The TEQSA act provides that a commissioner must disclose to other commissioners any interest that he or she might be having outside the commission. This is well stated in section 150 of the act. The act goes further to state that the commissioner must state their said interest as soon as the commissioner learns of the same to other commission. This is to ensure that the commissioner is not present during the discussion of this matter and to endure the commissioners’ interest is not factored in during the decision making. All these should be done and recorded in minutes. Without these being followed, then the decision arrived at by the commission on this matter will be deemed unenforceable. As such is what has happened in this case, as commissioner Barton did not disclose to the commission that he is of inters in the matter.
Instead, he went on to debate the issue in silence leading to a decision on the same matter. One of the commissioner’s contracts is also another basis with which WU can apply for a review of the decision. The contract of the commissioner states that he would be awarded should the university he is currently working for increases students’ admission. This contract can be said to have been signed with the knowledge of the commissioners’ ability to bend the rules in favour of the institution to gain higher student enrollment in order to have his salary increased. This amounts to the use of public office for personal gain, which is illegal.
TEQSA should go back to the drawing board and undertake a fresh financial analysis by themselves with consideration of all factors before making the decision. The commissioners should also be interrogated and their terms of the contract with other employers carefully reviewed to ensure no conflict of interest arises as they go on their duties as commissioners of TEQSA. The fact that Edmund Barton voted in favour of the application of WU is a non-factor as his involvement with another university which is a competitor to WU, signs a contract with him which will ideally jeopardize WU’s chances of being an Australian University.
The minister who nods to the decision of Barton to Serve TEQSA and Isaac University at the same time is baseless. The minister fails to appreciate that for Barton to earn the $100,000 bonus promised by the university. He has to, among other things, eliminate competition to the university. This is one of the major ways he can be able to accomplish the set objective. The pending case on whether WU should be elevated or not still pending by the institution in which he is a commissioner leaves the decision that the commission arrives at in question.
Another reason that could be given by WU in having the decision reviewed would be that since the decision by TEQSA is based on the review and remarks made by Dixon & Co and doesn’t care to have their own analysis. WU has a vantage point as during its creation, the Victorian Act states where WU should be receiving its funding from, in section 3(b), it states:
“This Act appropriates monies from the Consolidated Revenue Fund for the purposes of ensuring the financial viability of the university.” This means that whether commonwealth opts to fund the university or not, the university will still be able to receive its funding from the Consolidated Revenue Fund and as such, speculation over the financial inability of the institution should the commonwealth stop its funding should not be enough reason to stop the university form receiving the title of Australian University. It would therefore be appropriate to seek redress of the decision arrived at by the TEQSA on the basis of financial unavailability in the future. As a matter of fact, statements made by Dixon & Co were in view of the University being stated to the level of Australian University but were not considerate of the continued funding by the Consolidated Revenue Fund, which is provided in the act as the major financier of the University.
The fact that Australian Universities receive 80% of their funding from the commonwealth kitty and may not be able to do the same in the near future should not affect WU’s chances of being an Australian University. As already stated above, WU Receive their funding from a consolidated fund which is much like the other Australian Universities which also receive their funding from outside sources.