Australian National University faces strict regulatory conditions after TEQSA compliance review

Four conditions have been imposed on the Australian National University (ANU) after a 14-month compliance review by the higher education regulator, sparked by years of governance problems at the institute's highest levels.

The ANU's registration will be contingent on fulfilling a governance and council strengthening program, ensuring university integrity, inducting and training council members, and reviewing information flows to the council.

The Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency (TEQSA) said it imposed the conditions in light of findings that the university had failed to meet three key higher education standards.

Its shortcomings surrounded a failure to exercise competent governance oversight and accountability, attend to governance functions diligently, and demonstrate effective and sustainable operation.

TEQSA also singled out how the ANU's future directions did not have "determined, realistic performance targets", actions taken to "correct underperformance" and effective risk management.

Within 30 days, the ANU will need to appoint a TEQSA-approved independent expert to run a 'Governance and Council Strengthening Program' with the ANU and its council which delivers financial sustainability, academic, risk management and direction-setting plans.

Some conditions will cease after three years, with TEQSA having the option to extend the requirement.

Conditions stem from prior governance failures

TEQSA began intervening at the ANU in June last year in the midst of a $250 million cost-cutting endeavour which sparked staff and student protests and badly tarred the university's reputation.

Former vice-chancellor Genevieve Bell was forced to step down in September last year, followed by former chancellor Julie Bishop in May.

Ms Bishop's departure saw several other council members walk from their roles in solidarity of her claims that TEQSA's "continued and increasingly contemptuous intervention in council matters" constrained her ability to do her job.

But TEQSA's conditions, finalised last week, show the regulator intends to have more oversight of the university than ever.

The National Tertiary Education Union (NTEU) said the conditions imposed were largely due to "governance failures of the Bishop-Bell regime".

"ANU now has the dubious distinction of being the only public university in Australia with conditions on its registration," NTEU ACT division secretary Lachlan Clohesy said.

He said the union welcomed TEQSA's "decisive action".

"There will be those who cry 'regulatory overreach'," Dr Clohesy said.

"Very few of those voices say much at all about the governance failures that have prompted regulatory intervention, and the damage that certain current and former chancellors and vice-chancellors have done to the higher education sector."

The union's ANU branch president Millan Pintos-Lopez said TEQSA's conditions sent a clear message.

"Gone are the days when you could run this institution with little to no oversight," he said.

In a letter to all staff on Monday, the ANU said it was notified the conditions would be formalised this afternoon, and said it was well placed to complete them within agreed timelines.

"These conditions must be complied with to maintain the university's registration," the letter read.

"The conditions are directed at strengthening the university's governance practice across the institution, including at its most senior levels."

In a statement to the ABC, the ANU said it had already begun actioning work on the reforms.

"ANU is committed to best practice governance," an ANU spokesperson said.