The Lawless Australian Universities: A Case for Draining the Swamps, By James Reed

Australian universities, once bastions of academic excellence, have been corrupted by a profit-driven model that prioritises revenue over education. The evidence is overwhelming: excessive vice-chancellor salaries, corporate dominance of university councils, wage theft, and a reliance on international student fees have eroded pedagogical standards and turned universities into degree factories. The system is rotten to the core, and fundamental reforms are needed to restore integrity.

Dr. Raffaele F. Ciriello, a Senior Lecturer at the University of Sydney, has argued that corporate elites have seized control of Australian universities. A National Tertiary Education Union investigation revealed that up to half of the 545 council positions at 37 universities are held by Big Four accounting firms and industry groups, often outnumbering academic practitioners. This corporate influence has shifted priorities from education to profit. Vice-chancellors, with 16 of 41 earning over $1 million annually—more than the Prime Minister—epitomise this managerial elite. Over 300 vice-chancellors earn more than state premiers, a stark contrast to global norms.

University governance lacks accountability. Law lecturer Andrew Henderson noted that community-run preschools face stricter regulatory scrutiny than multi-million-dollar universities. Labor Senator Tony Sheldon, who launched a federal inquiry into university governance in January 2025, described the sector as "lawless," citing excessive pay, wage theft, and poor student experiences. The absence of robust oversight has allowed vested interests to flourish.

The casualisation of academic staff has led to rampant wage theft, with universities underpaying workers by over $400 million nationally. Meanwhile, international student fees, which account for up to 40% of university revenue, have become an addiction. Australia had the world's highest concentration of international students before the pandemic, and enrolments surpassed one million in 2024. This high-volume model has degraded standards, with academics pressured to pass underperforming students to maintain revenue. Public Universities Australia, representing 200 academics, accused universities of "soft marking" and "dumbing down the entire country" by graduating students regardless of their actual knowledge or skills.

Local students suffer as they are forced to carry international students through group tasks, while cheating is reportedly widespread. In some cases, tutorials at leading universities have been conducted in foreign languages to accommodate international students. Bogus "ghost colleges" operating as migration schemes further highlight the sector's moral decay.

The Australian government and universities have collaborated to transform higher education into a low-quality immigration pipeline. Generous student visa work rights and pathways to permanent residency have incentivised universities to lower admission and teaching standards. The cash influx from international students has been funnelled into research to boost global rankings, rather than improving education for Australians. This model not only undermines academic integrity but also strains public resources, including the private rental market, as universities fail to provide adequate on-campus housing.

To restore quality and integrity, Australian universities must shift from a quantity-driven to a quality-driven model. Proposed reforms include:

• Raising Entry Standards: Implement stringent English-language requirements and mandatory entrance exams to ensure only qualified students are admitted.
• Financial Accountability: Require international students to deposit funds into an escrow account to prove financial independence.
• Work and Residency Restrictions: Limit work hours for international students, decouple study from automatic permanent residency, and reserve graduate visas for top performers.
• Family Restrictions: Allow only postgraduate international students to bring family members.
• Taxation: Impose a levy on international student fees to ensure financial benefits for Australians, given universities' non-profit status.
• Housing Obligations: Mandate universities to provide on-campus housing proportional to international student enrolments to ease pressure on the rental market.

Australian universities have been captured by a profit-hungry elite that prioritises revenue over education. Corporate governance, excessive salaries, wage theft, and an overreliance on international students have degraded academic standards and turned universities into immigration mills. Draining the swamp requires bold reforms to prioritise quality, accountability, and the public good. Only then can Australian higher education reclaim its reputation for excellence. And all of this is a long shot given the level of rottenness.

https://www.macrobusiness.com.au/2025/04/lawless-universities-devalue-australia/

"Earlier this year, Dr Raffaele F. Ciriello, a Senior Lecturer in Business Information Systems at the University of Sydney, claimed corporate elites have hijacked Australian universities.

Dr Ciriello's claims followed a National Tertiary Education Union (NTEU) investigation of 545 council positions at 37 universities, which revealed that members from the Big Four accounting firms and industry groups held up to half of the roles, with some university councils having more finance or mining executives than current academic practitioners.

"Australian public universities are no longer run for education", Dr Ciriello said. "They have been taken over by a managerial elite that prioritises profits over academic integrity. Vice-chancellors earn more than the Prime Minister, with 16 of 41 making over $1 million annually".

"Casualisation has led to rampant wage theft, with universities underpaying staff by over $400 million nationally".

"Universities have become addicted to international student fees, which account for up to 40% of revenue", Dr Ciriello said.

Around the same time, the Guardian's Caitlin Cassidy reported the views of more than a dozen academics who complained that Australian universities have devolved into little more than "degree factories" with "voluntary attendance, online classes, student numbers swelling" and soft marking.

In March 2025, more than 200 'old-school' academics, known as Public Universities Australia, accused universities of "soft marking" and passing poorly performing students, which they claimed is "dumbing down the entire country".

"Universities … tend to pass and graduate most students irrespective of the level of education actually achieved", Public Universities Australia said in a scathing submission to the Senate education committee.

"There are manifestly worsening gaps in graduates' basic knowledge and skills".

"This is nothing less than a dumbing down of the entire country".

Last week, University of Canberra law lecturer Andrew Henderson told a federal inquiry into university governance that community-run preschools faced tougher scrutiny than Australia's public universities.

"It seems remarkable that a group of parents of young children at a small Canberra preschool could be subject to a more detailed [regulatory] regime, backed by criminal offences and provisions making them personally liable, than the council of a multi-million dollar educational institutions with thousands of students", Henderson wrote.

"That seems even more remarkable considering recent events in Australian university council rooms".

Labor Senator Tony Sheldon announced the federal inquiry into governance in January, describing the university industry as "lawless". He cited excessive vice chancellor pay, wage theft, and poor student experience as instances of systemic problems.

The above criticisms of Australia's higher education system are well founded.

Vice-chancellor salaries in Australia are the highest in the world, far exceeding those of other educational professions.

Over 300 Australian university vice-chancellors earn more than state premiers.

The surge in major corporate nominations to university boards and CEO remuneration has coupled with more precarious work, wage theft, and bad governance.

Prior to the pandemic, Australia had the world's highest concentration of international students, dwarfing other advanced nations:

The number of international student enrolments has climbed even more since the pandemic, surpassing one million for the first time in 2024.

Pedagogical standards have been eroded, with academics forbidden from failing international students because it would undercut their high-volume business model.

Local students have been forced to carry internationals through their courses via group tasks, and cheating by international students is common.

The situation became so ludicrous that some tutorials at leading Australian universities were held in other languages.

We should also acknowledge the many bogus 'ghost colleges' set up as migration schemes.

The bottom line is that vested interests have degraded higher education in Australia.

Policymakers collaborated with universities to develop a system that rewards university administrators with enormous salaries for successfully transforming their institutions into low-quality, high-volume immigration mills.

• The Australian government provided generous student visa work rights and the opportunity for permanent residency.
• Australian institutions lowered admission and teaching standards.

The cash windfall from ballooning international student numbers was spent on research aimed at propelling Australian universities up the global rankings, rather than on areas that benefited Australians.

Policymakers aim to recruit a much smaller pool of high-quality (authentic) students, rather than lowering standards to attract more international students of doubtful quality to Australia.

Such an objective could be accomplished by the following types of reforms:

• Significantly raising English-language requirements and requiring prospective students to sit entrance exams before being admitted to study in Australia.
• Significantly rising financial requirements, including the obligation to deposit monies into an escrow account before landing in Australia.
• Limiting the number of hours that overseas students can work and removing the direct link between study, job, and permanent residency.
• Allowing only the best graduates to obtain graduate visas.
• Allowing only postgraduate international students to bring family members.
• Because Australian universities are non-profit corporations that do not pay taxes, place a levy on international students to ensure that Australians benefit financially from the trade.

To alleviate pressure on the private rental market, universities should also be obligated to provide on-campus housing for international students in proportion to the number of enrolled students.

In summary, we must force Australia's education sector to prioritise quality over quantity. It is time to drain the swamp."