CAPA concerned by Minister's ARC decision

The Council of Australian Postgraduate Associations is wary of the decision of the Minister for Education to abolish the Australian Research Council Board.

"Minister Nelson already has shown his willingness to use his powers under the Australian Research Council Act 2001 and reject peer approved research funding applications.

"Now, the peer review approval process for research funding is in greater jeopardy, because an important element of independent scrutiny has been removed," stated CAPA President Stephen Horton.

While postgraduate students are not direct recipients of ARC funding, the funding that their supervisors receive from ARC Grants supports many of their research projects.

CAPA is concerned that funding applications increasingly will be rejected if they do not meet the Minister's personal research agenda. One of the central tenets of independent expert assessment is at risk, threatening to diminish Australia's broad research profile.

"One by one the Government is attempting to abolish or undermine the protective structures that ensure our higher education system is independent of political influence. This decision is a further step down that path," concluded Mr Horton.