University autonomy has been eroded, with the Federal Government awarding increased powers over their governing bodies to the higher education regulator.
“Anyone who things that governance has been up to scratch has been living under a rock,” Education Minister Jason Clare said Saturday, releasing recommendations of his Expert Council on University Governance.
The Minister immediately announced that its recommendations will become law, written into the Higher Education Threshold Standards.
In a scathing rebuke of the existing culture of university governing bodies, the Expert Council pointed to common issues in response to its investigations.
“While some individuals and submissions reflected on the need to improve governance and identified areas for improvement at their university or across the sector broadly, the engagements undertaken by the council’s government-appointments revealed a defensiveness towards its work, alongside a strong inclination to conclude that the most egregious governance failings observed did not apply to their university.”
Mr Clare’s experts have accordingly established a long list of mandatory changes and proposed the Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency (TEQSA) be empowered to enforce them.
University councils will be required to report annually on conformance on an “if not, why not basis,” with TEQSA evaluating performance. The Agency will also have new powers and resources to impose an “escalation of consequences” for inadequate responses. There is no recommendation on what these could be, the Expert Council points to the review of TEQSA’s powers now underway, however the Agency already has the authority to cancel or suspend a university’s registration.
Other changes adopted include:
- Requiring universities to adopt and act on all principles set out in the review and annually report performance to TEQSA on an “‘if not, why not' basis”
- Linking Vice-Chancellor pay to public-sector benchmarks
- Requiring council memberships to cover the range of universities’ stakeholders and for Chancellors to consult with their relevant State and Territory Ministers, (as well as ANU consulting Mr Clare)
- More support for staff and student representatives on councils
- Updating State and Territory Acts for each university to cover the new governance principles.
The Expert Council also includes priorities set by Ministers with oversight of university acts of parliament for appointments, to “reflect the diversity of the Australian community, and the specific characteristics of the university community they serve” and governing bodies to have “one or more” staff and student members. This is a rebuff for advocates of councils having majority memberships of staff, student and external appointees with public sector employment but otherwise the Expert Council’s calls for change are a comprehensive indictment of university governing bodies across the country.
It comes after a decade of repeated cases of universities failing to meet their obligations on staff pay and apparent indifference to student safety, especially from sexual violence. The National Tertiary Education Union has also campaigned hard on university governance, with two Senate inquiries underway.
Weekend response ranged from abject surrender to endorsement.
The University Chancellors Council was quick to acknowledge defeat, “we have listened to the finding and the criticisms. We accept that we have not always met public expectations and we have at times fallen short of the communities we exist within, and for.”
UCC convenor John Pollaers (Swinburne U) added, the council would ensure, “that starting from the top, universities are governed with integrity, inclusivity and accountability.”
Universities Australia’s Luke Sheehy, called the new regime “a valuable opportunity to reflect on what’s working well and where we can further strengthen governance culture and practice.” But he acknowledged there is new oversight of his members, “we welcome the opportunity for a nationally consistent approach and will work closely with government and ministers on the next steps.”
Despite not getting all activists wanted, the National Tertiary Education Union was exuberant. “This is a massive vindication for NTEU members who have bravely stood up against poor governance, including toxic cultures on university governing bodies that have fuelled bullying, intimidation and secrecy,” NTEU President Dr Alison Barnes said.
But it was left to Jesse Gardner Russell (Council of Australian Postgraduate Associations), to state what it was all about and mention the now-fraying principle of university autonomy.
“Over the course of 2025, trust in our public universities has been eroded. CAPA acknowledges that Australian universities have grown in scale, complexity, and scope over the preceding decades. Universities are capable of self-governance, yet we must focus on the principle purpose of universities: to educate, to research and to uphold intellectual integrity. This necessitates that university governance incorporates the inefficient task of robust scholarship and debate.”