Victoria has become the latest Australian jurisdiction to launch an inquiry into university governance, saying boards “simply must do better”.
Skills minister Gayle Tierney the Victorian government would establish a parliamentary inquiry into the governance of the state’s universities, “with a focus on elevating staff and student representation”.
She said the probe would examine options “to enhance representation and engagement across the sector, including the role of students and staff in shaping the direction of their institutions”.
The inquiry would also look into governing council “structures” and university accountability. “This will give students, staff, universities and other interested Victorians a chance to have a say about the most appropriate make-up of university councils,” Tierney said.
“It is about giving students and staff a seat at the table at the highest levels of our universities – making sure our world-class institutions are focused on education, not profit.”
New South Wales launched a similar parliamentary inquiry in August. At the federal level, university governance is being scrutinised by the Senate Education and Employment Committee and a government-appointed Expert Council on University Governance.
The expert council has proposed changes to governing bodies among a suite of recommendations published on 20 October. It says education ministers should consult on appointments to ensure that university governing bodies have “the desired and necessary diversity, skills and experience”.
Universities should also appraise the support given to student and staff representatives “and their capacity for consultation” with their stakeholders.
The expert council’s riding instructions, endorsed by federal, state and territory education ministers in early 2024, included ensuring a minimum of “one or more” representatives of both staff and students on university councils, whose composition should “reflect the diversity of the Australian community and the specific characteristics of the university community they serve”.
Tierney said Victoria’s inquiry would “consider how best to implement” the “agreed national position” to ensure representation of students and staff on university councils.
Victoria also “fully supports the national plan to improve governance…including by setting limits on vice-chancellor pay and requiring university councils to publish their decisions”, she said.
The Victorian division of the National Tertiary Education Union (NTEU), which has been for months, said Tierney’s announcement marked a “significant victory”.
“The inquiry provides a vital opportunity to reform a broken governance system that has marginalised staff and student voices and undermined Victorian universities as institutions of education and research,” said the division’s assistant secretary, Joo-Cheong Tham.
“The NTEU will be advocating for increased staff and student representation on university councils and effective mechanisms where staff and students – particularly through their elected representatives – can engage in an open dialogue with university leadership.”
Victorian secretary Sarah Roberts said staff and students “deserve a seat at the table where decisions about their futures are made”.
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