All tied up

Have government promises to get their “foot off the throat of universities” actually occurred or is red tape just endemic to government policy, asks Conor King.

"Rather than bureaucratic red tape and micromanaging of inputs, the Australian government will work in partnership with universities but define clear and consistent targets for improvement and reform which will trigger reward payments." Transforming Australia's Higher Education System, Australian Government, 2008 Budget, p47. As the government starts to implement its reform program, it is interesting to test whether it is living up to its aim of leaving to universities the detail of how each goes about the task with reward or penalty tied to achievement. Overall there appears limited change...