 7.5% between 2024 and 2025.