Australian Government Commits To Cutting Red Tape For Universities

Australian Government Commits To Cutting Red Tape For Universities

In December 2013, the Australian government accepted all of the recommendations of the Review of Reporting Requirements for Universities. This report was released in April 2013 as a result of a review of reporting requirements for universities with the intention of reducing red tape in the higher education sector. PhillipsKPA undertook the review commissioned by the LH Martin Institute, at the request of the predecessor to the Department of Education and Universities Australia.

Accepting the report recommendations in full advances the government’s objective of reducing red tape in the higher education sector.

Key areas for reform were identified as:

  • duplication and a lack of coordination of reporting requirements;
  • tendency of reporting requirements to accumulate over time;
  • issues relating to definition and documentation;
  • issues relating to scale and proportionality;
  • frequent changes of reporting requirements and inadequate planning for change; and
  • concerns with universities’ access to useful and timely information.

Key priorities identified by the government in their response to the report include:

  • developing a single higher education research data collection;
  • listing annual reporting requirements to enhance understanding of the scale of reporting and to identify areas of duplication;
  • developing a single equity report;
  • removing duplication of reporting of capital asset management;
  • streamlining or removing Tuition Protection Service default reporting requirements; and
  • streamlining data collections by integrating international and financial reporting into the Higher Education Information Management System.

Implementation of the Review’s recommendations will allow universities to spend more time delivering the best higher education possible, freeing them from unnecessary reporting.

Further information is available on the Australian Government Department of Education website.

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