Fee-Free Uni Ready Best Practice Guide

What are Fee-Free Uni Ready Courses?

Fee-Free Uni Ready (FFUR) courses are free-of-cost, non-Award courses that prepare students, particularly those from disadvantaged or non-traditional backgrounds, including Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students, to meet the entry requirements and academic demands of undergraduate study.

FFUR pathway courses have been operating for over 50 years in Australia and are key to achieving equity of participation in higher education, through supporting students to develop essential capabilities like academic literacies, critical thinking, discipline knowledges and study skills.

FFUR courses have become a cornerstone of equity in Australia’s higher education system over the past half-century. As highlighted in the Australian Universities Accord Final Report 2024, these pathways have enabled hundreds of thousands of students from underrepresented groups to access higher education and contribute their knowledge and expertise to communities. The success of FFUR pathways lies in place-based, contextualised approaches supported by flexible national policy settings, which allow institutions to tailor FFUR courses to local needs.

A Fee-Free Uni Ready educator is speaking whilst standing in a classroom in front of two large screens containing course content.

National FEE-FREE Uni Ready Project: Report and Best Practice Guide

In 2025 the Australian Government under the National Priorities Pool Program (Department of Education, Australian Government, 2025) commissioned the ‘National FEE-FREE Uni Ready Project: Report and Best Practice Guide’ led by the University of Newcastle to deliver two distinct pieces of work and associated outputs, as follows:

Provide a Report on Policy Settings with advice on FFUR national policy regarding future implementation, including: information about design and transferability of FFUR offerings; recommendations for what constitutes a FFUR course of learning; how FFUR fits into the broader pathways landscape; and how to achieve optimal outcomes and improved access for students from underrepresented backgrounds; and
Guide Higher Education practitioners in the design and delivery of high-quality FFUR courses through a Best Practice Guide.

FFUR pathways have become a cornerstone of equity in Australia’s higher education system over the past half-century (Department of Education, 2025). As highlighted in the Australian Universities Accord Final Report 2024, these pathways have enabled hundreds of thousands of students to access higher education and contribute their knowledge and expertise to the benefit of Australian communities, professions, industries and the economy (Australian Universities Accord Panel [AUAP], Department of Education, 2024a). The success of FFUR pathways so far, lies in place-based, contextualised approaches which are supported by flexible national policy settings, that allow institutions to tailor FFUR courses to local needs.

FFUR courses are free-of-cost, non-Award courses that prepare students, particularly those from disadvantaged or non-traditional backgrounds, including Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students, to meet the requirements and academic demands of undergraduate study. These courses have been operating for over 50 years in Australia and are key to achieving equity of participation in higher education, through supporting students to develop essential capabilities like academic literacies, critical thinking, discipline knowledges and study skills.

Historically, these courses have evolved from localised community-focused programs to later become a formal part of the university system as ‘Enabling’ pathways with funding provided by the Commonwealth.

In 2025, these fee-free ‘Enabling’ courses were renamed ‘FEE-FREE Uni Ready courses’ or FFUR.

This Best Practice Guide draws on FFUR and widening participation knowledge from across the country to enable equity into and through higher and further education. It reflects the input of colleagues who have engaged in the project consultation about the contextualisation, flexibility and innovation required to achieve targets for educationally disadvantaged peoples

The accompanying Report on Policy Settings proposes a FFUR Framework that provides advice for future policy both nationally and at an institutional level to enhance accessibility of FFUR courses to students, particularly those from underrepresented backgrounds. The framework includes a taxonomy, minimum standards, and national access criteria. While the taxonomy outlines 4 categories of FFUR offerings, this guide focuses mostly on the design and delivery of Type 2 FFUR programs, although the ethos and educational principles outlined span all types.

Throughout all sections of the Best Practice Guide, we emphasise the importance of embedding a commitment to, and implementation of, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander ways of knowing, being, and doing within all principles and practices. While specific approaches are outlined in individual sections, this commitment must underpin all approaches. This enriches the learning and outcomes for all students, and particularly for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students, as was highlighted through the research and consultation undertaken for this project.

A Note on Best Practice

In this guide we use the term “best practice” to reflect our sector’s commitment to excellence and the sharing of evidence-based approaches, as outlined in the literature and as gained through consultation. It is important to note that:

The practices described here are not the only examples of “best practice”. Many effective principles, pedagogies, and strategies exist across the sector, and we encourage further sharing and identification of these as part of continuing professional development and as a sector.

“Best practice” is not a fixed end point. It is iterative, responsive, and constantly evolving. It is a process of striving rather than achieving.

External factors, including structural and individual constraints, employment and workload, for both students and staff, impact on learning and what is achievable in “best practice.”

Articulating “best practice” is important and valuable, despite and because of such contextual factors and limitations, which we can work on incrementally together to recognise and address where possible.

The FFUR Framework: Five components for best-practice

The FFUR Framework has been developed in response to the desire to nationalise FFUR courses, so that students gain portable pathways into undergraduate study.

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Higher Education Equity Policy Timeline

Below is a timeline which outlines the development of these types of courses. The existing impacts of FFUR pathways which have emerged across the country over time and as identified in the Accord, are key to enabling equity in the tertiary system. The equity achieved thus far has been enabled because of the place-based, contextualised approaches and national policy settings which enable the flexibility for offering this rich diversity of approaches (Bennett et al., 2015; 2024). Pitman et al. (2016) highlight that Australian ‘Enabling’ (FFUR) courses significantly increase access to university for underrepresented students and improve retention and success rates for students from equity groups compared to other forms of alternative entry.

1950s & 1960s

Post-War Growth in Higher Education

After World War II, Australian universities began expanding rapidly, following global trends in higher education (Forsyth, 2014). In recognition of the rising demand for university places, the Commonwealth Government released two key reports in the decades that followed to guide policy, including:

The Murray Report (Report of the Committee on Australian Universities, 1957); and

The Martin Report (Tertiary education in Australia: report of the Committee on the Future of Tertiary Education in Australia to the Australian Universities Commission, 1965)

Both reports emphasised how a university-educated population could benefit the economy and recommended increased federal funding (Manathunga, 2016).

The Martin Report stressed the need to support capable students who face systematic barriers in accessing higher education, with a particular focus on students from underrepresented backgrounds (Sanders, 1965; Anderson, 1990)

1970s

Opening Access to More Australians

In 1974 the Whitlam government abolished university fees, making higher education more accessible to a wider range of Australians (May & Bunn, 2015). Australia’s longest serving preparatory access program, the Open Foundation program, was also launched in 1974 at the University of Newcastle, NSW.

1980s

Reform and Inclusion

In 1987, Education Minister John Dawkins argued that growing university enrolments — like in other OECD countries — could strengthen Australia’s economy (Dawkins, 1987). Around this time, many universities in Australia began shifting from elite institutions to being more inclusive of students from diverse backgrounds. This was in step with similar changes in the US, UK, and India (Anderson, 1990).

1990s

'Enabling' Education Gains Recognition

The Dawkins reforms led to the further development of equity and access programs across Australian universities (Hodges et al., 2013). In the 1990s, ‘Enabling’ courses became recognised as an important part of broader equity reforms, designed to provide a pathway for students who did not meet the standard entry requirement such as an Australian Tertiary Admissions Rank (ATAR). At this point in time there were few pathways into university. A key milestone was the Federal Government’s 1990 report on equity in higher education titled A Fair Chance for All, which called for better support for underrepresented groups and more inclusive university access. In this decade, six targeted equity groups were identified, including Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students, students from regional and remote areas, students with a disability, students from low socio-economic backgrounds, students from non-English speaking backgrounds, and women in non-traditional backgrounds. The Martin Indicators (Martin, 1994) were then designed to measure fairness and access for these groups.

2000s

Formal Support and Funding

The Higher Education Support Act (2003) provided formal funding for ‘Enabling’ courses and acknowledged their role in increasing participation and success. These courses were mostly free for domestic students and focused on building essential academic skills like literacy, communication, and numeracy in preparation for further university study in undergraduate degrees (Hodges et al., 2013).

The Bradley Review of Australian Higher Education (Australian Government, 2008) set ambitious goals for university participation, including a target for 20% of students to come from low socioeconomic backgrounds by 2020. ‘Enabling’ courses were again seen as key to achieving this target and offerings increased across Australian universities.

2010s

National Targets and The Enabling Association

In 2012, the seminal ‘Behrendt review’, the Review of Higher Education Access and Outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander People report was published (Behrendt et al., 2012), which recommended improving the reach and effectiveness of enabling courses for disadvantaged learners, particularly Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students.

Also in 2012, the formation of the National Association of Enabling Educators Australia (NAEEA) represented an important step in providing a forum for policy debate and professional development in the ‘Enabling’ field in higher education. Through conferences and networking opportunities, NAEEA supports educators across Australia and New Zealand to connect and share their research on best practice (NAEEA, 2025) and continues to grow in importance for informing equity policy.

In 2018, the Centre of Excellence for Equity in Higher Education (CEEHE) funded the report Enabling Pedagogies (Bennett et al., 2018). The report was the first of its kind in Australia to explore the ethos, values, and teaching practices that underpin ‘Enabling’ education. Grounded in Freirean principles (Freire, 1970), and inspired by the extensive work of Burke (2012) and other key theorists on theorising widening participation in UK access courses, Bennett et al. showed how ‘Enabling’ pedagogies move beyond viewing programs as simply academic preparation, and instead frame them as transformative learning experiences where students experience many other positive outcomes including an increased sense of belonging and self-efficacy (Relf et al., 2017; Bennett et al., 2018: Allen, 2025).

2020s

Renewed Commitment through the Universities Accord

The Australian Universities Accord 2024 (Australian Universities Accord Panel [AUAP], Department of Education 2024a) became the most significant higher education reform in over 15 years, setting out 47 recommendations to reshape the sector. It aims to lift tertiary attainment from around 60% to at least 80% by 2050, while improving affordability and better integrating universities with vocational education. Importantly, it reinforced the importance of ‘Enabling’ education, noting that around 25,000 students take part in these courses each year. Crucially, the Accord emphasised equity by expanding access for regional, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander, and educationally disadvantaged students and called for more high-quality, fee-free courses, properly funded to reflect their full delivery costs.

As of 2025

Future Directions

Currently, there are 36 providers offering FFUR (former ‘Enabling’) courses in Australia. The Federal Government has committed over $350 million to support their continued development under the framing of “FEE-FREE University Ready” (FFUR), reflecting a strengthened national focus on equity and access in higher education. While FFUR courses are not currently included in the Australian Qualifications Framework (AQF), offerings have undergone significant changes in response to higher education reforms and student demand. Along with the significant body of research and scholarship which has developed about pathways, especially over the past decade, this field of work has also become recognised as contributing important knowledge and expertise on how to achieve inclusivity within higher education. What became known as ‘Enabling’ education approaches have also been described recently as an important sub-discipline in higher education for achieving access and equity into and through higher education (Davis, 2023).

The Fee-Free Uni Ready Best Practice Guide cover image.

27 February 2026

Fee Free Uni Ready Pathways: Developing Stronger, More Equitable Universities and Communities

This comprehensive Best Practice Guide is designed to guide higher education practitioners in the design and delivery of high-quality FFUR courses through best practice. Prepared by the University of Newcastle in collaboration with higher education institutions and educational experts across Australia, this guide provides evidence based recommendations developed in line with current and contemporary research. Filled with practical, real world advice and implementable processes, this guide is useful for all higher education providers, whether they are in the process of designing FFUR courses or have offered them in the past.

pdf • 46.11MB Download the Best Practice Guide

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