In September 2026, DASSH made a submission as part of the Australian Tertiary Education Commission’s (ATEC) Review of Research Requirements: ‘Australian University Category’. The consultation was opened in response to a request by the Minister for Education.

DASSH supports a strong, diverse and sustainable Australian research system and recognises the potential benefits of greater institutional flexibility. While greater research specialisation may create opportunities for some institutions and disciplines, DASSH is concerned that ATEC’s consultation focus moves too quickly from considering potential benefits and risks to questions of design and implementation.

Our submission highlights that:

• Specialisation will present different opportunities and risks across institutions, disciplines and communities. Australian universities differ substantially in mission, scale, geography, research intensity, disciplinary profile, student population, workforce and financial capacity.
  
• System-wide effects of research specialisation need to be considered against the Australian Universities Accord Final Report’s findings on equity, regional participation and place-based access to tertiary education.
  
• New regulatory settings for research specialisation should not be settled in isolation from existing reforms in Australia’s higher education and research architecture, including ATEC’s mission-based compacts and the Australian Research Council’s Research Insights Capability.

DASSH recommends that ATEC undertake further consultation, system-level risk assessment and case-based testing before determining whether changes to the Higher Education Standards Framework (Threshold Standards) 2021 should proceed.