The performance, sustainability and future direction of the public university sector in Western Australia (WA) have been examined through multiple reviews over more than two decades, consistently identifying structural challenges affecting sector outcomes.
Review of Western Australia’s Public University Sector (2023)
The purpose of the 2023 Review was to explore what was needed to deliver improved performance and financial sustainability for WA’s public university sector.
The 2023 Review Final Report (2023 Report) found that WA’s public university sector is structurally underperforming and increasingly uncompetitive.
The 2023 Report concluded that the potential of the four WA public universities to contribute to the Government’s economic growth and diversification objectives was not being fully realised. It found that the WA university sector was not working as a strategic partner for Government or delivering on policy priorities, in part because institutional competition and duplicated effort were diluting focus, investment and performance.
The 2023 Report highlighted that the status quo would deliver the State more of what it has seen over the past decade, slow growth and modest performance in the university sector, with a continually falling share of an increasingly dynamic national and international market. It found the case for a merger compelling: combining scale, streamlining duplicated functions and strengthening strategic coordination were identified as key levers to lift longer-term performance. It suggested that without structural change, WA universities were unlikely to reverse declining competitiveness in student attraction, research performance, and broader impact.
It proposed further work to assess the feasibility of potential mergers between Murdoch University (Murdoch) and the University of Western Australia (UWA) or a merger involving Curtin University (Curtin), Murdoch and UWA. Edith Cowan University (ECU) was excluded from the merger proposals, noting its unique offering and market differentiation (including the recently opened CBD campus). The 2023 Report was confident that ECU could further consolidate and maintain its distinctive position in the event of a merger of other universities.
Following multiple reviews of WA's public university sector, the WA Government is undertaking a business case to explore potential university mergers. Find out more about the WA University Reform business case.
