La Trobe University Regional Campus Funding and Bendigo Enrolment Changes

The Victorian government’s 2026 update to regional higher education allocations directs extra operating funds to the La Trobe University campus at Bendigo, covering expanded places in health and agriculture programs for the 2027 academic year. The measure applies to students living in the Bendigo East and Bendigo West state seats and in nearby shires along the Calder Highway corridor.

Timing with state election discussions

Candidates contesting those seats have held public forums on education access in the past fortnight. Policy analysts point to the timing, noting that the funding announcement follows the release of the mid-year budget review and precedes the formal campaign period that begins in August. Local advocates note that enrolment decisions for next year will be made while residents weigh statements from party spokespeople on further capital works at the campus.

Residents in Epsom and Huntly who currently drive to Melbourne for specialist nursing subjects would instead complete those units at the Bendigo site under the expanded offerings. Families in Heathcote and Castlemaine would face lower fuel and accommodation costs if their children remain at the regional campus rather than relocating. The change also affects part-time students already employed at Bendigo Health, who would gain additional tutorial options scheduled around shift rosters.

The 2025-26 Victorian Budget papers list $18.4 million in base funding for La Trobe’s three regional campuses, with the Bendigo share expected to rise once the new allocation is confirmed in the August supply bill. The Productivity Commission has previously recorded that regional campuses retain 22 per cent more first-year students from within 100 kilometres compared with metropolitan universities.

Implementation timeline ahead

The government says the policy will begin with additional Commonwealth-supported places advertised in October. Tender documents for new laboratory fit-outs at the Edwards Road site are listed for release before December. Community voices at recent Bendigo chamber of commerce meetings have asked for improved bus timetables between the campus and the railway station to match the longer teaching day once enrolments increase.