In a town hall meeting yesterday, interim vice chancellor Rebekah Brown has informed staff and students that “because of the budgetary repair we’ve been able to achieve in the aggregate, I’m really pleased to announce that the chancellor has supported that we no longer need any more involuntary redundancies.” 

The 5 areas of the University still in consultation for Renew ANU “change proposals” will no longer have forced redundancies implemented as part of proposed plans. These areas include CASS and COSM. Professor Brown highlighted that this change was due to a higher than expected uptake of voluntary redundancies. 

Despite the lack of redundancies there will still be changes to these departments. Professor Brown stated that “we need to continue with the consolidation of our professional services model, this will involve realignments in our colleges, in our academic portfolio and in the campus environment,”  

Additionally, Professor Brown assured students that “the School of Music was always and will be an important and intrinsic part of our community and it was never proposed to be disestablished.” 

While the future of the school is unclear, Brown stated that “the dean and myself and the dean’s leadership team are in dialogue with Canberra Symphony Orchestra, asking questions about our region, our social licence and the potential for developing a 10-year plan.”

The NTEU has claimed this as a “major victory” with ACT division secretary Lachlan Clohesy stating “It is the collective work of union members which has saved these jobs at the ANU. In doing so, they have stood up not just for their own jobs, but for the university itself.” He highlighted the role of Professor Brown saying she “deserves credit for reading the room accurately on this issue” however reiterated that “more consultation is needed on structural changes, but removing forced redundancies is a significant step forward.”