Earlier this month, the ANU announced an Organisational Change Proposal (OCP) for the College of Arts and Social Sciences (CASS) as part of its plan to save $250 million by 2026 and achieve financial sustainability. 

The proposed changes include plans to merge the School of Music, School of Art and Design, and Centre for Heritage and Museum Studies into The School of Creative and Cultural Practices.

The OCP also proposes to merge the School of Demography, School of Sociology, and the Social Justice Unit into The School of Social Foundations.

ANU also plans to consolidate the Bachelors of Political Science, International Relations, and Public Policy, into a singular new undergraduate degree: the Bachelor of Politics, Policy, and International Relations (BPPIR).

One-on-one instrumental tuition is also to be eliminated from the School of Music in an effort to make the long-embattled music program “financially and academically sustainable”.

The university seeks to save $100 million in staff salaries. For 2025, CASS’s budgeted operational salary costs are $58.6 million, but actual operational salary costs are $68.1 million (indexed to 2026). The proposed changes state an estimated $9.5 million saving in salary costs. 

ANU is proposing to disestablish 52 continuing positions. 25 of these are currently occupied, seven are vacant, and 20 will be disestablished through the Voluntary Separation Scheme. There are also eight continuing positions where the University argues the number of staff exceeds future requirements, as these roles are considered “substantially similar” to positions in the proposed structure. These staff will be assessed through a closed expression of interest process.

In turn, there are six positions proposed to be established “to support revised services, capabilities, or functions in the future structure.” Staff whose positions are disestablished will be given priority for these new roles, with their success based on merit. ANU claims it is considering workload impacts, stating “[t]he proposed future state is designed to attain efficiencies by reducing work and removing duplication.”

In a statement, Vice-Chancellor Genevieve Bell said, “These are hard and difficult, but necessary, conversations, and we have spent a lot of time talking to staff across campus about what the possible future state of their local areas could look like.”

ANUSA Response

ANUSA president Will Burfoot told Woroni he plans to advocate for students’ concerns by collecting feedback from students through a CASS survey and a COSM survey and will use it to write a formal response to the proposal, to be submitted as part of the official feedback process. 

ANUSA also plans to host a town hall for students to “wor[k] through all available means to ensure student voices are not just heard by the University, but acted upon.” Burfoot is optimistic that these acts of advocacy can have a real impact and reiterated that ANUSA is available for HDR students to seek support and encouraged those experiencing issues to reach out to the student assistance team.

The ANUSA CASS representatives also released a statement standing “in solidarity with students and staff alike who feel deeply hurt, betrayed, disappointed — and justifiably angry” and strongly opposing the cuts. They noted that students were not consulted and currently have no formal way to provide feedback to the ANU. 

They also criticised the timing of the staff consultation period, which overlaps with the high-demand end-of-semester period.

The CASS representatives told Woroni they were “disappointed” with the cuts, mirroring the sentiment expressed by students online. They encourage students to attend protests and write to the ANU Executive. Students can also email feedback toorg.change@anu.edu.au or provide their perspective to ANUSA through this form. 

Students and Staff share their concerns

Woroni asked students and staff how they felt about the proposed changes to CASS. Concerns about the future of academia at ANU were a recurring theme among both students and staff, with one person noting that regardless of whether an individual’s role is at risk, morale is at an all-time low.

Second-year Arts student, Ashleigh, told Woroni they were nervous about the future, especially having already experienced issues with parts of their degree being cut. 

They continued, “During the last semester, I noticed a decline in the quality of classes with a transition into more standardised assessments, along with huge tutorial classes.”

Several postgraduate students told Woroni their primary supervisors for research are being declared redundant, leading to a loss of academic mentorship and stability.

Lecturer in German Studies, Maureen Gallagher, said, “It’s devastating on a personal and professional level to face the loss of my job and potentially the end of my academic career….[the changes] add up to a profound loss for the university, a loss of research expertise and knowledge, a loss of teaching capacity, and a loss to our community.” 

A staff member facing redundancy, who wished to remain anonymous, told Woroni, “The damage this has done to the ANU is incalculable — the friendships damaged as we compete for each other’s jobs and the destruction of trust in the ANU as a good employer. This management style is not only needlessly cruel, it is almost impossible to reconstruct any serious rationale for the decisions taken.”

The proposal is open for staff consultation until Thursday 24 July. The proposal’s commencement of implementation is expected to begin the week commencing 25 August 2025. 

A future proposal is expected to address the Academic Portfolio. Students and Staff can keep updated on the timeline here.

Woroni reached out to the NTEU for comment but did not receive a response by the time of publication.

If you are a student and need support please contact one of the support services below:

ANUSA Student Assistance Team

Email: sa.assistance@anu.edu.au Phone: 02 6125 2444, or visit the

ANUSA Office Level 2, Di Riddell Student Centre, Kambri

Student Safety and Wellbeing Team (+ Case Managers)

Email: student.wellbeing@anu.edu.au Phone: 6125 2211, or visit the 

Health and Wellbeing Centre

Level 3, Building 156 Joplin Lane, Kambri (9-4pm Mon-Fri).