Australian Research Council reforms pass parliament

The bill to reform the Australian Research Council (ARC) has passed parliament, ending the agency’s days as a “political plaything”.

The legislation implements recommendations from a review by Queensland University of Technology (QUT) vice-chancellor Margaret Sheil, a former ARC chief executive. Professor Sheil’s review was prompted by the outrage sparked by four Liberal Party ministers’ vetoing of 32 ARC-endorsed grants, mostly funding humanities research, over almost two decades.

Jason Clare, the incumbent education minister, said the political interference and delays that had “bedevilled” the ARC had “made it harder for universities to recruit and retain staff, and…damaged our international reputation. That’s not good for our universities [or] businesses…who work with our universities.”

He said: “I promised to end the days of ministers using the ARC as a political plaything, and today, that’s what we’re doing.”

Under the new arrangements, final approval of most research grants will rest with an independent board rather than the minister of the day. The minister will have responsibility for approving the funding guidelines, which will be subject to parliamentary scrutiny.

The minister will also retain the power to approve grants of “nationally significant” scale, and to direct the board to quash grants that arouse national security concerns. But parliament will need to be notified in such cases.

The legislation’s passage was all but assured after the government backed amendments sponsored by Greens and independent senators, in a series of votes on 18 March. While two other Greens amendments were rejected on 21 March, the Senate nevertheless approved the bill and the House of Representatives accepted the Senate’s changes.

Universities Australia said the reforms would put “strong governance, robust peer review and genuine transparency back at the centre of the ARC”.

“These important measures will ensure our research system is working in the national interest and empowering researchers to continue preparing Australia for the future,” said chief executive Luke Sheehy.

The Liberal-led opposition has criticised the reforms, saying elected representatives have the common sense needed to evaluate research proposals and the responsibility to oversee research spending. Liberal senators ridiculed some of the 32 research projects that had been denied funding, during a prickly debate on 18 March.

Former QUT dean and Griffith University deputy vice-chancellor Martin Betts said the legislation did not address the “root of the problem” – the obligation on universities to conduct “world-class” research to meet their provider standards.

“We should celebrate universities that are able to focus on different aspects of [their] missions, like teaching and learning,” said Professor Betts, chief executive of advisory firm HEDx.

He said the two-step research funding application process recommended by the review would do little to improve a system that lacked the resources to fund more than one in five applicants. “We’re just leaving people equally disappointed earlier in the process.”

john.ross@timeshighereducation.com