Australia¡¯s academic union has accused university administrators of listening to consultants instead of the evidence, after two more institutions outlined massive job cut plans.

Western Sydney University (WSU) and the University of Technology Sydney (UTS) propose to slash about 400 positions each, saying constraints on their earnings have made it impossible to cover their looming expenses.

UTS, which has been warning of major cuts to meet a A$100 million (?48 million) savings target, is consulting staff on its proposal to cut around 400 jobs. Vice-chancellor Andrew Parfitt said his Covid recovery plan of ¡°managed deficits¡± until 2026 was no longer viable because of reduced funding, ¡°limited near-term revenue growth¡± and ¡°global inflationary pressures on costs¡±.

WSU said it has ¡°no choice¡± but to reduce its workforce by between 300 and 400, starting with the removal of up to 120 vacant positions. Vice-chancellor George Williams blamed international education policies, increased domestic competition and cost-of-living pressures ¨C which had forced many students to drop subjects ¨C for an increase in next year¡¯s predicted deficit from A$7 million to A$79 million.

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¡°Our worsening budget position means [we] will have insufficient revenue to cover our 2026 salary and other costs,¡± he said. ¡°I feel a heavy responsibility in taking these actions.¡±

Large-scale job cuts have already played out elsewhere, with worse in store. The National Tertiary Education Union (NTEU) has arranged Fair Work Commission conciliation of changes that it says could claim 638 jobs at the Australian National University. The University of Canberra has invited expressions of interest in voluntary redundancies, having already jettisoned about 150 staff.

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The universities of Wollongong and Southern Queensland, which recently shed about 100 jobs each, are now consulting on proposals to remove the equivalent of 335 additional full-time positions between them. Griffith and James Cook universities have also proposed scores of redundancies, while other institutions are reducing their casual staff numbers.

The NTEU blames a ¡°pattern of decision-making¡± where ¡°executives sideline staff expertise, isolate decision-making and ignore internal warnings¡±. It said the UTS proposals defied ¡°evidence and logic¡±, but staff requests for ¡°key financial documents¡± had been refused as consultants ¡°with almost no experience in the sector¡± produced ¡°solutions¡± that were ¡°far removed from the realities on the ground¡±.

UTS branch president Sarah Attfield said ¡°failures in consultation and transparency¡± had ¡°hamstrung staff, leaving them increasingly unable to identify and challenge¡± decisions from leaders who were ¡°far removed from the day-to-day functions of the university¡±.

WSU branch president David Burchell said financial and enrolment data did not justify the scale of job cuts proposed at his university. ¡°It¡¯s not a great crisis,¡± he insisted.

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Institutional accounts, so far published only by the public universities in Queensland and Western Australia, suggest that 2024 was a year of robust financial recovery. The 11 institutions notched average surpluses of 9 per cent as their revenue grew 13 per cent and their expenses rose only 6 per cent. Federal funding and student loan income both increased by an average of 10 per cent, while earnings from international students soared 21 per cent.

These income streams, all considerably higher than in pre-pandemic times, drove average revenue up by A$120 million across the 11 institutions. Just one posted a deficit, compared?with six in 2023.

However, these figures were boosted by strong investment earnings and an unusually high indexation rate which added 7.8 per cent to government grants and student contributions. They also predate the impacts of last year¡¯s visa changes which are expected to trigger a sharp decline in international tuition fee revenue from this year.

New South Wales annual reports, which are expected to be published in the coming weeks, could paint a less rosy 2024 financial picture for the state¡¯s public universities. Nine of the 10 finished 2023 in deficit, and Sydney universities rely particularly heavily on international student revenue.

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UTS and WSU were both disadvantaged by proposed international student caps that would have stymied their plans to ramp up overseas enrolments in 2025. While the caps never eventuated, observers say the proposal quashed demand so effectively that most universities have little chance of reaching this year¡¯s mooted quotas.

WSU has also faced increasing competition in its backyard from the universities of Sydney and Wollongong, which recently established operations in the western Sydney hubs of Parramatta and Liverpool.

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UTS, meanwhile, is approaching a 2027 deadline to repay a A$300 million bond it assumed in mid-2017. The debt was only partly discharged from the proceeds of the university¡¯s 2022 sale of its shares in international education giant IDP Education.

john.ross@timeshighereducation.com