Canberra often promotes itself as the knowledge capital of the country. 

But looming job cuts at the city’s two major universities, proposed reductions to international student numbers, and growing mistrust among some staff, is threatening that title. 

At the Australian National University (ANU), staff have accused management of neglecting their promise to be transparent — and even blocking staff questions and feedback — as they prepare to cut dozens of jobs in the lead-up to Christmas. 

The ANU, which last month announced its plans to cut jobs and spending, is now in the middle of a consultation period with staff.

So far, 137 positions have been identified for proposed redundancies.

Already, some have accused executives of “only paying lip service” to the process.

A learning and teaching manager slated to lose his job accused ANU executives leading online town hall meetings of deleting and ignoring staff questions. 

He did not want to be identified in case it risked his chances of saving his position at the ANU or his future employment.

The ABC has seen a transcript of questions asked by staff during the online meeting where staff ask why their questions had been deleted. 

A spokesperson for the university said it had welcomed feedback and staff contributions to its planned changes, and had so far answered nearly 400 questions over its numerous town hall meetings.

“This has been a transparent, open and consultative change process, involving staff addresses and a series of town halls with each college and each professional area, with a total attendee number of more than 8,400,” they said.

Union estimates job cuts will continue

The National Tertiary Education Union (NTEU) has estimated the ANU could cut more than 630 positions in its effort to slash $100 million from staff salary costs by January 2026.

The university is staring down a $200 million deficit for 2024, on top of $400 million in operating deficits created between 2020 and 2023.

But the ANU has yet to confirm the exact number of job cuts, and its Vice Chancellor Professor Genevieve Bell declined numerous requests for an interview, which some staff members allege only contributes to an environment of anxiety and fear.

He said staff were too scared to challenge the university’s decisions, and have been since a pro-Palestine encampment began on campus earlier this year.

“So I think there is a bit of a culture of distrust that you might be punished, or, you know, gotten rid of, if you are seen to kind of be out of step with the organisation,” he said.

The ANU failed to respond to those detailed allegations prior to the deadline.

University of Canberra also in financial trouble

The ANU is, of course, far from alone in its plight. 

Just across town, similar consultation periods are underway at the University of Canberra (UC) after it announced between 200 and 250 redundancies would form part of its bid to save $50 million by the end of the year.

While staff have commended Vice Chancellor Stephen Parker for being transparent about the cuts, Associate Professor of Communication Caroline Fisher questioned the speed of the changes.

“There’s a sense of shock and certainly a sense of anxiety.”

Professor Parker said those fears were ill-founded.

“This is genuine consultation, so I’m sorry to hear if some people apparently feel intimidated but that’s definitely not the purpose of the exercise,” he said.

“This is about removing positions, it’s not about targeting particular people.”

Dr Fisher’s job has not been marked for redundancy, but she is worried about how cuts to professional staff will affect those who remain. 

“They argue, at a financial level, it’ll make the university sustainable financially — on paper that might well be the case but at a human level, for the staff left behind, it’s actually not sustainable.”

Professor Parker said the cuts were necessary because staff numbers had increased by 400 over the past nine years while student numbers had remained the same.

“I think we budgeted on the basis of growth and that growth didn’t arrive,” Professor Parker said.

Three vice-chancellors in less than a year at UC

Among its suite of election promises, the new ACT government committed to an inquiry into governance at UC and its revolving door of vice chancellors.

Professor Paddy Nixon’s sudden resignation for “personal reasons” in December 2023 saw him replaced by Professor Lucy Johnston, who was meant to act in the role until February 2025 when Labor MP Bill Shorten is due to start.

But her tenure was cut short in September this year when former UC Vice Chancellor Professor Parker was suddenly reinstated after resigning from the role eight years ago.

Professor Nixon was reportedly paid up to $1.8 million upon his departure, but Professor Parker could not confirm that. 

“The sums of money that are reported [about Professor Nixon] are not something that would have a major contribution to our financial difficulties,” he said.

“Whether there’s something systemic there, I just can’t say.

“I think it’s a correction after 15 years of expansion of higher education, that growth phase has come to an end, and we’re moving into a different phase, and we need, frankly, a different funding model for the future.”

2025 will be a ‘very difficult year’, expert forecasts

The dramatic cuts at ANU and UC are just the beginning of a wave of changes across the higher education sector, according to higher education expert Claire Field.

So far, seven universities have announced significant belt-tightening measures which could amount to 1,200 jobs lost across the country.

Ms Field said the underlying issue was that the level of federal funding universities received for domestic undergraduate students had decline by about 5 to 7 per cent. 

The result of that, she explained, was universities enrolling students but with less money to teach them.

Australia’s strong labour market, as well as cost of living pressures, had also led to a drop in new students starting undergraduate degrees, she said. 

“You’re dealing with cost-of-living pressures and worried about large student debts when you graduate, and the banks taking that debt into account when they give out mortgages,” Ms Field explained. 

At UC, that decline was particularly stark — 30 per cent fewer students enrolling in bachelor degrees compared with 2019 figures. 

International student caps to hit ANU

There are some silver linings for UC. 

With fewer international enrolments than the ANU, it’s expected to be shielded from proposed changes to international student caps.

That’s not the case at the ANU, which is bracing for a 14 per cent reduction in the number of international students from next year.

Group of Eight Chief Executive Vicki Thomson said each international student was responsible for a million dollars to the economy. 

“Whether it’s housing, rents, cafes, pubs, clubs … you take that out of the economy, that has a significant impact, particularly for our small business, our tourism sector, because families come and visit, so the knock-on effect is significant,” she said.

The caps, if they pass the Senate, could spell trouble for Canberra, where international education is one of the ACT’s most lucrative exports, worth more than $1 billion a year.

“There’s no doubt that when you start having to cut budgets by magnitudes of hundreds of millions of dollars, that has an impact on any business … but what we want to do is ensure that student experience is absolutely maintained,” Ms Thomson said. 

But Professor Parker has played down the impact of the cuts on Canberra.

Staff with uncertain positions, and uncertain futures, are feeling decidedly less optimistic.