A Higher Education
Endowment Fund
Realising Our Potential provides an unprecedented boost to the university sector by establishing a perpetual Higher Education Endowment Fund with an initial investment of $5 billion from the 2006‑07 surplus.
To underpin the reforms to higher education in Realising Our Potential the Government will boost funding to the university sector by establishing a new perpetual Higher Education Endowment Fund (HEEF) with an initial investment of $5 billion from the 2006‑07 surplus.
This will provide an additional guaranteed source of funding for Australia's universities forever. The Government intends to make further capital contributions from future budget surpluses so that, over time, the HEEF will continue to grow and finance the building of first class teaching and research institutions in the Australian higher education sector.
The initial $5 billion investment in the HEEF will earn income which will be distributed annually to individual universities for capital works and research facilities. This will supplement funds that universities have in their own endowment funds.
The HEEF's investments will be managed by the Future Fund Board of Guardians as a separate fund.
Distributions from the HEEF's earnings will be made on a competitive basis to universities annually by the Minister for Education, Science and Training on advice from an expert advisory board.
The HEEF will be structured so that it can receive philanthropic donations from the private sector and, on request, manage individual institutions' endowments. The HEEF will be structured to encourage philanthropic support for universities from individuals and the corporate sector.
The Government's initial investment in the HEEF broadly doubles the financial assets and endowments accumulated by universities (that is, financial assets such as shares and bonds which universities use to supplement their funding).
The HEEF will broadly double the financial investments and endowments available to universities
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