The Hon Julie Bishop MP - Minister for Education, Science and Training, and Minister Assisting the Prime Minister for Women's Issues

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Media Release

Reducing red tape for universities

8 May 2007

BUDB 10/07

The Australian Government will reduce the amount of red tape that binds universities by working with the states and territories to streamline the relevant regulatory and legislative requirements.

To enact this reform, announced in the 2007-08 Budget, the Australian Government will ask the states and territories to refer regulatory powers over their financial management of universities which will avoid duplication and reduce red tape. Specifically, there would be only one layer of financial auditing and associated reporting requirements imposed on universities.

This reform recognises that the Commonwealth is the primary source of the public funding for the higher education sector. As the universities are almost all owned by the states and territories the Australian Government will work with them to implement the reform and to ensure their legitimate needs for financial data are met.

The Minister for Education, Science and Training, the Hon Julie Bishop MP, said the changes would help universities with efficient management practices.

"This initiative will streamline arrangements for auditing and associated reporting requirements for universities, as well as reducing red tape and helping to avoid duplication," Minister Bishop said.

The initiative is part of the Australian Government’s continued commitment to the country’s economic progress, evident in the $1.7 billion additional spending for Higher Education in the 2007-08 Budget package, Realising Our Potential, and the establishment of a new, perpetual Higher Education Endowment Fund with an initial investment of $5 billion funded from the 2006-07 surplus.

Media Contacts

Minister Bishop’s Office: Tory Vidler 0414 228 727

Dept of Education, Science & Training: Virginia Cook 0412 971 323

Non-media queries:
1300 363 079

Supporting Information

Why is this important?

Reducing the regulatory burden faced by universities where this will avoid duplication and reduce red tape will free up university resources. Reducing the regulatory burden for universities was identified in the Report of the Taskforce on Reducing Regulatory Burdens on Business – Rethinking Regulation (the Banks report) as one of the sector-specific reforms that deserve priority.

Who will benefit?

Australian Universities will benefit from a reduced reporting burden. Specifically, there will be only one layer of financial auditing and associated reporting requirements imposed on universities.

What funding is the Government committing to the initiative?

The funding is a $0.9 million allocation over two years.

What have we done in the past?

While the Australian Government provided 97% of the public funds for universities in 2005, regulatory powers over the financial management of universities rest with state and territory governments. Currently these governments impose a long list of reporting requirements on universities, including financial reporting and associated reporting requirements over and above those required by the Commonwealth.

When will the initiative conclude?

The funding to progress the initiative will conclude at the end of the 2008-09 financial year.