Legal issues in higher education and the trade practices act

Abstract

Australian universities, like their counterparts in most Western countries, have suffered a dramatic reduction in the level of public funding in recent years. One issue on the horizon that is of relevance to students and universities is the latter's exposure to National Competition Policy and, more specifically, the Trade Practices Act. Recent changes to universities, the student experience and the law present new legal options for student redress and new liabilities for universities and individual staff. In this paper, I ask whether appealing to the Trade Practices Act is an appropriate strategy for responding to “deregulation” of universities, funding cuts and the associated decline in the capacity of universities to deliver quality education.

Notes

* Correspondence: Judith Bessant, RMIT University, GPO Box 2476V, Melbourne, Victoria 3001, Australia; email: [email protected]

The aim of competition neutrality is to do away with “resource allocation distortions” that result from the public ownership of organisations that pursue business activity, so it is not advantaged in its application over a private company that has to carry those costs directly (i.e. If a university competes with a private organisation for a research tender, the university has to build into its application the costs of overheads, staff, etc.).

For further discussion of this section of the Act see Jackson, 2002. See also state Fair Trading Acts.

This is also inscribed in the National Code of Practice that registered authorities and providers of education and training to overseas students are required to abide by.

These occurred in the course of its name change to Charles Darwin University.

i.e. Cuts to classes, increased fees, increases in class sizes, reduced contact time, the outsourcing of teaching, the “rationalisation” or reduction of choice in subjects available, cuts in library resources, etc.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Judith Bessant *

* Correspondence: Judith Bessant, RMIT University, GPO Box 2476V, Melbourne, Victoria 3001, Australia; email: [email protected]