To ensure the ATEC is set up to succeed, Universities Australia recommends:
Recommendation
- The Government release a revised proposal for the ATEC for consultation. The Government should also release, and consult on, an exposure draft of any related legislation prior to it being introduced to Parliament.
- The development of the ATEC be phased to give itmaximum chance of succeeding. There should be a plan for how the ATEC’s role might be developed over time to achieve the Accord’s longer term objectives for reform of the tertiary education sector. The ATEC should be given time to acquire and develop additional expertise.
- The ATEC be established as an independent authority, separate from the Department of Education. The Australian Research Council is a useful model.
- The ATEC be given sufficient resources to perform its functions. In the initial stages, its functions should be matched to the resources the Government is prepared to allocate to it.
- The ATEC be able to recruit experts from the sector. The consultation paper over emphasised the need to guard against ‘narrow sectoral views’ of people recently employed in the sector. Employees from the higher education sector are able to carry out new roles professionally. There will be a limited number of experts from outside of the sector who would be available to the ATEC.
- The department initially retain responsibility for ongoing program delivery, compliance monitoring and minor new policy development.
- The ATEC initially concentrate on what will most valuably contribute to the creation of the unified and effective tertiary sector envisaged by the Accord. In the first instance, the ATEC should be asked to advise on:
– the current financial state of the higher education sector and the major threats to viability for the different types of universities
– the implications for current funding (including needs based funding) that arise
from this financial analysis, and
– recommended next steps in the development
of a unified tertiary sector.
