More indigenous students and those from poorer families are heading to university, with the government saying new data shows its policies are working.
Labor wants to boost the participation rates for university students from low socio-economic status (SES) background to 20 per cent by 2020.
It's also working to encourage more young indigenous people to take up higher education.
New government data released on Monday shows a nine per cent jump from 2011 to 2012 in the number of low SES students starting tertiary studies.
It also shows a seven per cent increase in the number of new indigenous students.
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At the same time, total new student numbers grew by four per cent.
There were more than 1.2 million students enrolled at university in 2012, more than 500,000 of them new commencements.
Higher Education minister Kim Carr said the figures were very encouraging.
"We are determined to give every Australian the opportunity to go to university and we are proud of the increasing openness of our universities to students from all walks of life," he said in a statement.
Universities Australia has released a study showing two-thirds of university students suffered financial stress and that students were getting deeper into debt.
It found indigenous and low SES students fared worst, although government assistance like Youth Allowance did seem to be reaching those who needed it the most.
