Published on 2 Nov 2025

Evaluating the Napthine Measures for Regional Education Success

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Allen + Clarke partnered with the Australian Government Department of Education to evaluate the Napthine Measures, initiatives designed to address the significant disparity in tertiary education outcomes between regional, rural and remote students, and their metropolitan counterparts. Through extensive stakeholder consultation and robust data analysis, we delivered targeted recommendations on actions that could be undertaken by the Australian Government to reduce the disparity in tertiary education outcomes, and improve the design and implementation of future measures.

Key Takeaways:

  • Our evaluation engaged more than 50 stakeholders across 22 engagements and reviewed over 60 documents, providing a comprehensive evidence base for future policy decisions.

  • We found that the Napthine measures were widely recognised as an important commitment to improving higher education participation in regional, rural and remote areas. Our practical recommendations directly addressed structural barriers to regional education, providing actionable solutions to reduce the persistent city-country divide.

  • Our evaluation was undertaken in a complex reform environment. At the time of the evaluation, the Australian Universities Accord had commenced a process of higher education reform in Australia. The evaluation explored the relevance of the Accord to the Napthine Measures and identified changes to measures that would likely arise from the reform process. 
The impact of this work extended beyond the immediate evaluation. By providing actionable recommendations for significant government investment across multiple funding areas, our evaluation also provided evidence for the future implementation of the Australian Universities Accord.

The Challenge

In April 2024, the Australian Government Department of Education engaged Allen + Clarke to conduct an independent evaluation of the Napthine Measures. We assessed how effectively these initiatives were addressing the ongoing disparity in tertiary education outcomes between regional, rural and remote students, and metropolitan students.

The evaluation addressed a critical national challenge. The 2019 Napthine Review had revealed that people in regional, rural and remote areas were less than half as likely as their city counterparts to obtain a bachelor's degree by age 35. These students faced additional hurdles in completing secondary education and transitioning to university, resulting in higher attrition rates.

Our work took place within a complex reform environment. With the Australian Universities Accord initiating broader higher education reforms, we needed to assess not only the effectiveness of the Napthine Measures but also their relevance within this evolving policy landscape.

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Our Approach

This complex context required a tailored approach that would deliver robust, evidence-based findings. We designed a rigorous methodology that combined qualitative insights with quantitative analysis:

  • Document review - we examined over 60 policy documents, programme guidelines and previous evaluations to establish a solid foundation for our assessment.

  • Stakeholder consultation - we conducted 22 engagements with more than 50 key stakeholders, including Department staff, government representatives, regional organisations, universities and advocacy bodies.

  • Data analysis - we scrutinised Australian Government tertiary education datasets to identify patterns and measure progress against objectives.

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Our Findings

Our evaluation found that the Napthine Measures had been implemented in accordance with their policy objectives and were widely supported by universities and tertiary education stakeholders. The measures represented a significant commitment to advancing higher education participation and contributed to generating sustainable change across the national higher education system.

Based on our findings, we developed targeted recommendations focused on addressing key challenges in regional education. These included responding to the higher cost of education delivery in regional Australia, improving the timeliness of release of funding and enrolment data, enhancing research infrastructure, fostering multi-sectoral partnerships for effective

Our recommendations will support delivery of more effective approaches to reducing the persistent gap between metropolitan and regional tertiary education outcomes. This work supports:

  • Stronger educational pathways - creating more accessible routes to higher education for students in regional, rural and remote communities.

  • Enhanced workforce development - building skills and capabilities in regional areas.

  • Regional sustainability - contributing to thriving communities through improved access to tertiary education, and the associated social and economic benefits.

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