52EConditions that apply to grants

52E Conditions that apply to grants

Conditions that apply to Equity Grant

(1) A higher education provider under the program in receipt of the Equity Grant, must use the Equity Grant to achieve the program objective as set out in paragraph 52A(2)(a).

(2) The Equity Grant must be spent on activities that:

(a) support students from low socioeconomic backgrounds and Indigenous persons to access, participate in, succeed in, and complete higher education; and

(b) address the specific disadvantages or barriers faced by the provider’s students from low socioeconomic backgrounds and Indigenous persons in accessing, participating in, succeeding in, and completing higher education.

Note: For the avoidance of doubt, the Equity Grant could be used to fund direct support to individuals or groups of eligible students or indirect supports that benefit a wider cohort of students as long as they are delivered for the primary purpose of supporting eligible students.

(3) Notwithstanding subsection (2), a higher education provider may use the Equity Grant on activities targeted at those who are not yet enrolled in higher education, to build higher education aspiration and promote higher education to people from low socioeconomic backgrounds and Indigenous people, if the provider meets all of the following requirements:

(a) the provider received a grant for the 2025 grant year under the Higher Education Participation and Partnerships Program specified in Division 1 of Part 2; and

(b) the provider will receive a grant for the 2026 grant year under the Outreach Funding Program specified in Part 9B; and

(c) the provider’s grant amount for the Outreach Funding Program for the 2026 grant year is less than the provider’s grant amount for the Higher Education Participation and Partnerships Program in the 2025 grant year; and

(d) the activities are not already funded using grant amounts received by the grant recipient under Part 2-3 of the Act.

(4) A higher education provider who is permitted to use the Equity Grant on the activities in subsection (3), must not spend more of the Equity Grant than the difference between the amounts listed in paragraphs (3)(a) and (3)(b) on those activities.

(5) The Equity Grant must not be spent on the following activities:

(a) any activities related to infrastructure, including maintenance and construction of buildings, fixtures, roads and pathways;

(b) any activities related to services or transport vehicles, that are not principally for the use or benefit of students from low socioeconomic backgrounds or Indigenous persons.

(6) A provider in receipt of the Equity Grant must provide reports that comply with any requirements specified by the Minister under subsection 41-25(2) of the Act, which must, at a minimum: