While there has been much talk surrounding ANU’s $250 million deficit and consequent restructure, many might not realise how significant the cuts truly are. Many students have only begun to realise the effects after enrolling in courses for 2025, as the available courses and tutorial slots dwindle and the number of students per tutorial increases. Woroni spoke to some students about their experiences as details of the cuts emerge.

$250 million of expenditure is planned to be cut by the start of 2026. This will include $100 million in staff salaries and $150 million in non-salary expenditure. To meet this target, the National Tertiary Education Union (NTEU) estimates that  650 jobs will have to be cut.

Late last year, ANU Vice-Chancellor Genevieve Bell allegedly informed senior staff that she would “find you out and hunt you down” if any information regarding the $250 million budget cuts was leaked. In the context of what has been called “a culture of fear”, some have felt a lack of certainty over the extent of  prospective cuts, and how they will truly affect staff and students.

In their Consultation Paper on the Renew ANU Change Principles, released on 6 March this year, the University pointed to ANU having “consistently ranked the lowest in the national benchmark for overall satisfaction and efficiency across all services, including HR, IT, student support, research support, and more.” This has necessitated an “urgent need to make the necessary savings” to improve efficiency and “achieve long-term sustainability.” On top of a pattern of inefficiencies, the paper also attributes, “Continued uncertainty including overseas student enrolments and related visa issues” as having the “potential to further exacerbate the financial challenges.” 

Director of ANU Centre for Social Research and Methods, Professor Matthew Gray, informed staff in an email last month that this year’s budget for casual and sessional staff had been reduced by about two-thirds, from $160,000 to $53,467. 

In an open staff meeting earlier this Semester, the NTEU reported that confidential documents outlining job cuts to one of the University’s key corporate areas had been left out in a lunchroom. The documents show that consultancy firm NOUS is behind the proposal for job cuts. The document suggested cutting the marketing division of 38 full-time equivalent (FTE) employees by 50 percent. 

ANU has announced a voluntary separation scheme (VSS) for three weeks from 25 February 2025, which the NTEU has considered a win in its campaign against the job cuts. Through VSS, eligible staff are able to voluntarily opt into separating from the University. 

This allows staff the opportunity to voluntarily resign and receive payments under their separation package instead of being “tapped on the shoulder” — being made redundant amid $250 million in annual cost cuts, said ACT Branch Secretary Dr Lachlan Clohesy.

Dr Clohesy continued, “Obviously, nobody likes job losses, but it’s much better with voluntary redundancies where those that want to go are able to go and those that want to have a better chance of staying.”

Students share their concerns: 

Woroni spoke to students across ANU regarding any concerns they had about the cuts. 

Florence, a third-year Law and Economics student expressed their concerns with their “very limited elective choices being cut”. Florence continued;

“There were already not a lot of economic choices to fulfil my degree.”

Cyan, a second-year Law and International Relations student voiced his concerns regarding ANU’s quality of education explaining,

“Courses are disappearing, class sizes are growing, and overworked staff are struggling to teach effectively, all while executives protect their inflated salaries.”

He continued,

“Morale is at an all-time low, and it’s clear that instead of investing in students and staff, the university has chosen financial expediency.”

Another student who wished to remain anonymous told Woroni they felt disappointed, saying;

“I feel a bit ripped off …  because of what they offered, then later in my degree, I found it’s not possible.”

Student Campaigns against the cuts 

Students have organised multiple campaigns in opposition to the cuts, with ANUSA hosting a rally against the cuts in Kambri on Thursday 13 March.

Speaking on the campaign approach of the ongoing ‘Save Our Studies, Save Our Staff’ campaign against the University’s cuts, ANU student Beatrice Tucker emphasised the importance of calling on the Federal Government to “bail out the ANU” and prevent “hundreds of staff [cuts].” 

They reiterated that conversation surrounding the cuts must extend beyond the University itself. 

“It’s not just about Vice-Chancellor Bell — it’s about Albanese and the Federal Government. Bell should be demanding [federal funding] but she is not. She is serving the interests of the Federal Government”, they argued. 

Tucker further noted that “ANU has known it has been in deficit for many years” and has “been in trouble for a long time.” They argue that the “initiative to use international student caps as an excuse [is] racist.” 

An ANU contingent of the Socialist Alternative have also alternatively launched the ‘No Cuts’ campaign which acknowledges “that this fight is one of staff and students collectively opposing the university administration.”

“[The] only allies we have are each other: we have to fight university management, not beg for scraps,” argued a spokesperson for the campaign, Ell Lappin.

They emphasised that they “look forward to rallying alongside all those who oppose the cuts.”

Woroni contacted the ANU Students’ Association (ANUSA) for comment but did not receive a response.