The higher education sector in NSW is in crisis. 

Nearly 1,800 jobs are under threat across eight universities including UTS, Macquarie, WSU, Wollongong, CSU, UoN and SCU. These aren’t just numbers. They’re people’s livelihoods. They’re the lecturers, librarians, IT, professional staff, researchers, and student support staff that are the heart of our universities.

These cuts are happening now. They’re part of a wider shift in how universities are run, from public institutions grounded in education, equity and critical thinking, to corporatised, managerial entitiesdriven by revenue targets, private consultancy firms, and bloated executive salaries.

Staff are being treated as costs to be cut, not people and communities to be supported. Students are losing courses, services and learning conditions. At UTS, SafeWork NSW is currently investigating psychosocial hazards caused by these restructures. The consequences are immediate and severe. 

NTEU members across the state are already taking incredible action to defend their jobs and their institutions, but the more of us there are, the stronger we’ll be.

This campaign is about fighting back and defending jobs now but also reshaping the future so this crisis can never be manufactured again. We’re calling for stronger protections for workers, democratic oversight of university leadership, and a vision for higher education that puts staff, students and communities first.