FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 2025
18th October 2025 – The Council of Australian Postgraduate Associations (CAPA) welcomes the Expert Council on University Governance recently announced principles for university governance. These principles must be implemented in tandem with improved regulatory powers for TEQSA.
It is critical for the Expert council to embed the diverse perspectives of postgraduate and international student representatives, alongside their undergraduate peers.
Over the course of 2025, trust in our public universities has been eroded. CAPA acknowledges that Australian universities have grown in scale, complexity, and scope over the preceding decades. Universities are capable of self-governance, yet we must focus on the principle purpose of universities: to educate, to research and to uphold intellectual integrity. This necessitates that university governance incorporates the inefficient task of robust scholarship and debate.
“We want our universities to succeed in their mission of teaching and research,” said Jesse Gardner-Russell, CAPA National President.
“Australia has some of the leading higher education institutions in the world; we have world-class facilities, phenomenal academic and professional staff, and, of course, the best student cohorts; we must ensure our university governance is creating regulations, policies and processes which work for the students,” said Gardner-Russell.
Critically, CAPA is disappointed to hear that consultations with stakeholders revealed “scepticism about the contribution of staff and student representatives in all aspects of university governance.”
“We call on universities to proactively and genuinely engage with the Council in identifying scope for improvement in governance practices, and addressing areas of weakness in current arrangements,” said Gardner-Russell.
“University governing bodies need to be less reliant on external members that are disconnected from the institution, and instead have greater representation of the academics, professional staff, and students who have a stake in the institution’s success,” said Mitch Craig, CAPA National Secretary and 2023 Curtin University Council Member.
“Students bring significant value to university governing bodies, as demonstrated by institutions that embrace their contributions. Their presence is not symbolic; rather, they serve as genuine partners in shaping and advancing the mission of education. This represents a step in the right direction and highlights the potential for broader application across Australia,” said Viknash VM, CAPA Board Chair and 2023 UWA Senate Member.
In our submission to the Expert Council, and in our meetings with the Council, CAPA emphasised the value that postgraduate students can play in university governance.
“Postgraduate students are at the nexus of staff, students, and researchers. We are the perfect partners to work alongside academics and the university management to improve our universities,” said Jesse Gardner-Russell, CAPA National President
“[Post]Graduates are not just students: we are researchers, academics and future leaders. Stronger oversight of governance will ensure that the voices of HDR and Coursework students are not only heard, but embedded in the decision-making process across the Higher Education sector,” said Ethan Chou, President of The University of Melbourne Graduate Student Association.
CAPA welcomes the principles supporting student representatives on governing bodies to consult with the student body, and principles supporting timely induction and training to enable members to participate effectively.
“Students want to be connected to the community so that they can embed student needs into the long term vision of our universities,” said Gardner-Russell.”
“Our members across the country have told us about the challenges they face in needing to rapidly develop business, finance and governance skills in a short timeframe, with limited support from the university.”
“Universities exist for the public good; if universities are serious about transparency and accountability, they must empower students to be genuine partners in decision-making,” said Dr Aadhya Babu, President (Coursework) of the Association of Postgraduate Students, The University of Queensland.
Finally, we call on the Expert Council to commit to postgraduate and international student representative organisations to nominate an expert to participate in their ongoing work.
—ENDS—
Jesse Gardner-Russell
National President
Council of Australian Postgraduate Associations Inc.
Level 1, 120 Clarendon St, Southbank, Victoria 3006
President@capa.edu.au
