Submissions to the Implementation consultation paper for the Australian Tertiary Education Commission (ATEC) closed last Friday and there’s a clear message to government that it has not got right its first attempt at establishing ATEC. Universities Australia’s (UA) sums up the sentiment recommending that “[t]he Government [should] release a revised proposal for the ATEC for consultation”.
There is little positive feedback to be found, with submissions overwhelmingly critical of the government’s proposal to house ATEC within the Department of Education, citing concerns about independence, capability and transparency.
UA doesn’t hold back in its submission, telling government that ATEC cannot achieve its mission because it would not be independent, would not have sufficient capability and would not have a clearly defined and achievable work program. It also recommends that ATEC be given “sufficient resources to perform its functions”, a recurring theme in other submissions, indicating the sectors concern that the Government might be attempting to implement ATEC on the cheap.
The Group of Eight (Go8) tells Government that it “must rethink its approach to the ATEC and ensure that independent, transparent, consultative long-term policy advice to government is a core function”. The Go8 also raises concerns about the potential for ATEC to become a “command and control system”, controlling the majority of places at Australian universities (noting that the consultation paper flags that ATEC will manage international student profiles for public universities).
The Innovative Research Universities (IRU) criticises the ability of the proposed model to deliver the independence and capability needed, recommending that government “further develop the model in consultation with the sector”.
The establishment of a ‘single system steward’, an ATEC, was recommended as part of the Australian Universities Accord final report. The Accord report makes clear its intention that ATEC should be an “independent statutory authority answering to the Education and Skills Ministers”, working closely with, but not part of, Australian Government agencies.
International education
Some of the submissions also took the opportunity to raise with Government ongoing concerns about government actions to reduce international students, with Go8 lamenting that the ESOS legislation has been “rushed into Parliament without due consultation” and UA noting that one of the challenges for the sector has come about from “the Government’s poorly implemented visa processing changes”.
The Australian Tertiary Education Commission Implementation consultation paper, including the questions that it poses for consideration, is available here.
