UA’s Board and governance

We’re pleased to welcome John Hood (Flinders University), Diane Smith-Gander (University of Western Australia) and Sandra McPhee (Southern Cross University) as our first Chancellor directors, appointed as interim members ahead of Board elections in 2027.

Meet the Board

• Professor Carolyn Evans, Vice Chancellor and President, Griffith University (Chair)
• Mr John Hood, Chancellor, Flinders University (Deputy Chair)
• Professor Renée Leon PSM, Vice Chancellor and President, Charles Sturt University (Deputy Chair)
• Professor Rufus Black, Vice Chancellor and President, University of Tasmania
• Professor Attila Brungs AO, Vice Chancellor and President, UNSW Sydney
• Professor Harlene Hayne CNZM, Vice Chancellor and President, Curtin University
• Ms Sandra McPhee AM, Chancellor, Southern Cross University
• Professor Andrew Parfitt, Vice Chancellor and President, University of Technology Sydney
• Mr Luke Sheehy, Chief Executive Officer, Universities Australia
• Professor Adam Shoemaker, Vice Chancellor and President, Victoria University
• Professor Zlatko Skrbis, Vice Chancellor and President, Australian Catholic University
• Dr Diane Smith-Gander AO, Chancellor, University of Western Australia

Full Board information

Our Constitution and governance

UA’s policy priorities

University funding: To support universities to deliver the higher education and research that Australia needs, the sector needs a new funding system which:

• is fair for students: the Job Ready Graduates (JRG) system must go
• funds universities adequately to do all the things they need to do, and
• supports growth.

Access and participation: Legislation for the Managed Growth Funding System must deliver growth and respect university autonomy.

Regulation: Regulation must remain proportionate and risk-based. It must recognise university autonomy and be clear about universities’ obligations.

International education: Government policy settings need to support Australia’s largest services export. Settings must strengthen integrity without making Australia less attractive to genuine students.

Research and innovation: Government should respond to the recommendations of the Strategic Examination of Research & Development (SERD) with measures that increase funding for research and strengthen research translation.

Research security: The Universities Foreign Interference Taskforce (UFIT) should remain the primary forum for dealing with risks. Duplicating regulatory obligations should be avoided.

Governance: As publicly funded institutions, universities are working to align governance practice more closely with government and community expectations. Governance should not be confused with management.

UA’s advocacy wins: 2026

• Secured a stronger, more independent ATEC – amendments advocated for by UA strengthened the Commission’s independence, resourcing and research focus before the legislation passed Parliament.
• Helped secure expanded paid prac – Commonwealth Prac Payments were extended to students in a further 10 disciplines, following sustained UA advocacy for broader placement support.
• Horizon Europe association secured – after sustained UA advocacy in Australia and Europe, treaty negotiations concluded for Australia to associate with Horizon Europe from 2027.
• Research grant reforms reflected key UA asks – the National Competitive Grants Program review adopted reforms UA had advocated for, including a simpler grants structure, greater focus on early-stage research and stronger support for early-career and Indigenous researchers.
• Held ground on international student numbers – the Government maintained the 2027 National Planning Level at 295,000 rather than reducing it, providing greater certainty after sustained UA engagement on international education.
• Kept Job-ready Graduates reform firmly on the political agenda – through parliamentary engagement, crossbench advocacy, new student cost-of-living evidence and sustained public campaigning for a fairer and more sustainable funding model.
• Influenced the Opening the Doors reforms – secured greater parliamentary scrutiny of the Bill, locked in safeguards around ministerial powers and certainty for providers.
• Put regulatory reform on the national agenda – UA is co-chairing the higher education burden-reduction work and has joined business and industry in calling for a 25 per cent reduction in unnecessary regulation by 2030.
• Delivered the 2026 National Student Safety Survey – successfully moved the project from development to national rollout across Australia’s universities, with more than 1.2 million eligible students invited to participate.
• Helped shape new anti-racism and governance settings – sustained sector engagement fed into the new Threshold Standards and broader government work on racism, antisemitism and social cohesion.
• Strengthened UA’s parliamentary influence – increasingly using established relationships across government, opposition and the crossbench to shape legislation and policy before decisions are finalised, particularly on the ATEC, international education, student funding and migration.
• Built a stronger national coalition around research and productivity – worked with business, science and research peaks following the Strategic Examination of R&D to push implementation and keep research investment, commercialisation and university-industry collaboration central to the productivity debate.
• Elevated the student affordability agenda – used new evidence on living costs, JRG fees and access barriers to strengthen the case for funding reform, broader student concessions and policies that support students not just to enter university, but to stay and succeed.