Full list of Australian universities hit by $2b loss

“Aggressive cost reductions’’ are revealed in a new report on university finances during the pandemic. See list of hardest-hit universities.

Savage cost-cutting and sackings at universities are exposed in a new government report revealing eye-watering financial losses at 16 unis throughout the pandemic.

The Australian National University suffered the biggest dollar loss, bleeding $320 million in 2020 to record a $17.6 million loss in 2020.

The ANU’s vice-chancellor, Nobel prize winning astrophysicist Professor Brian Schmidt, took an $89,423 pay cut, lowering his total remuneration to $559,973.

Despite senior executives copping a pay cut and all staff deferring a pay rise, the university’s staff costs soared nearly 16 per cent to $758 million in 2020, due to redundancy payouts to sacked staff.

The National Tertiary Education Union said 35,000 workers had lost their jobs in universities over the past year.

“The suffering of hardworking staff, whose jobs were taken away from them, is the only explanation for some universities maintaining a surplus,’’ NTEU national president Dr Alison Barnes said.

“Just this week, Macquarie University announced more than 300 positions would be terminated and staff would have to fight each other ‘Hunger Games’ style for new positions.’’

The University of Melbourne’s net operating result halved to $178 million, with staff costs jumping 7.8 per cent due to redundancy payouts.

Macquarie University in Sydney recorded the biggest percentage fall in profits, which plunged 3800 per cent from a slim $1.4 million in 2019 to a $52.7 million loss in 2020.

Redundancy payments of $37 million drove its staffing costs 5.1 per cent higher, and vice-chancellor Professor Bruce Dowton received a salary package of just over $1 million.

The ANU’s Professor Brian Schmidt took a pay cut.

Macquarie University vice-chancellor Professor S. Bruce Dowton.

RMIT University in Melbourne paid 12.3 per cent more on salaries and redundancy payments, after profits plunged 280 per cent to a $79 million deficit.

The University of NSW recorded a $24 million loss, but contained staff costs to a 1.3 per cent rise after slashing other expenses by 12.8 per cent.

At the University of Queensland, voluntary redundancy payments pushed staff costs up 7.7 per cent while profits fell more than one-third to an $82 million surplus.

The Queensland University of Technology (QUT) froze staffing costs but slashed 10 per cent from other expenses, after its profits plunged 71 per cent to $25 million.

The University of Tasmania’s surplus fell 71 per cent to $18 million, despite a round of redundancies and cutting costs by 5.5 per cent.

But some universities cashed in during the Covid-19 pandemic, including Monash University, where the operating surplus soared 16 per cent to $267 million after non-staff costs were slashed by 15 per cent.

Flinders University made a $38 million surplus – up 50 per cent – after freezing staffing costs and cutting other expenses by 6 per cent.

Federal Education Minister Alan Tudge says the federal government gave universities a record $20 billion in public funding this year. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Gary Ramage

Charles Darwin University boosted its surplus by 588 per cent to $43 million, after limiting staff costs to a 1 per cent increase and slashing other costs by 10.5 per cent.

The 2020 Financial Report for Higher Education Providers, released by the federal government on Thursday, reveals that 23 universities recorded a surplus while 16 suffered a deficit in 2020.

Total revenue fell by $1.9 billion – or 5.1 per cent – as border closures left foreign students stranded offshore, and lockdowns forced campuses to close to local students.

The pandemic stripped universities of $756 million in revenue from international students.

The report reveals that universities’ staffing costs jumped 5.5 per cent last year, “driven by termination payments made to staff as universities reduced the size of their workforce in response to the pandemic’’.

Universities cut spending on repairs and maintenance by 5 per cent, and reduced other costs, including travel and marketing, by 10.7 per cent.

“Aggressive costs reductions were noted across the sector in other expenditure, with universities actively constraining their discretionary spending, particularly in areas such as travel, marketing and promotional, and consultants and contractors,’’ the report states.

Federal Education Minister Alan Tudge said the Morrison Government gave universities a record $20 billion in funding this year.

“I am confident we will see international students returning to Australia this year, with tens of thousands arriving back in 2022, which will also help university bottom lines,’’ he said.

“Under this Government, there are more Australians studying at our universities than ever before, with an additional 39,000 enrolments this year.’’

Originally published as Full list of Australian universities hit by $2b loss