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2022-2025
THE PARLIAMENT OF THE COMMONWEALTH OF AUSTRALIA
THE SENATE
TERTIARY EDUCATION LEGISLATION AMENDMENT (THERE FOR
EDUCATION, NOT PROFIT) BILL 2025
EXPLANATORY MEMORANDUM
(Circulated by authority of Senator Lambie)
TERTIARY EDUCATION LEGISLATION AMENDMENT (THERE FOR
EDUCATION, NOT PROFIT) BILL 2025
OUTLINE
The Bill will end the excessive remuneration paid to the Vice-Chancellors of Australian
universities by setting a statutory limit of $430,000 and making arrangements to ensure
compliance with that requirement. The Bill amends the Australian National University Act
1991 (the ANU Act) to implement this measure at the Australian National University. The
Bill amends the the Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency Act 2011 (the TEQSA
Act) to require other Australian public universities to comply with this Vice-Chancellor
remuneration requirement. The Tertiary Education Quality and Stardards Agency (TEQSA)
will be empowered to obtain information from universities relating to the remuneration of
Vice-Chancellors.
NOTES ON CLAUSES
Clause 1: Short Title
1. Clause 1 is a formal provision specifying that the short title of the Bill may be cited
as the Tertiary Education Legislation Amendment (There For Education, Not Profit) Act
2025.
Clause 2: Commencement
2. Clause 2 provides for the commencement of the Bill to be the day after the Act
receives the Royal Assent.
Clause 3 - Schedules
4. Clause 3 provides that the legislation specified in a Schedule to the Bill is amended or
repealed as is set out in the applicable items in the Schedule. Any other item in a Schedule to
the Bill has effect according to its terms.
Schedule 1--Amendments
Part 1 - Australian National University
Australian National University Act 1991
5. Part 1 of the Schedule sets out amendments to the Australian National University Act
1991 which provides the statutory framework for the Australian National University, the one
Australian University that is established by and has its functions, powers and governance
arrangements set out in a Commonwealth Act.
Item 1 - Subsection 34(3)
6. Section 34 of the ANU Act provides that the University Council shall appoint a Vice-
Chancellor who is the Chief Executive Officer of the University. Subsection 34(3) of the Act
provides that, subject to the University's Statutes (made by the Council under Section 50 of
the Act), the Vice-Chancellor "holds office for such period, and on such conditions, as the
Council determines". This item provides that such conditions are also subject to a new
subsection (4) (Item 2 below).
Item 2 - At the end of section 34
7. This item adds at the end of section 34 of the ANU Act four new subsections.
Subsection 34(4) provides that the remuneration of the Vice-Chancellor for each year of the
Vice Chancellor's term of appointment must be less than $430,000, unless the Minister
prescribes an amount for a year that is the first year of the term of appointment. Subsection
34(5) empowers the minister, by legislative instrument to prescribe an amount for a year for
the purposes of paragraph (4)(b).
8. The specified amount of $430,000 remuneration per annum will place future ANU
Vice Chancellors' salaries below that of the Federal Treasurer. This is a reasonable and
proportionate remuneration benchmark that reflects the responsibilities of the ANU's chief
executive within the broader context of the Australian public sector and democratic
governance. The amendments further provide a measure of flexibility in allowing the
Minister responsible for administration of the ANU Act to prescribe a remuneration amount
for the ANU Vice-Chancellor, but this must be by legislative instrument which must be
tabled in both houses of the Australian Parliament and subject to disallowance. As a
consequence, the Minister will be politically accountable to Parliament for any variation from
the $430,000 per annum limit set by subsection 34(5) and Parliament will retain ultimate
authority over the maximum remuneration available to the chief executive of the Australian
National University.
9. The new subsection 34(6) provides that a legislative instrument made under
subsection (5) that prescribes a remuneration amount for a year is of no effect in relation to
that year unless the instrument is made on or before 1 July in the preceding year. This
ensures that any change made by the Minister will be prospective and not retrospective.
10. The new subsection 34(7) provides that if there is an inconsistency between the
Australian National University's statutes and subsection (4), that subsection prevails over the
Statutes to the extent of the inconsistency. As a consequence, any effort by the University
Council to make arrangements for the Vice-Chancellor's remuneration to circumvent the
limit set by subsection (4) will be invalid.
Item 3 - Application
11. This item provides that the amendments made by Part 1 of Schedule 1 apply to a
person who is appointed as Vice-Chancellor of the Australian National University on or after
commencement.
Part 2 - Other Universities
Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency Act 2011
12. Part 2 of the Schedule amends the Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency
Act 2011 to impose a Vice-Chancellor remuneration requirement on the registration of
Australian public universities (other than the Australian National University). Currently the
remuneration of Vice Chancellors is determined within the frameworks established by state
university legislation and the statutes, regulations, policies and council decisions of each
institution. Those remuneration decisions and practices will be subject to a specific TEQSA
Act registration requirement. The Tertiary Education Quality and Stardards Agency
(TEQSA) will be empowered to obtain information from universities relating to the
remuneration of Vice-Chancellors.
Item 4 - Section 5
13. This item inserts into Section 5 (Definitions) of the TEQSA Act the term "Vice-
Chancellor remuneration requirement" which has the meaning given by the new subsection
25B(2) which is dealt with by Item 5 below.
Item 5 - After section 25A
14. This item inserts after section 25A of the TEQSA Act two new sections, 25B and 25C
which relate to Vice-Chancellor remuneration.
15. The TEQSA Act provides the Commonwealth's statutory framework for achieving
national consistency in the regulation of higher education; among other things "to protect and
enhance Australia's reputation for quality higher education and training services." A tertiary
education provider must be registered before it can offer or confer Australian higher
education awards or overseas higher education awards, if those awards relate to courses of
study provided within Australian premises. The Tertiary Education Quality and Standards
Agency (TEQSA) registers providers and accredits courses of study. Division 2 of Part 3 of
the TEQSA Act sets conditions and requirements that must be complied with by registered
tertiary education providers.
16. The new subsection 25B(1) provides that a registered higher education provider must
comply with the Vice-Chancellor remuneration requirement if the provider is a Table A
provider; if there is an office of Vice-Chancellor of the provider; and the provider is not the
Australian National University. Table A providers are Australian public universities listed in
Section 16-15 of the Higher Education Support Act 2003.
17. Consistent with the approach taken in regard to the remuneration of the ANU Vice-
Chancellor, the new subsection 25B(2) defines the Vice-Chancellor remuneration
requirement so that for each year in a person's term of appointment to the office of Vice-
Chancellor, the remuneration of the person for that appointment must be less than $430,000
unless the Minister prescribes an amount for a year that is the first year of the term of
appointment. Subsection 25B(3) requires the Minister to prescribe such an amount by means
of legislative instrument.
18. As is the case with remuneration for the ANU Vice-Chancellor, these amendments
provide a measure of flexibility in allowing the Minister responsible for administration of the
TEQSA Act to prescribe an amount set by legislative instrument which must be tabled in
both houses of the Australian Parliament and can be subject to disallowance. As a
consequence, the Minister will be politically accountable to the Parliament for any variation
from the $430,000 per annum limit set by subsection 25B(3) and Parliament will retain
ultimate authority over the maximum remuneration available to Vice Chancellors leading
educational institutions substantially funded by the Commonwealth.
19. The new subsection 25B(4) provides that a legislative instrument made under
subsection (3) that prescribes an amount for a year is of no effect in relation to that year
unless the instrument is made on or before 1 July in the preceding year. This ensures that any
change made by the Minister will be prospective and not retrospective.
20. The new subsection 25B(5) provides that for the purposes of this section, the office of
Vice-Chancellor of a registered higher education provider includes the office of Chief
Executive Officer (however described) of the provider. This ensures that the amendments
cover any current or future variations in the designation of university Vice Chancellors and
chief executive officers in state legislation and university statutes.
21. The new Section 25C provides that a Table A registered higher education provider
must, if requested by TEQSA, provide TEQSA with information relating to the provider's
compliance with the Vice-Chancellor remuneration requirement specified by subsection
25B(1). This provision is necessary to ensure that TEQSA is able to monitor compliance by
universities whenever required.
Item 6 - At the end of paragraph 98(b)
22. Division 1 of Part 7 of the TEQSA Act inter alia deals with non-compliance by a
registered higher education provider which Section 98 defines to include a breach of a
condition imposed on the provider's registration. Item 6 inserts a reference to the conditions
imposed by section 25B to establish that a breach of the Vice Chancellor remuneration
requirement will constitute a non-compliance that may give rise to administrative sanctions
applied by TEQSA including shortening the period of registration or cancelling registration
(see sections, 100, 101 and 101A).
Item 7 - After paragraph 98(b)
23. This item provides for insertion after paragraph 98(b) of the TEQSA Act of a new
paragraph (ba) that provides that Division 1, Subdivision A relating to sanctions only relates
to a breach of the registration condition imposed by section 25B (Vice Chancellor
remuneration) only constitutes non-compliance if the registered higher education provider has
not remedied the breach within three months of the day the breach first occurred. This
provision allows a grace period within which a provider can take action to remedy a breach
before being potentially subject to TEQSA sanctions.
Item 8 - After section 204A
24. This item inserts after section 204A of the TESQA a new section 204B that states the
intention of the Parliament that if section 25B were found to impose a condition on a
registered higher education provider that exceeds the legislative power of the
Commonwealth, section 25B would not impose that condition on the provider. This
provision recognises constitutional uncertainty relating to the High Court's "implied
immunity of instrumentalities" which may limit Commonwealth intervention in the functions
of the states. It should be noted that the TESQA already imposes extensive regulation of the
functioning and operation of Australian public universities that are established and governed
by state legislation.
Item 9 - Application
25. This item provides that the amendments made by Part 2 of Schedule 1 apply to a
registered higher education provider only if the person who is appointed as Vice-Chancellor
of the provider is appointed on or after commencement.
Statement of Compatibility with Human Rights
Prepared in accordance with Part 3 of the Human Rights (Parliamentary Scrutiny) Act 2011
Tertiary Education Legislation Amendment (There For Education, Not Profit) Bill 2025
This Bill is compatible with the human rights and freedoms recognised or declared in the
international instruments listed in section 3 of the Human Rights (Parliamentary Scrutiny)
Act 2011.
Overview of the Bill
The Bill will set a statutory limit on the remuneration of Vice-Chancellors of Australian
universities. The Bill amends the Australian National University Act 1991 to implement this
measure at the Australian National University. The Bill amends the the Tertiary Education
Quality and Standards Agency Act 2011 (the TEQSA Act) to require other Australian public
universities to comply with this Vice-Chancellor remuneration requirement. The Tertiary
Education Quality and Stardards Agency will be empowered to obtain information from
universities relating to the remuneration of Vice-Chancellors.
Human rights implications
This Bill engages Articles 13 of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural
Rights (ICESCR), which inter alia provides that "Higher education shall be made equally
accessible to all, on the basis of capacity, by every appropriate means, and in particular by the
progressive introduction of free education."
The Bill sets a limit on the remuneration of Australian university Vice-Chancellors who are
the chief executives of publicly funded higher education institutions. It does so in a
transparent way and is not retrospective in its effect.
This Bill is compatible with human rights as it engages positively with the ICESCR by
ensuring the public funds made available to public universities are not wasted on excessive
remuneration for Vice-Chancellors.
The Bill does not raise any other human rights issues.
Conclusion
The Bill is compatible with human rights as it supports the ICESCR right to higher education
and does not engage any other human rights issues.
Senator Lambie