Co-hosted by the ANU and UTS Governance Projects
Friday 5 June 2026 · Australian National University, Yukeembruk Village Hall, Canberra, ACT 2601
Confirmed Participants: University community members (staff, students & alumni) from across Australia, Alicia Payne MP, Senator David Pocock, Senator Mehreen Faruqi, Dr Sarah Kaine MLC, Alison Barnes: NTEU President, Felix Hughes: NUS President, Jack Thrower: The Australia Institute, Andrew Metcalfe Acting Pro-Chancellor of ANU, Michael Schwager: COO of ANU.
Event overview
Australia’s universities are under pressure. Recent parliamentary inquiries, growing public scrutiny, and the establishment of Federal Education Minister Jason Clare’s Expert Panel on University Governance have created a rare opportunity to rethink how our universities are governed.
Initiated and co-hosted by the ANU and UTS Governance Projects, this one-day forum brings together researchers, policymakers, institutional leaders, staff representatives, students, and community advocates to deliberate on implementable reform — including options such as legislative reforms, council redesign, enhanced transparency standards, and stronger accountability mechanisms.
The forum is for academic and professional staff from Australian universities; students and student associations; university executives and managers; parliamentary and ministerial staff; higher education policy researchers; unions; journalists; and organisations with an interest in the future of higher education in Australia.
Program
The forum is structured around four sessions moving from diagnosis to solutions. Morning sessions focus on the current governance landscape and comparative perspectives; afternoon sessions focus on reform options and implementation pathways.
| 10:30am-11:00am | Welcome & The View from Campus UTS and ANU Governance Projects welcome participants, explain the day, and summarise their findings. We do a Tour of the Nation, with short pre-recorded reflections on university governance from participants across Australia. |
| 11:00 – 12:00 | State of the Nation Fishbowl style conversation among university communities, policymakers, and sector stakeholders on the state of university governance nationally and identifying priority actions for reform. |
| 12:00-12:30 | Focused Dialogue with University Leaders ANU Executives and Council members deliberate on the opportunities for change in university governance they see at the moment. Council members from other institutions respond from a sector-wide perspective |
| 12:30-13:15 | Lunch Break |
| 13:15 – 14:45 | What Can We Change? How? In this panel session, we focus on strategy, debating the political opportunities and challenges of pursuing higher education governance reform. Where are the best avenues to push for reform at the national level? |
| 14:45-15:15 | Afternoon Tea |
| 15:30 – 16:30 | Workshop: Concrete Reform Proposals In this session we draw together the day’s discussion and work in small groups to ensure outcomes from the National Forum are considered, well-developed, and implementable. |
| 16:30 – 17:00 | Closing remarks and next steps |
Participation
This is an in-person event, for academic and professional staff from Australian universities; students and student associations; university executives and managers; parliamentary and ministerial staff; higher education policy researchers; unions; journalists, policy researchers, and organisations with an interest in the future of higher education in Australia.
The number of participants will be limited. To express interest to join us in Canberra, please fill out and submit this form: https://forms.gle/HDFWnVVQKMnhM3HL7
We want this event to be accessible to everyone across Australian university communities. This is a community-led event with limited resources but we are investigating options to support livestreaming and also invite you to send a short 10 second video message, which we will host on our websites and may share selected views from the community at the event. If you are unable to attend in-person in Canberra but would like to receive additional information about this event, please register your interest here:
https://forms.gle/d96ei6vBsH1sWW8w9
The closing date for expressions of interest is 29th May.
Questions? Email: anugovernance@gmail.com OR utsgovernanceproject@gmail.com
UTS Governance Project 