Four Resign From Australian National University Council After Chancellor Departure

The Australian National University’s governing council has lost four members who resigned after the chancellor announced her departure on Thursday. According to senior sources who are not authorised to speak on behalf of the university, the four who resigned were appointed members who had supported the former chancellor.

That leaves only two of the seven members appointed by the education minister still on the 15-member council. The council consists of the chancellor, the vice chancellor, seven members appointed by the education minister, and six elected members who represent staff and students.

The former chancellor had chaired the nominations committee, which made suggestions for new members to the minister. One elected member of the council, who did not wish to be identified, said the seven appointed members had remained loyal to both the former chancellor and the former vice chancellor who resigned last year.

The elected member said the appointed council members never wanted to see the former vice chancellor go and backed her until the last minute. The person added that they still do not understand how the ANU community felt last year and the level of frustration it had with the council and the vice chancellor at the time.

Amid the fallout, the university secretary resigned last week. Sources say the general counsel is on extended sick leave. The general counsel had been involved in the university’s response to a series of messages that were leaked to a newspaper. The messages discussed the former vice chancellor’s alleged failures during a period of political, regulatory, and staff and student dissatisfaction with a restructure program called Renew ANU.

A memo written by the general counsel stated that one administrator’s actions could be interpreted as seeking to advance her own position by replacing the vice chancellor. That administrator subsequently became interim vice chancellor.

“Following unprecedented and coordinated interference, the ANU council is no longer able to charge its legal and ethical obligations.”

There has been an outpouring of support for the interim vice chancellor from students, staff, unions, and local politicians since the memo and emails were leaked two weeks ago. The most senior governance figure remaining at the university said he was focused on taking care of the university and its people.

Neither that official nor a university spokeswoman would answer questions about movements in the council and senior staff. The former chancellor said her departure, eight months before her term was due to end, resulted from overreach by the higher education regulator.

The regulator prevented her and appointed council members from having input in her successor. The council resignations came after all members were given access to a highly confidential report examining allegations against three former officials that had been raised during a Senate inquiry last year.

The university has faced ongoing issues since the former vice chancellor announced the Renew ANU program in October 2024. The $250 million cost-cutting initiative included forced redundancies and the loss of up to 650 jobs. The plan was abandoned after the vice chancellor resigned less than two years into her five-year appointment.

Both the higher education regulator and the Australian National Audit Office have expressed concerns that the appointed members of council did not fully understand or scrutinise the plan or the financial information provided to them. The agencies noted that the members did not ask if there were alternatives.