A damning new report has uncovered a shocking governance crisis in Australian universities, with 306 senior executives now earning more than their state premiers.
The National Tertiary Education Union’s Ending Bad Governance – For Good report includes new analysis of executive pay which has almost no relationship between university staff or student numbers, international ranking, financial performance and the respective Vice Chancellor salaries.
The average Vice Chancellor salary was $1.048m in 2023.
The average university now has six executives paid more than the local state premier, led by Monash University with a whopping 16 executives taking in more than Victorian Premier Jacinta Allan.
The report also found:
- Universities spent $734 million in 2023 on “consulting” and professional advice or services
- Insecure employment is out of control in higher education, with 68 percent of all workers in the sector employed using casual or fixed-term contracts
- Total wage theft is now $226m in confirmed underpayments and $168m in pending provisions with 142,000 workers affected across over 30 major institutions
- Egregious conflicts of interest, which would not be allowed in the public sector are rife in universities
- Universities have a pattern of poor workforce planning and retrenching indispensable staff: the 11 universities that have proposed at least 2291 job losses in late 2024 previously retrenched almost 4800 staff in 2020 and 2021, only to add back 3600 staff by 2023 before then announcing another round of job losses in 2024
- Bad governance is generating unhealthy workplaces and leading to low workplace morale
The NTEU is calling for an urgent federal parliamentary inquiry into university governance and workforce planning.
“This report reveals in shocking detail the deep governance crisis that is threatening our universities,” NTEU National President Dr Alison Barnes said.
“There are more than 300 senior university executives getting paid more than their state premier. The average vice-chancellor gets paid almost double what the Prime Minister takes home.
“University councils stacked with corporate appointees have failed to justify these salaries, undermining the credibility of our institutions.
“Vice-chancellors getting paid double the prime ministers are blowing $734 million on consultants while cutting jobs, stealing $400 million from staff and presiding over serious potential conflicts of interest.
“There’s not a single public institution we would tolerate this conduct in and universities should be no exception.
“It’s important to remember this research has been built on the testimonies of hundreds of higher education staff who are dealing with the real-world ramification of this crisis up close, every single day.
“NTEU members have provided overwhelming evidence of a university governance crisis that has spiralled out of control.
“Workers have been sounding the alarm on these major issues for the better part of a decade and yet we have seen no genuine or effective response from federal or state governments.
“Australia urgently needs a federal parliamentary inquiry into university governance and workforce planning.”
