University of Southern Queensland prepares to lay off staff

A major Queensland university said it is reviewing all areas of its operations and is taking immediate steps to ensure it operates efficiently in response to ongoing financial pressures facing the higher education sector.

Jobs cuts are coming to the University of Southern Queensland. Photo: Kevin Farmer

 

The University of Southern Queensland is preparing to make an unconfirmed number of staff redundant in the coming weeks.

The Chronicle understands the university is eyeing dozens of roles in the student support department.

Individual units within the department will be sent a change proposal next week in the first step towards identifying which roles will go.

It is a move that comes after the university offered 26 staff a pre-retirement payout in recent weeks, on the condition that they voluntarily end their employment.

National Tertiary Union organiser Professor Andrea Lamont-Mills said the union had pushed for more details on the number of roles slated for redundancy, but was yet to receive confirmation.

“Change proposals are difficult and challenging when one is being undertaken, but when there are multiple, and when they come at the same time or flow into each, the NTU would have concerns about the university’s ability to engage in that process,” she said.

“We anticipate in those proposals, there will be a restructure and that there will be positions identified that will be surplus to requirements.

“The university is looking to streamline and reduce its workforce.”

Professor Andrea Lamont-Mills is calling for clarity around the looming job cuts at the University of Southern Queensland.

As of December 2023 the university was reporting a net deficit from continuing operations of $25m, compared to $21.4m in 2022.

Wages were its largest bill, $255m in 2023.

“Many union members and staff are deeply concerned and anxious,” Professor Lamont-Mills said

“Staff have been fearing redundancies for the past six months while management has been talking about its operating deficit.

“The university has been clear, they have ruled voluntary redundancies off the table but while the union does not want to see any job loss, voluntary redundancies are the best way to do it.”

As staff waited to see if their jobs were safe, the university revealed it had underpaid superannuation payments to unconfirmed casual and part-time workers.

The fault was blamed on differing interpretation of clauses in the enterprise agreement or data entry errors but the university declined to release details on how many staff were affected.

It is understood the payments range for $400 to $21,000 for each impacted employee.

When asked about the looming job cuts, a UniSQ spokesman said the university was reviewing all areas of its operations and is taking immediate steps to ensure it operated efficiently in response to ongoing financial pressures facing the higher education sector.

“UniSQ will continue to engage with its staff around anticipated changes. Our focus remains on providing opportunities for our students and delivering impactful research for our communities,” he said.

“UniSQ provided strong support to staff throughout the pandemic and over recent years, but ongoing financial pressures facing the higher education sector have contributed to a decline in revenue.

“As with many other universities across Australia, we face challenges to remain sustainable. “The university will continue to engage with staff around anticipated changes to ensure we maintain our commitment to world-class research, outstanding student experience, and strong engagement with industry and community.”

The content summaries were created with the assistance of AI technology, then edited and approved for publication by an editor.