From our Chief Executive Officer
Welcome back for another year! If you’re already back on deck, I hope you had a relaxing break, and you’re recharged and ready to go. To those lucky colleagues who have yet to return to work, I hope you’re enjoying a well-deserved, extended rest.
Unfortunately, the break wasn’t without sad news, and my thoughts remain with the family of Professor Emma Johnston and the entire
University of Melbourne
community following her tragic passing last month. Emma was a wonderful colleague and an even better person. I’ll remember her for her enthusiasm and passion for higher education and the compassion she showed to others. I know she will be missed by all of us.
If you haven’t seen it, you can leave a message about Emma in a condolence book on the university’s website, and there is also the opportunity to contribute to a fund that has been established to honour her lifelong love and commitment to marine ecology and to research and the people behind it.
Our hearts also remain with the Jewish community, particularly with the families and loved ones of those killed and injured, in the wake of the Bondi terror attack on 14 December 2025. Yesterday’s Day of Mourning was another opportunity for us to reflect on our collective responsibility as a sector and a nation to do everything in our power to combat the scourge of antisemitism. I know we will continue to discuss this in the weeks and months ahead.
It’s only a few weeks old but 2026 is already shaping up to be another year of significance and consequence for our sector. Looming large is the potential establishment of the
Australian Tertiary Education Commission (ATEC)
.
You might recall Minister
Jason Clare MP
referring to some “spiky” ideas throughout the development of the Australian Universities Accord two years ago. There were, indeed, a few of them but I don’t think any of us could have predicted just how spiky the government’s vision for the ATEC would be. This is, of course, laid bare in the legislation to give permanent effect to the commission and which is, thankfully, the subject of a current Senate inquiry.
I think it’s fair to say that while Australia’s universities broadly welcome the objective of a dedicated national steward to provide long-term policy leadership, strengthen research and skills capability and support economic and social prosperity, the government’s proposed model can’t deliver a fit-for-purpose, independent body capable of fulfilling this role.
The UA submission to the inquiry, lodged this week, makes plain our concerns which, having read some of the other submissions, I think, are shared across the sector and beyond. In essence, we call on the government to return to the drawing board to develop a model for the ATEC that supports genuine independence and houses the expertise needed to shape the longer-term reforms Australia’s tertiary education system needs to thrive – in line with what the Accord recommended.
Thank you to all those who engaged with us on the development of this important piece of work. Your input and ideas, as always, were extremely helpful and I want to encourage all of us to keep talking as we continue our collective advocacy on this over the coming weeks, particularly in the halls of Parliament and ahead of a likely Senate hearing next month.
On the topic of Parliament, it’s been a fascinating week in Canberra, culminating in another Coalition split over differences in positions on the government’s gun reforms and hate speech laws. Despite an initially rocky road, both those bills passed this week as the government succeeded with its legislated response to the devastating Bondi terror attack. The fallout for the Coalition has been spectacular, and we are continuing to monitor developments there around a possible shadow ministerial reshuffle.
Of note to our sector are some of the provisions in the legislation that could potentially impinge on freedom of speech and expression. This is a tricky area to navigate, particularly in the current heightened environment. As UA said in our submission on the legislation, while academic freedom does not extend to the promotion or endorsement of hate speech, universities are required to facilitate rigorous examination of complex, contested and, at times, divisive issues and their legal obligations around free speech and expression need to be upheld. We’ll continue to make this point.
On a final note, we’re now only a month away from UA’s 2026 Solutions Summit. I’m really excited about this! We have a jam-packed week of flagship events that will bring together university leaders, government and industry to tackle the big issues facing Australia, and to position our sector at the centre of the national conversation.
In a new initiative this year, UA will host its inaugural Higher Education in Focus day, featuring sessions led by the higher education sector, for the higher education sector. This will be followed by the Solutions Summit on 25-26 February, where leaders from government, industry and universities will consider how universities can best serve the needs of all Australians. It’s not a week worth missing!
I’ll leave it there for today. I hope you all have a wonderful long weekend!
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