Acknowledgements

Thank you

Thank you to the Australian Government Department of Education for funding this work, under the National Priorities Pool Program. Special thanks to the Australian Tertiary Education Commission (ATEC) and particularly to our colleagues from the ATEC, Amanda Brown, Andy Russo, Thomas Jones and Jun Lee for the generosity of your time, insights and advice across the course of the project.

Gratitude is also extended to the members of the National FFUR working group, including the ATEC colleagues Mr David Turvey, Mr Daniel Frewer and Ms Beck Daly and the university co-Chairs Professor Alex Zelinsky A.O. and Professor Rufus Black. The project greatly benefited from the thoughtful contributions of Nathan Towney and the Project Reference Group members, Karen Seary, Professor Sharron King, and Professor Andrea Carr, who provided advice, feedback and direction throughout.

The authors of the Best Practice Guide: Associate Professor Anna Bennett, Dr Kristen Allen, Dr Michelle Mansfield, Dr Emma Hamilton, Dr Bronwyn Relf, Nicole Garske, Georgia Way, Dr Jennifer Irwin, Dr Heath Jones, Dr Ryan O’Neill, Rebecca Smith, Shondell Williams, Dr Zoë Griffiths, Catherine Burgess, Dr Scott Sciffer, Sam Doherty, Hannah Pipe and David Thompson greatly appreciate the valued work of contributors, Dr Treesa Heath, Dr Milo Kei, Dan Collins, Cheryl Burgess and Selina Darney.

We are also so appreciate of the work and care that Caitlin Moriarty contributed as copywriter, editor and designer, as well as our editors Dr Jo Hanley and Kirsty Richards.

Thank you to University of Newcastle staff who supported the project, including Fiona Bastion, Lou Morrisey, Simon Bush, Elizabeth Bridges, Ruth Cameron, Anthony O’Brien, Fiona Jones and Tracey Cox.

The inspiring images and video content crafted by filmmaker Conor Ashleigh enriched the project’s storytelling, and the web development expertise of Out of the Square Media is also acknowledged, with thanks.

This project would not have been possible without the FFUR students and graduates who generously shared their stories and experiences; their voices form the heart of this work.

We are also very thankful for the contributions of colleagues from the following institutions and organisations who generously shared time and insight through the research consultation:

Central Queensland University
Charles Darwin University
Edith Cowan University
Griffith University
James Cook University
Murdoch University
Southern Cross University
Swinburne University
University of Newcastle
University of South Australia
University of Southern Queensland
University of Tasmania
University of Technology Sydney
Universities Admissions Centre
Open Universities Australia

A special thank you to Renae Lamb for the beautiful and evocative artwork and design from ‘Gili Watta’. ‘Gilli Watta’ is a word from the local Gathang language meaning ‘sparking the flame’.

Please cite this FEE-FREE Uni Ready (FFUR) Best Practice Guide as:
Bennett, A., Allen, K., Mansfield, M., Hamilton, E., Relf, B., Garske, N., Way, G., Irwin, J., Jones, H., Griffiths, Z., Burgess, C., Smith, R., O’Neill, R., Williams, S., Sciffer, S., Doherty, S., Pipe, H. & Thompson, D. (2026). FEE-FREE Uni Ready Project: Best Practice Guide. The Australian Government Department of Education and Australian Tertiary Education Commission.