Review to reduce red tape for universities

The Australian Government today released a major review examining how red tape can be reduced for universities while also supporting the quality and excellence of Australia’s world-class university system.

The Review of Higher Education Regulation Report was commissioned by the government and carried out by industry experts Professor Kwong Lee Dow AO, former Vice Chancellor of the University of Melbourne, and Professor Valerie Braithwaite of the Regulatory Institutions Network at the ANU. Consultations with the sector occurred between 3 and 21 June 2013.

The report supports the importance of a national regulator in ensuring the quality of Australia’s higher education system and therefore the continuing role of the Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency (TEQSA). It also finds that the burden of higher education regulation on universities can be reduced without compromising quality standards.

Minister for Higher Education Senator Kim Carr said the review’s findings will help shape the regulatory environment for Australian universities.

“The panel advises me that they focused on TEQSA’s structure and approach within the broader context of a complex and intersected Australian regulatory framework. The report supports the continuing role of the national regulator,” he said.

“However, the report also points clearly to an unnecessarily heavy reporting burden imposed on higher education providers by TEQSA in particular, but also my department, and the need to look at short- and longer-term strategies to reduce this.”

Senator Carr said he will “listen and respond to any issues vice-chancellors and others within the higher education sector may raise, while also maintaining government’s expectations that Australian students receive a tertiary education that is second to none”. The report provides an opportunity, he said, “to further improve our systems and the government will formally respond to it following consultations with the sector”.

Senator Carr said that a key component of future strategies will be to ensure that all actions to improve the legislation applied to universities and higher education providers are aligned to streamline legislative requirements and reduce duplication in regulation and associated reporting of unnecessary information and data.

He thanked Professors Dow and Braithwaite for their contribution and the many people and institutions that made submissions and met with the panel.

The report can be found here.