The government will fund 20,000 additional university places for students from under-represented backgrounds to address skills shortages in certain industries.
The additional places will be split over two years starting from next year.
Nurses, teachers and childcare workers are among the sectors that will be targeted, Education Minister Jason Clare says.
"What I've required universities to do is to allocate those spots to young people who are under-represented at universities today," the minister told AAP.
"Aussies from poor backgrounds, from the bush, Indigenous backgrounds, disabled Australians. Australians who are the first in their family to go to university.
"I don't want us to be a country where your chances in life depend upon your postcode, your parents or the colour of your skin and that's why I've taken this deliberate action."
More than $485 million has been allocated to the sector over the next four years.
Universities Australia welcomed the announcement, saying the tertiary education sector plays a key role in addressing the nation's skills shortages and shaping a diverse workforce.
"Increasing university places is crucial to keeping pace with the economy's growing demand for skilled people," chief executive Catriona Jackson said.
"More than half of the nearly one million new jobs projected to be created over the next five years will require a university degree.
"Postcodes and socio-economic backgrounds shouldn't be a barrier to education."
Mr Clare will hold further consultations with universities ahead of the jobs and skills summit in September, following an education roundtable last week.
