September 8, 2025

Inquiry into the quality of governance in Australian higher education providers – Opening Statement, Paul Harris

Thank you for the opportunity to be here today – my name is Paul Harris and I am the Executive Director of the Innovative Research Universities (IRU).

The IRU is a network of seven universities with over 200,000 students enrolled across 57 campuses and locations – 19 in metropolitan areas, 33 in regional areas and five international campuses. Our universities employ approximately 18,000 staff.

Beginning in the late 1960s, our universities were established to broaden access to higher education and to bring the benefits of high-quality education and research to more communities across the country. We welcome the parliament’s focus on the important role of universities in Australian society.

Good governance is critical for ensuring that universities deliver for their students, staff and communities. All of our universities are public institutions (established under State legislation), so public accountability and trust are key given the significant public investment in higher education.

By global standards, the governance of Australia’s universities is strong. Governance standards must evolve as community expectations and the operating environment change. The Expert Council on University Governance currently reporting to Education Ministers is an important opportunity to make sure we have the settings right. And where specific governance issues are identified, IRU member universities will engage constructively with government to address them.

We are in the middle of major reforms to our higher education system, with government making significant changes to the regulatory framework and funding model, as well as to decisions about the allocation of places for both domestic and international students.

Our submissions to the Universities Accord process – and to this inquiry – set out our vision for a more effective governance framework for universities, to support greater focus on equity and allow more room for differentiation and innovation. Universities are operating within an increasingly complex regulatory environment, and these increased reporting requirements are disproportionately impacting smaller institutions.

Our current focus in the IRU is working with the new Australian Tertiary Education Commission (ATEC) on the new approach to mission-based compact agreements with the aim of reducing red tape and letting each university focus on its distinct mission and community. But the proposed transition funding arrangements for 2026 are actually more formulaic and driving more competition. This is combined with the Job-Ready Graduates (JRG) policy that has shifted more of the cost of education onto students while reducing funding to universities for their core mission.

We agree with the Treasurer that over-regulation is acting as a drag on productivity and innovation. With these major higher education reforms underway, we need immediate action to streamline regulation, to make sure it is proportionate and targeted, and to ensure that our governance framework is set up to deliver on the ambitious national goals of the Universities Accord.

Thank you – I would be happy to take your questions.