Education Minister Alan Tudge  and Skills Minister Stuart Roberts back the sector with $53m in four votes of confidence

They are expected to announce today;

*5000 additional short-course places for private providers. The Commonwealth funded programme was created by former education minister Dan Tehan to help people retrain out of industries disrupted by the pandemic. Private providers will welcome more places to make up some of their continuing loss of international students

* Exemptions on FEE-HELP loan exemptions to continue until December for 30 000 private HE students. The levy, which only students at private providers pay, was suspended as a COVID-19 recovery measure last year. Providers will welcome the extension as a saving for students which adds to the case for dropping it permanently

* the government also intends to extend the pause on fees owed to the higher education and VET regulators and for registration as providers of courses to international students

* there is also funding for private providers to develop course content for on-line and off-shore delivery