Staff working across security, cleaning and maintenance at the Australian National University have become the latest group caught in a fresh round of job cuts under the university’s sweeping restructure.
Campus environment staff, who manage maintenance, security, assets and procurement contracts, were told on Thursday 14 August that 16 positions would be made redundant, while a further eight vacant roles would remain unfilled. At the same time, 18 new positions will be created and 17 existing roles reshaped.
Chief campus environment officer Jeremy Matthew outlined the proposal at a staff town hall meeting, saying the restructure aimed to refine responsibilities and draw a clearer line between service delivery, planning and revenue generation.
He noted that over the past two years, the maintenance team had already been working to consolidate contracts, moving from 40 to 50 smaller agreements down to 20 to 25 larger “university service contracts”. The intention, he said, was to lift service quality across the campus and open opportunities for workforce growth.
This is the second restructure for the division in recent years, following its inclusion in the Renew ANU program in 2024.
The announcement follows a tense Senate hearing on 12 August, where governance at ANU came under heavy scrutiny. Senior lecturer Liz Allen accused chancellor Julie Bishop of bullying, a claim Ms Bishop rejected, while the National Tertiary Education Union argued that the university must stabilise rather than pursue more upheaval.
The campus environment changes will remain open for staff consultation until 28 August, with implementation expected by 25 September. It marks the seventh formal change proposal in 2025 as ANU seeks to cut salary costs by $100 million.
According to the university, since the launch of Renew ANU last year, 135 staff have taken voluntary redundancy, while 83 have been made redundant through restructure plans. Five other divisions remain in consultation, including the Residential Experience Division, the Academic Portfolio, the Research and Innovation Portfolio, the College of Science and Medicine, and the College of Arts and Social Sciences.
What comes next for Renew ANU?
Further restructures are under consideration in marketing and communications, people and culture, finance and business services and the College of Asia and the Pacific. The university has said not every review will lead to a formal change proposal, but all plans for 2025 will be released by 31 October.
It remains unclear whether staffing levels will be adjusted again in 2026.
ACT senator Katy Gallagher told the ABC she believed there were “significant problems with the way that Renew ANU was going”. She said she had raised her concerns with both the vice-chancellor and the federal education minister. “We’re trying to get outcomes here,” she said.
