Australian universities report finds quality of education eroded by ‘long-term underfunding’

A report by the Australia Institute’s Centre for Future Work says federal funding for universities has declined by $6.5bn from 1995 to 2021. Photograph: jimfeng/Getty Images/iStockphoto

Decades of declining public funding for universities and the increasing corporatisation of the sector has further eroded working conditions for staff and the quality of education for students, according to a new report.

Of the 1,002 respondents in the report by the Australia Institute’s Centre for Future Work, 83% said they were concerned universities’ focus on profit was undermining education standards.