At the Crossroads: - What is the post-COVID future of Australia’s Public Universities?

Systematic underfunding of universities has exacerbated the insecure employment crisis in the sector, with widespread implications for the well-being of university workers, the quality of education and research, and the sustainability of the university system. [...] The following section analyses the revenue, expenditure, and surplus of 39 Australian public universities in 2020, to describe the current financial At the Crossroads 8 context for universities and establish the impact of the pandemic. [...] At the Crossroads 16 Thousand Employed MORE CASUALISATION It is not just the reduced quantity of work in universities that is the problem; the deteriorating quality of work is also a major concern for both workers in the sector, and the quality of education they can deliver. [...] • The ARC will increase the use of the National Interest Test (NIT) in determining funding recommendations, including the involvement of industry representatives and other end-users in the assessment of NIT statements. [...] There are numerous examples of discovery in which the ultimate value of the research was not known at the time of discovery, or the discovery of vital knowledge comes about in the pursuit of other research exploration.