ANU council ‘dysfunction’ sparked regulator’s crackdown – report

The Australian National University (ANU) governing council approved a A$250 million savings target on the strength of a hitherto unseen “slide pack” recommending a cut of A$50 million less, a newly published report reveals.

Minutes from the August 2024 meeting “do not indicate that there was any discussion” about how the A$250 million figure was chosen, given that the initial proposal had been for a A$200 million target to address a projected A$202 million deficit, or “how that target would impact the university’s staff, students or overall operations”.

Six weeks later, council members endorsed actions to achieve the cuts – with “little to no discussion” – after being given four days to consider a three-page summary of “activities to date and forward planning”. The council did not request financial sustainability plans, analyses or scenarios to help “shape” its thinking, and appears not to have been “adequately informed” of the role of consultants Nous Group in influencing the savings plan.

The following year, when several members asked for the cuts to be “paused until a more detailed stage-gate review could occur”, the request was not put to a vote.

The findings are articulated in a 56-page report from the Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency (Teqsa), outlining the regulator’s reasons for imposing conditions on the prestigious university’s registration.

The report says “a breakdown in trust and respect” within the council, confirmed in an investigation by former public servant Vivienne Thom, had spawned a culture of intolerance for dissent and debate. Thom had been recruited by ANU to investigate demographer Liz Allen’s allegations of intimidation and bullying within the council.

Teqsa found that council members had been given limited information – and made limited enquiries – about former vice-chancellor Genevieve Bell’s paid role with the Intel Corporation, including “whether an appropriate conflict management plan was in place”. The role was approved by former chancellor Julie Bishop because it was “consistent” with an ANU policy allowing academics to spend up to 52 days a year in paid external work.

The ANU’s risk management policy was “out of date” and its strategic risk register had not been maintained or “actively considered” since October 2022, Teqsa reported.

A review by forensic accountant Stephen Howell found the council had an approach of “moving meetings along, with most items being endorsed”, notwithstanding “major divisions” in the council over how “change processes” should be handled.

“A governing body can have all the policies and procedures in place for good governance,” Howell observed. “But if the behaviours and dynamics in meetings are toxic, the outcomes will be poor council performance, often contaminating organisational performance through poor decision making.”

An investigation by former Australian Public Service commissioner Lynelle Briggs, who was enlisted by Teqsa to assess ANU’s corporate governance, leadership and culture, highlighted a decade-old standing order that ANU council members must not “speak a second time on the same question”. This rule was widely perceived to have “stifled” discussions about the savings programme, Briggs reported.

ANU said it recognised the “seriousness” of the “shortcomings” outlined in the report and had commenced reforms to “strengthen accountability, decision-making, risk management and effective university governance. We are committed to addressing Teqsa’s conditions, demonstrating sustained improvement and restoring confidence of our staff, students and the wider community,” a spokeswoman said.

The National Tertiary Education Union said the report highlighted the need for changes to the ANU Act. The amendments, currently under consideration by education minister Jason Clare, “will be a signal to the sector which we hope will reflect the seriousness and scale of the governance crisis in our universities”, said national assistant secretary Lachlan Clohesy.

The union’s ANU branch president, Inger Mewburn, urged Clare to make “significant, meaningful changes” to the act. “We need to feel confidence our leadership will be held accountable for their future actions and decisions,” Mewburn said. “It will not be enough to tinker around the edges.”

Passages of the Teqsa report have been heavily redacted. The Briggs, Howell and Thoms reports have not been released publicly, and the terms of ANU’s settlement with Allen have been kept confidential.

john.ross@timeshighereducation.com