Canberra, Nov 6 (IANS): Twelve Australian universities have established a new consortium to help build pathways to higher education for refugees, it was announced on Monday.

Led by Canberra's Australian National University (ANU) , the Australian Refugee Welcome University Sponsorship Consortium (ARWUSC) will offer refugees in the country who were displaced by conflict the opportunity to restart their education, reports Xinhua news agency.

Bronwyn Parry, a leading global health and social medicine researcher from ANU and co-lead of ARWUSC, said in a media release that the formation of the new organisation marks the start of a new chapter in Australia's refugee history.

"Refugees have historically made a very important contribution to modern Australia, building the successful, harmonious multicultural society we have today. They have also made significant inputs to our economy and can play a key role in driving our future prosperity and social wellbeing," she said.

The consortium will represent the 12 participating universities and work with the federal government, businesses and not-for-profit organisations to identify best practice models of refugee education.

The government has committed to increasing Australia's humanitarian refugee intake to 20,000 places in the financial year 2023-24, an increase of 2,125 from 2022-23.

Brian Schmidt, the Vice-Chancellor of ANU, said the consortium would deliver long-term benefits to Australia by offering opportunities to "extremely talented" young people who have had their educational journey disrupted.

"We need to do something to address this, and this team of higher education experts, led by ANU, is leading the charge with the help of the Australian government," he said.