The new parliament has readopted a Senate investigation into the nature of governance at Australian Universities. The National Tertiary Education Union (NTEU) supported the action, which is generally regarded as an essential first step in addressing what many characterise as a pervasive governance crisis. The upper house’s confirmation of the ruling signals a fresh attempt to examine issues including executive compensation, wage theft and universities’ fundamental leadership structure.
In July 2025, the Albanese government claimed to be working on this issue by formally re-adopting the inquiry into the new committee. Formerly led by Senator Tony Sheldon, it is now overseen by Senator Marielle Smith.
The union has actively criticised the corporatisation of tertiary education. According to Dr. Alison Barnes, NTEU’s National President, the inquiry is ‘absolutely essential in getting to the bottom of what is rotting at the core of university governance in Australia’.
The media release discusses issues like conflicts of interest, wage theft and large salaries given to executives responsible for highly criticised university policies and decision-making.
According to NTEU estimates from 2023, approximately 97,000 university staff members have experienced $159 million in wage theft. For instance, Monash University acknowledged a new $7.6 million scandal, raising its total to $17.6 million since 2016, while Macquarie University acknowledged underpaying 3,191 largely casual employees by about $2 million.
Five vice-chancellors in Victoria received more than $1 million in 2024, according to a May 2025 study published in The Guardian. Duncan Maskell of the University of Melbourne received the highest compensation, $1.5 million, during a year in which the university experienced a $99 million deficit. Professor Pascale Quester of Swinburne University obtained substantial compensation, while other VCs also received seven-figure wages.
The Australian Higher Education Industry Association (AHEIA) published a media release criticising the NTEU’s inquiry: ‘Complexity is the primary risk factor here, not malice.’ This is regarding underpaid casual academic staff.
With news of staff cuts at Western Sydney University, many students have expressed how it could worsen academic life. In a W’SUP News article published in May, student Keira Fairley said: ‘Staff and students should not have to pay the price for the University’s financial mismanagement’.
Ryan Bunney, a former tutor at the University of Western Australia (UWA), in a 2023 article with The Guardian, said ‘The teaching loads are ridiculous … you’re getting paid 20-30% less than you’re working and you take it on your chin’.
On the 12th of August 2025, the Group of Eight (Go8’s) Chief Executive Vicki Thompson, released a statement about the inquiry, stating the Go8 welcomes public interest in good university governance.
She proceeded to say the Senate Education and Employment Legislation Committee must consider how universities are governed. Thompson also stated that Australian universities are not-for-profit entities abiding with legislated outcomes for the national interest. Thompson stated whilst public concern may alleviate some concerns, long-term solutions and reform will follow strong evidence and findings.
The inquiry’s re-adoption allows the Committee to proceed with its work, with progress shown in an interim report.
