The roles of the majority of staff in Australian universities are stuck in an outdated system of pay and job descriptions that need a rapid overhaul, workplace expert Liz Baré has told a Future Campus conference.
Speaking at the Future Campus HE People & Performance 2026 conference, Ms Baré, one of Australia’s leading experts on aspects of the HE workforce, said the 10 level structure for professional staff had been established in the 1990s, designed to eliminate barriers to multi skilling.
A relatively small proportion of professional staff worked in supporting students directly, with the largest group serving the organisation, and costed under ‘general overheads’.
Where professional staff work
Source: Liz Baré
The HE or HEW level system was now outdated and needed reform. Unskilled entry level jobs had largely disappeared, technology had changed the nature of roles, complex rules around classifications had been aligned with issues in underpayment of staff and spending on consultants was very high because universities felt they could not get the expertise they required in-house.
Ms Baré said it was time to revisit the 10 level classification structure. Professional staff work was getting more complex and expensive – as demonstrated by the significant growth in roles above level 6 in recent years.
“Despite regular reductions in professional staff, numbers regularly increase,” Ms Baré observed.
Professional Staff by Level, 2002-2025
Source: Liz Baré
“Is the 10 level classification structure fit for purpose? Does it reflect the work that needs to be done or limit how work is done?” she asked.
“We need to explore
- fewer levels with fewer incremental steps
- a separate structure for third space professionals and experts allowing for promotion on the basis of excellence (not work value)
- mandate formal qualification requirements for equivalent of HEW/HEO 5 and above.”
Occupation-specific qualifications, career pathways and a national higher education institute or training program focused on building skills, knowledge and capabilities of staff were all initiatives worthy of further consideration, Ms Baré said.
There were also a raft of opportunities to improve the roles and management of professional staff, including:
- “Cut the complexity so policies, processes, systems and services support us well.
- University works seamlessly to respond to the needs of researchers, teachers and students.
- Change how we currently work and get the basics right.
- Systematically review current policies, processes, systems and services to ensure they meet this aspiration.
- Recognising the increasing speed of digitalisation, we will support, train and invest in the digital capabilities of our staff.
- Use existing data better and fill gaps in information”
“These actions will enable us to respond to as-yet-unknown disruptions and stay vigilant to the fact that students will increasingly have more choice in a digitally enabled world,” she said.
Watch Ms Baré’s speech to the HE People & Performance 2026 Conference. https://youtu.be/I1NJgrs2GT0