In September 2023, the Australian Academy of Health and Medical Sciences responded to the Australian Universities Accord Interim Report consultation.
The Academy strongly supports the Government’s commitment to reform Australia’s higher education system through an Australian Universities Accord and we welcome the opportunity to provide input in response to the Accord Panel’s Interim Report.
AAHMS broadly supports the vision of the Interim Report and its five immediate priority actions.
We support the Interim Report’s focus on delivering a high-quality and equitable higher education system that can ensure priority populations like First Nations, rural and remote communities, and those from low socioeconomic backgrounds can thrive within the sector. We agree that these are urgent issues and are pleased to see that action is already being taken by the Government to legislate some of the Interim Report recommendations.
We are, however, concerned that the Interim Report does not address some other significant issues – beyond those targeted by the priority actions – in sufficient detail; namely, issues associated with research, innovation and research training, which sit at the heart of Australia’s higher education system.
We acknowledge that it is not the role of the Interim Report to provide a detailed analysis of all the major issues, rather the aim of the report is to provide an initial overview that will then be addressed in more detail in the Final Report. Nevertheless, these endeavours are a fundamental part of the higher education system. Our full statement therefore highlights several crucial areas that must be addressed in the Final Report to ensure it can set out ambitious goals that will positively impact not only on the higher education system, but on Australia’s economy, productivity and wellbeing, for decades to come.
These include:
- Funding for research and innovation
- Translation of research and innovation
- Support for early- and mid- career researchers
- Collaboration for national excellence
- Student involvement and succession planning
Download the full statement below.