FROM CRISIS,
TO CHANGE!
For the last four years we have been relentless in our fight to fix the broken governance model that has allowed at least $311 million in wages to be stolen from 150,000 staff while most vice-chancellors rake in more than $1 million a year.
Here’s a short history of that campaign and our wins along the way.
APRIL 2021
SENATE SELECT COMMITTEE RAISES ALARMS
NTEU members appear at the Senate Select Committee on Job Security and raise the alarm about systemic wage theft being baked into universities business models.
JULY 2022
NTEU MEMBERS TAKE THE FIGHT TO CANBERRA
A delegation of NTEU members including casuals lobby federal ministers and MPs in Canberra to highlight the devastating impact of insecure work.
NOVEMBER 2022
UNIVERSITIES ACCORD
Education Minister Jason Clare announces the Universities Accord which is the first major review of higher education policy since 2008.
The National Tertiary Education Union immediately takes on the challenge of ensuring that any changes stemming from the Universities Accord make higher education sustainable for staff and students.
FEBRUARY 2023
WAGE THEFT REPORT
NTEU releases its first wage theft report generates national headlines, identifying a confirmed $83 million in underpayments across 34 incidents and 19 institutions.
MARCH 2023
BETTER UNIVERSITIES CAMPAIGN KICKS OFF
20,000 members and supporters nationwide engage with our campaign for Better Universities.
We gather 5,000 pledges sent directly to the Accord Review panel.
We make formal submissions to the Universities Accord Review.
Together we lobby MPs, ministers and crossbenches.
On 2 August we host a large online forum about the Universities Accord Interim Report with Dr Jim Stanford (Centre for Future Work).
NOVEMBER 2023
WAGE THEFT REPORT 2.0
NTEU releases its second wage theft report, revealing $158 million stolen across 55 incidents and 32 institutions.
DECEMBER 2023
FINDINGS FROM UNIVERSITIES ACCORD REPORT
The Universities Accord report is out and makes a series of recommendations and findings that are in lock step with NTEU’s asks, including:
Criticising the systemic use of insecure employment in the sector – emphasising NTEU’s call for solutions.
Criticising the failure of VCs to tackle gender-based violence, confirming NTEU’s own findings. In response the federal and state governments have already agreed to an action plan that will force VCs to finally protect staff and students.
Proposing governance reform, including fewer outside appointments to Councils and making universities exemplary employers.
2024-2025
EXPOSING GOVERNANCE FAILURES
The campaign shifts to exposing governance failures and putting the pressure on Parliament to act.
APRIL 2024
We released our landmark report corporatisation of university governance, revealing the heavy influence of consultants on university councils.
JUNE-MAY 2024
We released our third report documenting rampant wage theft (bringing the total uncovered to $384m) and put a magnifying glass to excessive executive pay, many who are paid more than the PM. In June we went to Canberra to demand an inquiry into sector-wide wage theft.
SEPT 2024
We delivered over 6000 signatures to Parliament to demand no job losses from international student caps
DEC 2024
Created by collecting thousands of horror stories from university staff, our Ending Bad Governance for Good report shone a spotlight on injustices, igniting media attention nationwide and putting staff voices at the forefront.
JUNE 2025
After surveying university staff on governance boards, we released the damning report The Bell Curve of University Governance.
JANUARY 2025
SENATE INQUIRY
We win a national senate inquiry into university governance. The Expert Council on University Governance is established to develop new governance principles and recommendations for Australia’s public universities.
We gather hundreds of submissions from members and staff and release an NTEU submission That outlines the urgent need for reform.
Our courageous members front the inquiry and share their stories to the country. You can watch the first hearing here, and second hearing here.
AUGUST 2025
NEW TEQSA POWERS
The government commits to expanding TEQSA’s powers in response to systemic governance failures.
SEPTEMBER 2025
INQUIRY INTO UNIVERSITY GOVERNANCE INTERIM REPORT
The Inquiry into university governance releases its Interim Report, which finds that university governance is plagued by a lack of transparency and accountability. It supports NTEU’s calls for more transparency and enhanced voices for elected members of council, along with more powers for TEQSA.
OCTOBER 2025
CRITICAL REFORMS
The Expert Council on University Governance hands down their report that includes NTEU recommendations and critical reforms including:
Stronger requirements to consult with staff.
The right for staff to raise issues directly with Council sub-committees.
A formal requirement for university governing bodies to consult with our union.
Full transparency on the use of consultants, opening opportunities for the first time to scrutinise spending and push for better priorities.
OCTOBER 2025
GOVERNMENT TACKLES GOVERNANCE
The Education Minister announces the government will be tackling the issues highlighted by the NTEU including by accepting all of the Principles, and in addition forcing universities to bring transparency to their usage of consultancies and reigning in VC pay via the remuneration tribunal.
DECEMBER 2025
INQUIRY INTO UNIVERSITY GOVERNANCE FINAL REPORT
The Inquiry into university governance releases its Final Report – confirming NTEU’s view that Universities have become too corporatised, losing sight of their public good mission and capitulating to the whims of consultants. It recommended that academic boards be empowered to rein in councils and all state acts be reviewed.
APRIL 2026
SENATE SELECT COMMITTEE ON THE TAXATION OF GAS RESOURCES
Australia’s gas is publicly owned. Its profits should generate public benefit. Instead, multinational corporations extract billions in profits while university programs are cut and students drown in debt. A 25% levy on exported LNG, as proposed by the ACTU, would raise up to $17 billion a year. Read our submission that highlights how a small share of that could fund for universities and students.
2026
OUR CAMPAIGN IS GROWING!
This year our campaign moves into its next phase.
We gathered nearly 500 survey responses and launched our class sizes game.
We are calling on the government to repeal Job Ready Graduates program.
We’ve begun to turn the tide on governance, forcing accountability and challenging the corporate model.
Now we must transform how our sector is funded so universities can truly serve students, staff and the public.