This year, UWA lowered its minimum ATAR entry requirement from 75 to 70 for 23 undergraduate courses, including Arts, Business, Science and Nursing.

The move aligns UWA with other WA universities and is intended to address declining first-preference applications and the low ATAR participation rate (27.4 per cent) among school leavers.

Drawing on his own experience overcoming early barriers, UWA Deputy Vice-Chancellor Professor Guy Littlefair explained the university’s decision to lower its minimum ATAR entry requirement, emphasising that ATAR alone is not a reliable predictor of university success and that capable students from diverse backgrounds often face systemic or personal challenges. The change aims to widen access, support inclusion and equity, and align with the Federal Government’s Universities Accord.

UWA will maintain high ATAR standards for flagship courses while expanding preparatory pathways, experience-based entry, and work-integrated learning opportunities.

The university will launch three new bridging courses in Semester 2 to provide alternative entry pathways into university for students who did not follow or succeed in the traditional ATAR Year 12 exam route.

The pathway programs are UWA Catalyst for students who want to make their mark in science and technology; UWA Thrive for the next generation of healthcare professionals and aspiring nurses; and UWA Headway for inquisitive, adaptable and creative students with interests from arts and business to education, music, design, communications and social work. UWA already offers the UWA Aboriginal Orientation Course for Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander students ready to take their next step towards a university degree.

Completing one of the programs will guarantee entry into a related bachelor’s degree at UWA. The tailored programs are designed to improve access to higher education and equip students with field-specific skills and academic foundations.

Regional and suburban study hubs have been established by the Federal Government as a support space for all university students, not just those from UWA. Current locations are Ellenbrook, Rockingham and Mandurah. A study space, academic supervisors, and access to computers have been provided. Students living within 10km of these hubs have been contacted to make them aware of the facilities.

In an opinion piece, Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Education and Student Experience) Professor Guy Littlefair explained how the university is responding to AI.

Noting that AI detection tools are ‘unreliable, inequitable and unsuitable for high-stakes assessment decisions’, he listed some of the measures UWA academics at UWA were using in response to student use of AI:

• Redesigning student assessment, ‘to strengthen validity, authorship assurance and academic integrity’;
• sharing GenAI-resilient assessment exemplars;
• centralising integrity processes and improving reporting to reduce the admin burden on academics;
• extensive use of invigilated exams.

This year a four-year nursing degree was launched at UWA.

The Bachelor of Nursing (Honours) has been accredited by the Australian Nursing and Midwifery Accreditation Council. It is also available to Albany students. UWA’s other allied health courses are in Pharmacy, Podiatric Medicine, Optometry, and Social Work.

There have been several new online courses developed as part of UWA’s College of Schools’ strategic priorities, one of which is a Graduate Certificate in AI which will include a Philosophy unit.

Over a year ago, the Minister for Education charged the House of Representatives Standing Committee on Education to consider ‘how Australia can build Asia capability across the life course, from early learning through to tertiary education and into the workforce.’

Today it is said that fewer people study Indonesian than 50 years ago – twice as many secondary school students take German and five times as many French.

Not so at UWA. Our Language Hub offers training in Asian (Chinese, Indonesian, Japanese and Korean) and European (French, German, Italian and Spanish) languages. Students learn to translate not just words but ideas, and benefit from global opportunities, such as short-term study tours and long-term exchange programs, with the flexibility of Access UWA, for alumni seeking to pursue individual units without enrolling in a full degree.

As part of its vision to expand the University’s reach and become the eminent academic leader across the Indian Ocean Rim, development of the new Mumbai and Chennai campuses is proceeding apace.

Local staff are being appointed and courses in computer science, business management, artificial intelligence, global business, enterprise and innovation, and economics now being advertised for prospective students in India.

The first students will commence in September 2026.