Welcome to the May edition of the Noticeboard, a monthly update with news and opportunities from around the sector. If you have anything you’d like to share with members please contact DASSH.
News from dassh
Essential Insights: Towards Treaty
Tuesday 12 May
11am (AEST)
Online
Join guest speaker Professor John Evans, Pro Vice-Chancellor for Indigenous Engagement at Swinburne University as he shares insights into the strategic, cultural and institutional considerations shaping Indigenous engagement within higher education.
All members should have received a calendar invitation in their inbox.
First look: conference venues and speakers
We are excited to reveal the first look into our speakers and venues for our upcoming annual conference 16-18 September in Melbourne.
Kicking off with a welcome reception on Tuesday 15 September at The Capitol, the conference program will be hosted over two days at Swinburne University of Technology, Hawthorn campus.
We are pleased to announce the following speakers will be joining us:
- The Hon. Verity Firth, Vice-President Societal Impact, Equity and Engagement, University of New South Wales
- Professor Ute Roessner, CEO, Australian Research Council
- Professor Theo Farrell, Vice-Chancellor, La Trobe University
More details on venues and program coming soon!
Getting the word out
DASSH advocates for JRG reform to Senate
DASSH recently provided a submission to the Senate Education and Employment Legislation Committee inquiry into the Job-Ready Graduates Package, highlighting the need for a balanced approach to reform that lowers inequitable student contributions without further reducing overall higher education funding.
Board members Professor Lori Lockyer and Kate Nash represented DASSH at the public hearing, reinforcing the importance of reform that supports both equity and the long-term sustainability of Australia’s higher education system.
Read opening statements
Read DASSH Submission
More JRG resources
Around the traps
ATEC formally established
The Australian Tertiary Education Commission (ATEC) is now fully operational following the passage of legislation through Parliament. An interim statement of strategic priorities has been released and will guide mission-based compacts in 2027, despite operating in legal limbo.
Find out more
Read interim Statement of Priorities
Read Andrew Norton analysis
Disability invisibility persists on Australian campuses
New research by the Australian Centre for Student Equity and Success (ACSES) reports that the numbers of students with disability increased by 142% between 2014-2024. However, disability does not feature prominently on university webpages.
Read more
Australian Research Council announces Gen AI policy
The Australian Research Council (ARC) has released an updated Policy on Use of GenAI in the ARC’s grant programs. The policy applies for both applications and assessments for Discovery Indigenous 2027 and other scheme rounds opening from now.
Find out more
Major milestone for Open Access in Australia and Aotearoa
The Council of Australasian University Librarians (CAUL) announced the 100,000th Open Access article was published and $500 million saved through CAUL consortium Open Access agreements.
Read more
Humanities student debt takes 25 years to pay
Krishani Dhanji writes in The Guardian that newly public Treasury modelling reveals one in four Humanities students will take more than 25 years to repay their student loans.
Read here
New research on public perceptions of higher education
New research published by POLIS: The Centre for Social Policy Research at ANU reports that Australians’ confidence in universities has declined since 2019, but remains high compared to other public institutions including government and schools.
Read report
Entry-level pathways shrinking in Aotearoa
Professor Rod McNaughton from University of Auckland suggests the real crisis of employment in Aotearoa is the loss of entry-level pathways into employment.
Australian government artistic, cultural and creative activity expenditure
New research from A New Approach reports that while government investment has increased it is not keeping pace with population growth. State and Territory annual investments surpasses that of the Federal government.
Read here
Making the Liberal Arts visible
American History Professor Steven Mintz writes an opinion piece about how to make the Humanities and Interpretive Social Sciences’ value visible in professional contexts.
Read here
Mode of attendance in Australian higher education
New research published by the Australian Centre for Student Equity and Success (ACSES) reports that mode of attendance for undergraduate domestic students has been relatively stable but students from equity groups are more likely to enrol in external study.
Find out more
Indigenous sovereignty and AI governance
New research by Professors Bronwyn Carlson and Tamika Worrell demonstrates the need to strengthen Indigenous governance. Key recommendations include embedding Indigenous data sovereignty in all AI systems, strengthen regulation and protecting knowledge from extraction.
Bridging gaps between school and university
The Australian government announced providing $1.5 million to the University of Newcastle to develop a Best Practice Guide for universities who want to establish or expand their own FEE-FREE Uni Ready courses.
Read more
Galleries, libraries, archives and museums build resilient communities
A new report from the Academy of Social Sciences in Australia prepared for the Office of the Chief Scientist explores how community and cultural institutions can build ‘information resilience’.
Read the report
Read report
Read Conversation article
Polytechnics to carry unfunded students in Aotearoa
John Gerritsen writes in RNZ that newly-independent polytechnics will carry hundreds of unfunded students as more students are enrolled than the Tertiary Education Commission can subsidise.
Read more
Australian research needs more support
Hamid R. Jamali, Edward Luca and Simon Wakeling write in The Conversationwrite about how different models in the Australian publishing sector rely on unpaid academic labour and how they can be better supported.
Read more
Why Job-Ready Graduates isn’t fixed
The recent Greens Bill before the Australian parliament sought to reduce student fees. Key stakeholders, including Andrew Norton and Universities Australia, comment on the need for legislation to protect system sustainability.
Read Andrew Norton article
Read Universities Australia article
Bridging gaps between school and university
The Australian government announced providing $1.5 million to the University of Newcastle to develop a Best Practice Guide for universities who want to establish or expand their own FEE-FREE Uni Ready courses.
Read more
Galleries, libraries, archives and museums build resilient communities
A new report from the Academy of Social Sciences in Australia prepared for the Office of the Chief Scientist explores how community and cultural institutions can build ‘information resilience’.
Read the report
Opportunities
Aotearoa Fullbright Specialist Awards
Fulbright Specialist Awards are for New Zealand institutions to host academics, artists, or professionals from the United States for two- to six-week programmes of activities, including lectures, seminars, workshops, conferences, and symposiums.
Closing date is Monday 1 June 2026.
Australian Parliament House Artist-in-Residence Creative Research Program
Australian visual artists at any stage of their career are invited to apply to become the Australian Parliament House Artist-in-Residence. The successful artist or group will receive $10,000 for research, additional commission up to $30,000 and 12 months access to the Parliamentary Library and Art Collections.
Applications close Tuesday 16 June.
Find out more
Deans and Directors of Creative Arts Awards
The Deans and Directors of Creative Arts Awards acknowledge and celebrate contributions to creative arts, elevate and share best practice, and encourage and promote the next generation of creative arts leaders in research and education. The Awards promote diversity and recognise contributions and achievements by First Nations creatives, as well as early, mid and senior-career practitioners in the tertiary sector.
Submissions close Friday 31 July.
Find out more
dassh events
Essential Insights: Towards Treaty
Tuesday 12 May
11am (AEST)
Online
This Essential Insights webinar explores how universities are deepening their engagement with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities, focusing on Swinburne University of Technology’s progress developing a Treaty with the Wurundjeri people of the Kulin Nation.
Register here
Annual Conference: The Future-Facing University
Wednesday 16 – Friday 18 September
Melbourne
Kicking off with a welcome reception on the evening of Tuesday 15 September, the DASSH conference is a must-attend event for Arts, Social Sciences and Humanities leaders in Australia and Aotearoa. The conference program will consist of keynotes, panels and participatory sessions.
Stay updated
dassh networks
If you are interested in joining any of our Communities of Practice, please reach out to us at office@dassh.edu.au.
Bachelor of Arts working group
Wednesday 3 June
1pm – 2pm (AEST)
Online
Research Network: Supporting Indigenous-led Research
Wednesday 17 June
12pm-1pm (AEST)
Online
Teaching and Learning Network
Tuesday 30 June
12pm-1pm (AEST)
Online
Australian events
Power in the present: valuing the arts now
Tuesday 19 May
12pm – 1.30pm (AEST)
Online
Deans and Directors of Creative Arts
The Deans and Directors of Creative Arts (DDCA) are hosting a National Online Forum continuing advocacy work to secure artistic practices as fundamental to society. The event will include four guest speakers and open discussion culminating in a collective statement affirming creative practice research as essential to a healthy society.
Register here
National Reconciliation Week 2026 Seminar
Tuesday 2 June
10.30am – 12pm (AEST)
The University of Queensland
As part of National Reconciliation Week, the University of Queensland Poche Centre for Indigenous Health is hosting a seminar with respected Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander leaders Professors Jackie Huggins and Tom Calma. This year’s theme ‘All in‘ calls on Australians to commit wholeheartedly to reconciliation.
Find out more
Higher Education People and Performance
Monday 22 – Tuesday 23 June
Melbourne
Future Campus
HE People & Performance 2026 is an independent event providing fresh perspectives into Higher Education leadership, productivity and management challenges, tailored for Australasian audiences. Sessions from a broad range of HE thought leaders will provide a window into issues and opportunities for HE leadership and staff management in Australasia.
Find out more
Aotearoa events
Auckland Writers Festival
Tuesday 12 to Sunday 17 May
Auckland
With over 200 public events, this year’s Festival brings together 220 of the world’s best writers of contemporary fiction and non-fiction, scientists, economists, poets, journalists and thinkers to explore ideas, share stories and join in conversations.
Find out more
Research Bazaar Aotearoa
Monday 29 June – Friday 3 July
Online
Research Bazaar Aotearoa is a free, online workshops series on digital research skills. Anyone within the Aotearoa research community is welcome to attend over 40 workshops covering everything from programming to design.
Find out more
Fulbright NZ Scholar Awards: information session
Tuesday 7 July
5.30pm (NZST)
Online
Fulbright NZ Scholar Awards are for Aotearoa academics, artists or professionals to lecture and or research in the United States. This online information session provides more details about eligbility and the application process.
Find out more