Australia’s universities welcome the Government’s focus on teaching quality, widening access to higher education and reducing unnecessary regulation, while urging careful parliamentary scrutiny of significant new regulatory and enforcement powers.
Responding to the Minister for Education’s address to the AFR Higher Education Summit today, Universities Australia Chief Executive Officer Luke Sheehy said the next phase of higher education reform needed to strengthen quality and accountability without adding unnecessary complexity to an already heavily regulated sector.
“Universities share the Government’s ambition to lift teaching quality and make sure every student gets the education and support they need to succeed,” Mr Sheehy said.
“We support a strong focus on the quality and professionalism of university teaching and will consider Professor Johnson’s recommendations carefully.
“Any new standards need to be evidence-based, workable and developed with the sector. Universities also need sufficient time and support to implement them properly.
“We also support the ATEC’s work to better understand the real cost of teaching and learning. If we are serious about lifting teaching quality, we also need to confront the underfunding of university teaching under the Job-ready Graduates Package.
“Needs-based Funding, additional university places and the expanded Commonwealth Prac Payment are important reforms that will help more Australians get to university and complete their degree.
“We also support the Government’s strong focus on tackling racism.
“Racism has no place on our campuses. Universities are unequivocally committed to preventing and responding to it in all its forms, and to providing safe and inclusive environments for students and staff.
“Strong standards must be backed by appropriate accountability but increasing existing civil penalties from around $40,000 to more than $2 million is a significant escalation in regulatory power and warrants proper scrutiny by Parliament.
“Universities should be held accountable when they fail to meet clear national standards, but new powers must be fair, proportionate and carefully bounded. Universities should expect the same regulatory fairness and due process that applies elsewhere in the economy.
“Parliament should closely examine how these powers will work in practice. That includes the safeguards and review mechanisms that apply, and whether the framework properly distinguishes serious or systemic failures from technical or administrative non-compliance.
“University autonomy matters too. Strong accountability should not unnecessarily extend government or regulatory control over how universities operate.
“The proposed changes to the composition of the ANU Council should be considered carefully. Good governance depends on university councils having the right mix of skills, experience and perspectives to govern complex institutions effectively, while retaining strong connections to the communities and employers they serve.
“The focus should be on whether governance arrangements deliver balanced and effective councils, rather than mandating a particular model of representation.
“Universities are already implementing a substantial program of reform. These changes need to be properly sequenced and supported, with enough time to implement them well.
“Universities cannot continually absorb new and overlapping regulatory requirements without regard to the cost and complexity involved.
“We welcome the Minister’s recognition that the regulatory system itself needs to work better, including his commitment to reducing unnecessary burden on providers.
“Strong accountability, institutional autonomy and effective regulation can and should go hand in hand. We’ll continue to work constructively with the Government and across the Parliament to get these reforms right.”
