University of Southern Queensland to lay off 150 staff to fix budget black hole

Staff at the University of Southern Queensland have been told at least 150 of their colleagues will be let go as the organisation works to plug a multi-million dollar budget black hole.

Generic photos of University of Southern Queensland campuses. Picture: Supplied

The University of Southern Queensland will lay off 150 people through a combination of pre-retirement payouts and redundancies as it works to return the organisation to a surplus by the end of 2025.

Staff were told of the current tally of job cuts at a meeting last week.

It is understood there may be more job cuts as several departments work through consultation with the university executive.

The job cuts amount to about 10 per cent of the university’s 1400 full-time equivalent staff roster. Professor Andrea Lamond from the National Tertiary Education Union said 29 academics had been let go, with the remaining job losses coming from the professional and support staff.

“More positions need to be let go, that was made clear, but how many beyond that 150 we do not know, staff do not know,” Professor Lamont said

“While the university executive states that it is not deliberately withholding information from staff, the union and our members find that hard to believe given that we have consistently asked what the number is and how we are going to get there.”

The university has been running in a deficit for the past two financial years and burned through about $75m for its cash reserves.

At a staff meeting in November, Acting Vice Chancellor Karen Nelson blamed the budget hole on the decline of international student numbers and cost of living pressures.

Changes at the federal level to how student visas are awarded has resulted in 60,000 fewer international enrolments across the sector.

Those issues are also affecting universities nationwide leading to more than 1000 job cuts at James Cook University, Griffith University, the Australian National University, Macquarie University, University of Wollongong and Canberra University.

Professor Lamont said Professor Nelson told staff at a meeting last week that the executive had a plan to return the university to a surplus in 2025 but when pressed for more detail, she was not forthcoming.

“Our members were staggered by this,” Professor Lamont said.

When asked about the cuts, Professor Nelson said the university would undergo significant transformation to ensure it remained sustainable and positioned for long-term success.

“This process involves working with our people to make difficult but necessary decisions to ensure a sustainable and thriving UniSQ for the future,” she said.

“University leadership is committed to UniSQ’s future success and will continue engaging with staff and students to ensure transparency and support during this challenging period.

“We remain focused on providing world-class education and fostering research excellence while building a stronger foundation for the future.”

Originally published as University of Southern Queensland to lay off 150 staff to fix budget black hole