The University of Canberra is advocating for a merger with the troubled Canberra Institute of Technology and has laid out a timeline in a submission released today.
After a week advocating for the merger in Canberra media, UC Vice-Chancellor Bill Shorten has made a direct pitch to the ACT Government, which is inquiring into the future of CIT.
The merger plans were first floated in a 2006 study and have been revisited a couple of times since – most recently in August when the TAFE’s CEO Margot McNeill quit her post.
In contrast to the WA merger talks, the UC-CIT merger appears all but assured, following a series of leadership and integrity issues at the VET institution and apparent widespread support for the merger within the ACT.
The new submission has similar themes to Professor Shorten’s August merger pitch to the media – insisting that CIT’s identity and role be maintained and that ‘an integrated institutional model’ be established, to unify the two institutions by January 2029. However the proposed organisational chart for the merged institution makes it clear that the CIT would come under UC’s wing – run by the Vice-Chancellor with the VET arm overseen by a Pro Vice-Chancellor CIT.
Key steps in preparation would include:
- Due diligence before a unification announcement in April 2027
- A single Council accountable for outcomes at both institutions
- Joint transitions team established September 2027
- International market launch January 2028 and domestic market launch Sept 2028
Dr McNeill resigned as CIT CEO following an ACT Legislative Assembly enquiry found in May that she had ‘actively misled’ CIT’s board by not disclosing that she was under investigation by TAFE NSW for misconduct.
Dr McNeill was appointed in June 2025, following the resignation of CIT’s previous CEO Leanne Cover in June 2024, after the ACT Integrity Commission found she had engaged in seriously corrupt conduct. CIT banked a loss of $28.3 million last year.
Both CEO’s received severance payments in the hundreds of thousands of dollars after opting to resign.
Mr Shorten will hold a media conference to talk about the submission this morning.