60 academic jobs on the line in proposed Macquarie University cuts

It is the latest university to announce major job cuts, and academics are in the firing line.

Macquarie University in Sydney. Picture: Justin Lloyd

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Macquarie University is looking to slash 50 to 60 full-time academic roles from two faculties, cutting the budget bottom line by about $15m, in changes the vice-chancellor says will ensure the university remains “relevant, impressive, inspirational and sustainable”.

Macquarie is the latest university to announce potential redundancies and cost-saving measures, with Western Sydney University and the University of Technology Sydney recently announcing hundreds of job cuts.

The academic staff job losses would come from select areas across the faculties of Arts, and Science and Engineering, the university said. Professional and casual academic staff would not be affected by the proposed changes.

Vice-chancellor S. Bruce Dowton said the “proposed realignment is about strengthening Macquarie for the future”.

“Universities in Western democracies are facing a range of external pressures and Australia is no exception,” Professor Dowton said.

“Accordingly, we are acting with a clear vision and a strong sense of responsibility to ensure our education and research ­remain relevant, impressive, inspirational and sustainable.”

Changes to the Faculty of Arts and the Faculty of Science and Engineering will include new course offerings in popular courses and subjects, as well as resting courses that have declining or low enrolments.

Macquarie’s annual report, released last week, stated that between 2013 and 2023 enrolments in humanities disciplines such as history and literature had decreased by 35 per cent, due to competition from vocational programs.

“Visa restrictions and policy changes are slowing international student growth, a major income source for universities,” the annual report noted. A total of $282m came from its international students, which account for one in four students, at a time of “soft domestic enrolments’’.

According to that annual report, Professor Dowton was paid between $1.05m and $1.06m, having delivered a third year of deficits, which he whittled back to $3.7m in 2024.

A statement from Macquarie University noted that changes to the Faculty of Arts and the Faculty of Science and Engineering were made to “ensure the university can respond effectively to the significant challenges facing higher education, including increasing policy and funding uncertainty”, and were part of a “broader strategy to strengthen its long-term sustainability”.

“The proposed changes apply only to parts of the Faculty of Arts and the Faculty of Science and Engineering. Professional and casual academic staff are not included. If implemented, the proposed changes would see a streamlining of the curriculum and a net reduction of approximately 50 to 60 academic roles in the two faculties. The changes would deliver net savings of $15m,” the statement said.

“Academic staff in the two faculties are being consulted on the proposed changes in accordance with relevant industrial agreements.”

Macquarie is the latest in a ­series of universities that have announced restructures, which include cuts to academic staff.

In April, Western Sydney University announced it would look to cut about 300-400 jobs, as it looked at a revised deficit of $79m in 2026.

UTS also announced a $100m cut to the budget that would result in a total of 400 job losses, including 150 academic staff, with vice-chancellor Andrew Parfitt reportedly telling staff at a town hall the cuts were needed to repay $300m in investment-grade bonds in 2027.

ANU last year said it intended to reduce staff expenditure by $100m by January 2026, with the NTEU estimating that staffing levels had been reduced by 635 full-time since March 31, 2024. Last week, ANU foreshadowed further job cuts.