How we can support you
Student equity at Curtin is supported by the Equity and Inclusion team. You can contact the team for support and advice relating to student equity, student equity strategies and plans, the Curtin Student Equity Network and this toolkit at equityandinclusion@curtin.edu.au.
You can also contact a member of the team for specialised support:
- Leanne Haggart, Manager, Student Equity & Inclusion
Contact Leanne for support and advice relating to student equity strategy, student equity funding and the Student Equity and Inclusion Framework at L.Haggart@curtin.edu.au.
- Veronica Goerke, Senior Advisor (Reconciliation)
Contact Veronica for support and advice relating to reconciliation, anti-racism and our commitment to First Peoples from non-Indigenous perspectives at V.Goerke@curtin.edu.au.
- Meagan Shand, Advisor (Disability & Accessibility)
Contact Meagan for support and advice relating to accessibility and the Curtin Disability Access and Inclusion Plan (DAIP) at Meagan.Shand@curtin.edu.au.
Here are some experts in the student equity, inclusion or outreach space at Curtin, who you can contact for support and advice:
- Cultural Capability team
The Cultural Capability team delivers Indigenous cultural immersion experiences and education, and provides advice on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander matters.
Jayde Conway, Lead, Indigenous Cultural Capability
Contact Jayde and the Cultural Capability team for support and advice relating to cultural immersion experiences and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander matters at iccf@curtin.edu.au.
- Community Development team
The Community Development team delivers a variety of aspiration-raising programs and learning activities, and manages key community partnerships, including:
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- The AHEAD program for school students and community members, which raises awareness of higher education and helps participants to develop the skills they need to pursue a pathway to higher education.
- The prisons outreach program, which connects incarcerated students with access to Curtin courses and tailored support.
- Curtin’s partnerships with Regional University Study Hubs and outreach and engagement with regional partners and students.
Luke Webster, Lead, School and Community Engagement
Contact Luke for support and advice relating to community development programs, activities and outreach at L.Webster@curtin.edu.au.
- Kathy Lawson, Senior Manager, Student Support
Contact Kathy for support and advice relating to student equity, particularly pre-access initiatives; regional, rural and remote matters; and Learning and Teaching at Kathryn.Lawson@curtin.edu.au.
- Precious Magtuto, UX Analyst, Digital User Experience team
Contact Precious for advice or collaboration on using design thinking to enhance the student equity experience or create inclusive digital spaces at Precious.Magtuto@curtin.edu.au.
- AccessAbility team
The AccessAbility team provides support to students who have a disability or health condition, or are carers of someone with a disability. Support includes disability and accessibility services and the management of Curtin Access Plans (CAPs).
Debbie Teh, Manager, AccessAbility
Contact Debbie and the AccessAbility team for support relating to students with disability or health conditions at access.ability@curtin.edu.au.
- Sheldon Smith, Senior Advisor (LGBTIQ+ and Ally)
Contact Sheldon for support and advice relating to LGBTIQ+ and Curtin Ally training at Sheldon.Smith@curtin.edu.au.
- Janet Augustinsen, Multi Faith Officer
Contact Janet for support and advice relating to religious equity at janet.augustinsen@curtin.edu.au.
Join the Curtin Student Equity Network
As part of the network, you can connect with equity practitioners, find out what’s happening in the student equity space and share your projects and events in the Teams channel. You can also attend network workshops and events.
Email the Equity & Inclusion team to joinHow we support equity students
Curtin offers a range of services and initiatives that support equity students:
- The Centre for Aboriginal Studies (CAS) provides safe study spaces, support and outreach to Indigenous students.
- The Indigenous Tutorial Assistance Scheme (ITAS) is an academic tutoring program to help students study and prepare for assignments.
- The Moorditj Yorga Scholarship Program helps improve participation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women by offering scholarships and support.
- The Koorda Network, facilitated by the Faculty of Health Sciences, is a group of allies who support Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students.
- Faculty Indigenous support staff provide one-on-one support for students, and safe common room spaces for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students are available in the faculties of Health Sciences and Business and Law.
- Curtin Access Plans (CAPs) recommend reasonable adjustments to coursework and/or assessments to enable a student with a disability or medical condition to manage their studies. CAPs are managed by the AccessAbility Services team and distributed to academic staff for students in their unit/s.
- Curtin’s AccessAbility Services manage CAPs and the Curtin Specialist Mentoring Program. They also offer general support for students with disability or health conditions, and for people who are carers of someone with disability.
- The Curtin Specialist Mentoring Program (CSMP) is a peer support mentoring program specifically designed for neurodiverse students with an autism spectrum or related condition.
- The Disability Employment and Careers Pathway supports students with disability by providing access to personalised career support, opportunities to network with inclusive employers and guidance on internships, jobs and mentoring programs.
- Curtin’s Multi Faith services and facilities and religious equity support provide support to students of diverse faith and religious backgrounds.
- The Social Support Advisors provide student assistance with financial hardship, housing concerns and general wellbeing.
- The Curtin Library facilitates study skills and support workshops for Curtin students.
- The Curtin Kalgoorlie campus offers campus facilities and support to students in the region.
- The UniReady and UniReady in Schools Enabling Programs are available for non-ATAR students to provide an alternative pathway to university.
Curtin also offers a range of services for all students, including personal support (e.g., career advice, financial advice and health services) and study support (study skills, academic status and study facilities).
Curtin funds some of the services that support equity students through the Higher Education Participation and Partnerships Program (HEPPP). HEPPP is a government program that provides funding to universities to implement strategies that improve access to undergraduate study for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students, students from low SES backgrounds and students from remote and regional areas.
From 2026, HEPPP will be replaced by Needs-based Funding (NBF). This new model is part of the structural reforms to the higher education sector in response to the Universities Accord.
The 2025 HEPPP-funded programs and initiatives were:
| Lifecycle stage | Program/initiative | |
| Pre-access |
AHEAD Program
AHEAD is a university-agnostic aspiration-raising program delivered primarily in secondary schools and with community groups, designed to encourage students under-represented in Higher Education to make informed choices and access tertiary learning pathways. |
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| Rising Scholars Program
Rising Scholars is a university immersion program for high achieving students (year 10-12) to access a selection of first year university units whilst still at high school. The program is designed to identify and support talent in the high school space whilst inspiring students to experience university study in a supported environment. |
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| RUSH Pathway Resources and Engagement Project
This project aimed to address gaps in Curtin access and pathway information for regional audiences. In collaboration with Curtin Kalgoorlie and Regional University Study Hub (RUSH) partners, tailored resources were developed, addressing a variety of topics, and assisting to promote the RUSHs and improve accessibility of information for RRR communities.
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| Access |
Equity Admissions and Scholarships Services
The Equity Admissions and Scholarships Services include a Student Equity Scholarships Advisor, who manages the Equity and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander domestic scholarships, and the Step Up to Curtin scheme, which provides ATAR adjustments for students with educational disadvantages. |
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| Aboriginal Student Placement Program
The Aboriginal Student Placement Program assists Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students to gain paid on-campus employment and connect with industry professionals and potential employers.
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| Student Wellbeing Advisory Service
The Student Wellbeing Advisory Service provides equity and advisory support for all Curtin students, with targeted activities for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students, students from low SES backgrounds and students from regional and remote areas. The service empowers students to identify the resources and support they need for improved participation, progress, and personal wellbeing. Support is provided through individual consultations and crisis intervention strategies customised to their individual needs and personal goals. |
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| Participation |
Prisons Outreach Program
The Curtin Prisons Outreach program promotes and facilitates access to tertiary level education in prisons throughout Australia, providing opportunities for incarcerated learners through enabling pathways, case management and tailored academic support. |
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| Equity Scholarships and Bursary
A suite of equity scholarships and bursaries were awarded to equity students in 2025, aiming to support participation and success by providing financial support, celebrating success, building stronger connections to the University, and encouraging support seeking behaviours.
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| Psychological and Counselling Service
HEPPP funding supports the Psychological and Counselling Service to provide skilled and culturally competent individual counselling and group programs specifically for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students and students from low SES backgrounds at the Perth campus, high-quality online webinars and online resources for students in regional and remote areas, and outreach workshops and sessions to increase awareness of the services available for students. |
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| Student Success Strategy Project
This project aims to investigate the support needed by equity students to enable them to succeed in their studies, as measured by levels of completion. It looks at relevant data to analyse student support services, recognise gaps in services and processes and recommend the delivery of meaningful programs and services and develop impact evaluation methods to allow for continuous improvement.
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| First Year Student Experience Program
The First Year Experience team is responsible for developing and delivering targeted first-year student experience and engagement initiatives and support services to support transition into university and retention into second year. |
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| Indigenous Student Support Officer
The Indigenous Student Support Officer supports Indigenous students at the Centre of Aboriginal Studies, providing tailored assistance to meet individual student needs to enhance their overall experience and success. |
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| Faculty Student Support
Funding was provided to the faculties to support a range of activities and projects, including:
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| University Library Indigenous Learning Program
This program aims to incorporate ways of Indigenous knowing, being and doing into services, collections and spaces. A Indigenous Learning Advisor was engaged in 2025 to improve Library engagement with Indigenous students and staff to better support their needs.
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| Student Engagement Engine Project
The Student Engagement Engine (SEE) creates a data-informed platform that identifies students at risk through data analysis and tracking their access to support available. SEE specifically visualises engagement patterns across different demographic groups and their interactions, including specific data and analysis on student equity cohorts. |
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| From Barriers to Bridges: Using Generative AI to Enhance Inclusive Learning Project
The From Barriers to Bridges program explored how Generative AI (GenAI) can be harnessed to enhance inclusive teaching under the Universal Design for Learning (UDL) framework for equity students. Through a students-as-partners research approach, the project gathered insights to inform the development of the GenAI-UDL Framework, including best-practice guidelines for integrating GenAI into teaching with UDL principles. |
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| Online Engagement for Success Project
This project examines how learning environments, interaction design and assessment formats influence student engagement and academic outcomes, with a focus on equity cohorts. The findings inform evidence-based strategies and inclusive curriculum design approaches aimed at improving engagement, retention and academic success for equity students. |
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| Social Norm Messaging Project
This project was developed through the Belonging by Design initiative to translate faculty survey and focus group findings into practical cultural action. Using a Students-as-Partners approach, student leaders and staff co-designed a set of student and staff-facing posters and short video reflections that highlighted positive, inclusive behaviours already present within the Faculty of Science and Engineering. |
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| Identifying Barriers to WIL Program
This program was designed to investigate and address the structural, financial, geographic and cultural barriers that limit student participation in WIL, particularly for equity cohorts. The program is situated within agribusiness education, a discipline in which WIL is mandatory and where access to suitable industry placements is often constrained by location, cost, time commitments and limited professional networks. |
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| Bridging the Integrity Gap Project
This project addressed an equity-related barrier to participation, retention and success for students from LSES and RRR backgrounds by examining how these students understand and apply academic integrity principles at Curtin. The project investigated knowledge gaps and worked collaboratively with students as partners to co-create inclusive academic integrity resources grounded in student voice. |
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| Science Meets Art – Light on the Inside: Cameraless Photovoice Initiative
Light on the Inside: Cameraless Photovoice is a Science Meets Art initiative that reimagines equitable science learning for incarcerated learners and HEPPP priority cohorts. The program models how science education can be redesigned as relational, place-responsive and shame-free, expanding inclusive STEM engagement across Western Australia. |
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| Curtin Connect Equity Student Services
Curtin Connect’s Equity and Access Support program offers tailored services for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander, LSES, and RRR students at the Perth (Bentley) and Kalgoorlie campuses. |
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| Equity Digital Engagement & UX Analysis Project
The Digital Student Engagement team develops and delivers of a number of lifecycle-driven, targeted initiatives to improve the student experience of Curtin students, with a focus on supporting the access, participation (and engagement) and retention of students who are at risk, specifically students from low SES backgrounds and students from regional and remote areas; and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students.
User Experience Analysis Project aims to improve the digital student experience for equity students by ensuring the redesign of OASIS is user-friendly, personalised, and supportive of these students’ needs and removing barriers to participation.
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| Addressing Critical Education Needs in Regional Australia: Online Unit Transformation Project
This project transformed face-to-face units within the Bachelor of Education (Secondary) Human Biology major into fully online delivery to create essential access points for RRR students facing geographical barriers to higher education. The initiative addresses educational equity while targeting critical teacher shortages in STEM subjects that disproportionately affect RRR schools. |
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| Attainment and transition out |
Career Development Services
Career Development Services offers a range of services and support for students in planning their career, developing and building their skills and experience and applying for work. |
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| Earn While You Learn Program
The Earn While You Learn program provides on-campus employment opportunities at Curtin and opportunities to access work with external companies that fit around classes and study load. |
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Non-lifecycle specific |
Cultural Education and Engagement
Immersive and interactive ICCF experiences to promote truth telling about the colonial history and cultural significance of the areas with Noongar educators on Noongar Country for both staff and students.
The Cultural Capability team staff guest lecture into units on Aboriginal Culture in partnership with academic staff and deliver On-Country Learning for students through the elective unit Exploring Indigenous Australian Knowledges on Noongar Country.
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| HEPPP Engagement Portal
The HEPPP Engagement Portal Project is designed to advance student equity outcomes in higher education by aligning its scope and objectives with the SEHEEF through the development and implementation of a centralised portal.
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| Strategic Management and Evaluation
The Student Equity and Inclusion Team oversees Curtin’s HEPPP received from the Department of Education. This includes managing the approval process for HEPPP projects, monitoring expenditures, reviewing the achievement of program objectives, and ensuring compliance with all reporting requirements. Additionally, the team is responsible for implementing the Student Equity and Higher Education Evaluation Framework (SEHEEF). |
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If you have any questions about HEPPP or NBF, wish to connect with any of the above programs or would like to pitch for student equity funding, you can email the Equity and Inclusion team.
Curtin strategies and plans
Curtin 2030 Strategic Plan
The Curtin 2030 Strategic Plan includes key strategic themes and objectives for the University, many of which include support for equity groups.
View the Strategic Plan
Reconciliation Commitment
Curtin is committed to advancing contemporary reconciliation and contributing to a society that values and respects Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander culture and heritage.
Learn more about reconciliation at Curtin
Disability Access and Inclusion Plan (DAIP)
Curtin's DAIP 2022-2030 is our commitment to providing an accessible and inclusive experience to our community and includes outcomes we work towards and report on annually.
Explore the DAIP
Diversity, Inclusion and Belonging (DIB) Policy
Curtin's DIB Policy supports our position on diversity, inclusion and belonging and provides a framework for embedding DIB practices at Curtin.
View the DIB policy
Disability Inclusion Policy
Our Disability Inclusion Policy governs how we approach supporting staff, students and community with disabilities.
View the Disability Inclusion Policy
Student Equity and Inclusion Framework
The Student Equity and Inclusion Framework supports the improvement of student experience and success outcomes for equity students at Curtin.
View the FrameworkPolicies and legislation in higher education
Here are some key policies and legislation that drive our equity student support:
The Government’s Australian Universities Accord was a two-year review of the Australian higher education system. Its objective was to devise recommendations and performance targets to improve the quality, accessibility, affordability and sustainability of higher education.
The Accord Final Report contains 47 recommendations that aim to create a long-term reform plan for the higher education sector to meet Australia’s future skills needs. Consistent with this, the Government has set a target of increasing tertiary education attainment to 80 percent of working age people by 2050.
The Australian Government’s National Agreement on Closing the Gap was developed to address the inequality experienced by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in Australia.
The National Agreement has 19 targets across various areas, including one addressing participation in higher education, which aims to ‘by 2031, increase the proportion of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people aged 25-34 years who have completed a tertiary qualification (Certificate III and above) to 70 per cent’.
As part of the structural reforms to the higher education sector in response to the Universities Accord recommendations, the Government is introducing Demand-driven Needs-based Funding for equity students. From 2026, this new funding model will replace the Higher Education Participation and Partnerships Program (HEPPP) and give more funding to higher education providers to support Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students, students from low SES backgrounds and students studying at regional campuses. Funding will be demand-driven, meaning it will grow with each additional student entering the higher education system.
The Universities Australia Indigenous Strategy 2022-25 aims to support the advancement of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples at university.
The Strategy includes key focus areas relating to student success, Indigenous advancement, racism and cultural safety and recognising the value of Indigenous knowledges. Curtin is required to set targets and initiatives for these focus areas and report on them annually to Universities Australia.
The Indigenous Student Success Program (ISSP) commenced in 2017 and provides funding to universities to help students take on the demands of and succeed at university. Universities in receipt of the funding can offer scholarships, tutorial assistance, mentoring, safe cultural spaces and other personal support services.
ISSP guidelines require universities to demonstrate that they are undertaking certain actions on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander enrolment, success and employment to be eligible for funding. At Curtin, ISSP funding is received, managed and reported through the Centre for Aboriginal Studies (CAS).
The Disability Standards for Education 2005 (DSE) clarifies the obligations of education providers under the Disability Discrimination Act 1992 in relation to the design and delivery of education and training. In accordance with the Standards, education providers must take reasonable steps to enable students with disability to participate in education on the same basis as students without disability.
The WA Disability Services Act 1993 relates to the provision and regulation of state disability services. Higher education providers are required by a 2004 amendment to the Act to prepare and lodge a Disability Access and Inclusion Plan (DAIP) to the Department of Communities (DoC). Curtin reports to the DoC annually on the progress of our DAIP and a full review of the plan must be undertaken every five years.
The Higher Education Disability Support Program provides a yearly enrolments-based grant to higher education providers to assist with supporting students with disability to access, participate and succeed in higher education. A smaller funding component reimburses providers for equipment and educational support for domestic students with disability with high-cost needs.
As part of the structural reforms to the higher education sector in response to the Universities Accord recommendations, the Government is quadrupling Higher Education Disability Support Program funding from 2025. This aims to help universities deliver more programs and services that empower students with disability to access, participate and succeed in higher education.
Regional University Study Hubs (RUSHs) help students in regional and remote areas access higher education without having to leave their community. They provide student support and study facilities for students who study in the regions.
Curtin has strong partnerships with Regional University Study Hubs (RUSHs) across Western Australia and we receive a small allocation of Commonwealth Supported Places aligned to our engagement with the RUSHs.
Need help?
If you have any questions about student equity or this toolkit, get in touch with us!
Email the Equity & Inclusion team