The National Tertiary Education Union has successfully campaigned for the Senate’s Education and Employment Committee to conduct a parliamentary inquiry into University governance. This comes after years of “research and advocacy, lobbying and campaigning” from the NTEU over wage theft, alleged conflicts of interest, claims of mismanagement, and poor financial management.
As universities across Australia have been in the spotlight due to sector-wide job cuts, there have been mounting criticisms over the financial positions of vice-chancellors. Genevive Bell, ANU’s Vice-Chancellor, has dealt with controversies from across the political spectrum due to her recently terminated vice-president position with US-based company, Intel. Reports have differed as to whether or not this position was secret.
Controversy has intensified following ANU’s announced restructuring and financial deficit. Tensions further escalated late last year when the Vice-Chancellor failed to persuade ANU staff to forgo a 2.5 per cent pay raise. The university administration then criticised the NTEU for using “cheap stunts” in its calls for the Vice-Chancellor’s resignation.
The NTEU reported that the existing governance model has allowed “$265 million in wages to be stolen from 150,000 staff” across Australia while vice-chancellors on average receive “more than $1 million each year”.
The prospect of a Parliamentary Inquiry has not been well received by some Australian universities, with Murdoch University Vice-Chancellor, Professor Andrew Deeks, warning against a “witch hunt” style inquiry.
Mid-last year, ANU admitted to underpaying 2,290 casual staff by an estimated $2 million over 11 years. While Vice-Chancellor Bell has apologised for the underpayments, many argue that the root cause is the ongoing shift of staff positions into casual roles.
Dr Lachlan Clohesy, secretary of the NTEU ACT Division, stated last year, “These underpayments were only possible due to the casualised nature of the work,” further describing casual work underpayments as “the underlying disease.”
Submissions can be made to Parliament on the quality of governance at Australian higher education providers until 3 March 2025.
Woroni will continue to report as the inquiry is established.
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