Information contained in a draft report by the Australian National Audit Office (ANAO) into the ANU’s finances has been leaked to the ABC. The ABC reported that the draft report found that the $250 million cost-cutting program Renew ANU was approved by the ANU Council without any substantive evidence that it was needed, and without considering any alternatives.

Renew ANU would have seen approximately 650 job cuts across the university according to an estimate by the National Tertiary Education Union (NTEU), as well as widespread cuts to courses, an increase in tutorial sizes, and the abolition of the ANU School of Music. Prior to the sacking of former vice chancellor Genevieve Bell and the announcement of an end to involuntary redundancies by interim VC Rebekah Brown, over 200 jobs were made redundant.

Questions were raised about the necessity of Renew ANU after the ANU’s own annual reports revealed the university did not have their claimed deficit of $142.5 million, but that they had a surplus of $90 million instead. By not counting certain key revenue sources, ANU’s so-called ‘financial crisis’ allowed for the implementation of Renew ANU in October of 2024.

Per the ABC’s report, the draft ANAO report reveals that while ANU revenue would not be able to keep up with costs in the long term, there was no immediate crisis – undermining the entire reasoning for Renew ANU and the cuts across the university. The ANU Council was found to have approved these cuts without any evidence that they were needed. There was also no evidence they were urgent, achievable, or have the impact they were intended to have. Alternative options were also not considered by the council.

The NTEU has responded to the draft report, stating that it reinforces the need for a clear-out of the appointed council. Investigations are also currently underway by the Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency (TEQSA) into the ANU’s finances, governance and conduct. Planned changes to TEQSA’s enabling legislation aim to give the agency the power to intervene where universities fail to maintain proper governance.

Recent allegations of disorder in an ANU Council meeting have also reinforced the necessity of these investigations into the university governance. Interim VC Rebekah Brown was reportedly yelled and aggressively pointed at, before being asked to leave.

The ANU Council is made up of 15 members: the Chancellor, Vice-Chancellor, seven members appointed by the Minister for Education, and six members elected by various faculties and student cohorts. Calls for a complete spill of the council continue, with TEQSA maintaining that any appointment of a new Chancellor or VC will not occur until after the release of their independent governance review, which is due within the next month.