Archive for category: News

SPERA is delighted to welcome two new General Executive Members to the 2026 Executive Committee – Donna Ballard and Matthew Thompson.

Donna Ballard
General Executive Member
Donna Ballard is a NSW MidCoast local; her professional journey reflects a strong commitment to community, education and regional opportunity. Actively involved in local volunteer groups, Donna is dedicated to strengthening regional families and contributing to the social and economic development of the MidCoast. As CEO of Taree Universities Campus, she is passionate about removing barriers to higher education and supporting people to study locally.

Matthew Thompson
General Executive Member
Matthew Thompson has worked in outreach and widening participation since 2015, developing and delivering programs across the Macleay Valley that demystify and promote access to further and higher education. He brings a strong connection to Country and extensive experience working collaboratively with Indigenous Australian community stakeholders. Matthew has a diverse background working with industry organisations specialising in event management and holistic individual support, and draws on his lived experience as a neurodivergent learner. He is deeply committed to empowering students to pursue their aspirations and reducing barriers to educational success.

Uni Hub SG, in partnership with BHP and the Roxby Downs Child Care Centre, is pleased to announce the continuation of the Early Childhood Project for a further two years. Building on the strong outcomes achieved during the pilot phase, the extended project reaffirms a shared commitment to strengthening early childhood education and care in regional, rural and remote (RRR) communities.

To date, the project has supported 18 local learners to pursue formal qualifications, including 12 Certificate III in Early Childhood Education and Care, four Diploma of Early Childhood Education and Care, and two Bachelor of Early Childhood Teaching programs. These achievements represent a significant investment in both emerging and existing educators, creating clear and sustainable education-to-employment pathways within the local community.

The continuation of the project has further increased the capacity of the local workforce by upskilling current educators while enabling new entrants to begin or progress their careers without having to leave the region. Importantly, the initiative ensures that high-quality early childhood education remains a priority in RRR communities, where access to training and professional development opportunities can be limited.

The success of the Roxby Downs Early Childhood Project has also created a scalable model, enabling other RRR communities to explore and implement similar initiatives. By addressing barriers to access for further education, including vocational education and training (VET), the project demonstrates how strong partnerships can deliver lasting workforce and community impact well beyond the pilot phase.

SPERA was pleased to see regional higher education in the spotlight with Minister Jason Clare officially opening the new Regional Study Hub in Northam, Western Australia — the fifth hub established by the Lumen Wheatbelt Regional University Study Hubs.

SPERA Secretary Natalie Nelmes attended the event alongside local council leaders, community members, WA universities, and RUSH teams from Albany and Geraldton.

During the ceremony, Northam Study Hub Coordinator Lisa Astle delivered an inspiring speech about her own journey as a mature-aged university student, sharing how access to local study support transformed her life. She spoke about the potential the hub now offers others in the region seeking to pursue tertiary education without leaving their community.

This opening marks another milestone in expanding regional study access and strengthening pathways for rural learners across Australia. SPERA congratulates the Lumen Wheatbelt RUSH team and all community partners involved.

SPERA is proud to acknowledge the Eastern Australia Regional University Centre Partnership (EARUCP) for receiving national recognition for its bold reimagining of university outreach in regional, rural and remote communities.

Led by the University of Technology Sydney (UTS) and the Country Universities Centre (CUC), the partnership spans 25 universities and 14 Regional University Centres across Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria and the ACT. Unlike traditional outreach models, EARUCP works hand-in-hand with local communities to co-design initiatives that respond directly to each region’s unique needs and educational landscape.

Chris Ronan, SPERA CEO and Country Universities Centre CEO, emphasised the power of this approach:

“When communities define their own needs, build their own programs, and deliver them consistently with local people, then incredible impact can happen. We hope that Regional University Study Hubs across Australia will soon be able to build off this initial project and develop their own widening participation activities from 2026.”

The success of EARUCP demonstrates what’s possible when universities and communities collaborate for long-term, sustainable impact. Since its launch, the initiative has reached thousands of students, parents, teachers, and Indigenous Elders through mentoring programs, immersive career experiences, and culturally embedded micro-credentials.

Funded through the Australian Government’s Regional Partnerships Project Pool Program, the initiative is now informing a national roadmap for place-based equity in higher education – an achievement that aligns closely with SPERA’s mission to advance education opportunities for rural, regional and remote Australians.

SPERA developed a unique submission to the Australian Universities Accord featuring a series of rural case studies.

Through these examples, SPERA hope to highlight the very real challenges that students from RRR areas
face in pursuing higher education and the importance of providing targeted support to help them achieve their goals.

SPERA believe that by sharing these stories we can raise awareness about the unique challenges faced by students in RRR communities and inspire policymakers, universities, and other stakeholders to take action to address these challenges.

Read our submission here.

In November 2019 equity practitioners and researchers gather in Wollongong to attend the biennial Equity Practitioners in Higher Education in Australasia (EPHEA) and  National Association of Enabling Educators in Australia (NAEEA). This was a key professional development forum for equity and enabling practitioners in a wide range of fields to highlight best student and staff practices in higher education. Practitioners and researchers specialising in enabling and equity across the higher education sectors in Australia, New Zealand/Pacific and internationally were invited to participate.

The theme for the 2019 conference was ‘Enabling Excellence through Equity’ with workshops and presentations exploring these sub-themes:

• Diverse genders, sexes and sexualities
• Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander, Maori, Pacific Islander, First Nations and First Peoples
• Intersectionality
• Disability, ability, accessibility and mental health
• First-in-Family
• Refugee and culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds (CALD).

The conference focused on these sub-themes through the following streams:

• Pre-Access and Widening Participation
• Access and Enabling: Exploring Teaching, Learning (including TEL) and Co-Curricular experiences
• Employability
• Leadership, organisational development and workplace diversity
• Transition and Engagement
• Collaboration and Partnership: Between staff and students, across the organisation, with community organisations etc.

Read more here

The Australian and International Journal of Rural Education (AIJRE) [Online ISSN 1839-7387; Print ISSN 1036-0026] is an international medium for educators with an interest in the provision of education in rural contexts. The Journal is interdisciplinary and publishes  integrative reviews, scholarly accounts of educational research relevant to rural education, research reports, book reviews and feature articles likely to be of interest to the readership. The focus of the Journal is on addressing issues, challenges, developments and opportunities in rural education globally.