New ACU campus in heart of Sydney’s west

The Australian Catholic University will build a new campus for 3,000 students in Blacktown in the heart of Sydney’s west.

An artist's impression of the planned Blacktown campus of Australian Catholic University.

In today’s Higher Ed Daily Brief: New campus in western Sydney, Grattan expert recognised

ACU goes to Blacktown

The Australian Catholic University will build a new campus for 3,000 students in Blacktown, in Sydney’s west, in partnership with business and the local council. Blacktown mayor Stephen Bali said that, with the new university campus, local students could look forward to getting a quality education without commuting for hours each day across Sydney.

ACU vice-chancellor Greg Craven said the university was looking forward to establishing deep ties with business, schools and community groups in Blacktown. “By 2036, half of Sydney’s population will live in western Sydney yet currently only 18 per cent of university places are in western Sydney,” he said.

The new campus will open next year in an office building owned by the council. It is planned to grow to 3,000 students within five years. By 2024 it will move into two new buildings to be built by the university in partnership with the council in Blacktown’s Warrick Lane precinct. The deal follows a call last year by Blacktown Council for expressions of interest from universities to partner with the council and business to establish a university campus.

Hon doc for Andrew Norton

Deakin University has awarded an honorary doctorate to the Grattan Institute’s higher education program director Andrew Norton. The honorary degree, conferred last week, was for “services to the Australian higher education sector through policy leadership and research over a sustained period”.

Due to his work at the Grattan Institute, and through his co-authored review of the demand-driven funding system for the Abbott government, Mr Norton has established himself as Australia’s leading higher education policy analyst.

He has also worked as an adviser to Howard government education minister David Kemp and two University of Melbourne vice-chancellors.