The university governance Australia expects of a new institution is heavier than anything required of an Institute of Higher Education: a council with a majority of independent members and a chancellor who is not the chief executive, an academic senate with real authority over courses, research and academic freedom, research governance covering ethics, integrity and higher degree by research supervision, and the evidence that all of it has operated for long enough to be trusted. Setting up a university is, in governance terms, the task of building those bodies and then running them until the record proves they work.
This article sets out what each element involves and what changes at the step from University College to Australian University. It draws on fifteen years of TEQSA registration and category work, though I should say plainly that most of my clients are private providers well short of the university category, and the ones who reach it do so over a decade rather than a year.
What the category requires
Since 1 July 2021 there have been four provider categories, and the Australian University category is the most demanding. Part B1 of the Threshold Standards requires an Australian University to deliver courses in at least three broad fields of education, to undertake research at the standard set by the Quality of Research Determination 2021 in those fields, and to offer higher degrees by research. The category is not simply a larger Institute of Higher Education. It is a different kind of institution with a research mission that the governance has to support. The path there runs through University College, and our article on the requirements for a TEQSA university sets those out in detail.
The council
Standard 6.1 applies to every provider, but at the university end its expectations are read strictly. A council needs a majority of members independent of management and ownership, a chancellor or chair who is not the vice-chancellor or CEO, members with the financial, legal and academic expertise to govern an institution of that complexity, and a record of doing so. Assessors read council minutes for evidence of strategy being set, risk being considered and the executive being held to account.
In my experience the transition that trips private providers is the shift from an owner-led board to a council that can, and sometimes does, overrule the owner. The council of an Australian University must be able to show that it, not the shareholder, directs the institution. Our data on setting up a university in Australia shows how few private providers have made that shift.
The academic senate
Standard 6.3 requires academic governance with authority over academic quality. In a university that body is usually called an academic senate or academic board, and its authority is wider than at an Institute: it approves and reviews courses, sets academic policy, oversees research and research training, protects academic freedom and reports to council. Its membership includes elected academic staff, senior academic leaders and external academics, and its chair is not the vice-chancellor.
The senate must also be able to show self-accrediting authority in operation. A university holds that authority by category, but TEQSA will examine whether the senate has actually run a course approval and review cycle, including external review, without the regulator in the room. A senate that has only ever approved courses TEQSA subsequently accredited has not yet demonstrated the judgment the category assumes.
Research governance
This is the element most private providers have never had to build. Domain 4 of the Threshold Standards covers research and research training, and the research requirements guidance note describes what TEQSA expects, with the usual reminder that guidance notes are not themselves Threshold Standards. In governance terms it means a research committee reporting to the senate, a human research ethics arrangement, a research integrity policy and process consistent with the national code, supervisor registration and training for higher degrees by research, and monitoring of candidate progress.
The evidence has to show operation. A research integrity policy with no recorded matters, or an ethics committee that has never met, will be read the same way as an empty academic integrity register. Building the research governance before there is research to govern is unavoidable, but the record still needs to show the bodies meeting, considering real applications and making real decisions.
The step from University College
The University College category exists as the staging post. It sits between an Institute of Higher Education and an Australian University, and in practice it requires a provider to demonstrate academic governance and self-accrediting capability at a standard above an Institute, without yet meeting the full research threshold of the university category. A change of category application is made under section 38 of the TEQSA Act and the fee is $51,800.
What TEQSA looks for at that step is a track record. Council and senate minutes covering years rather than months, at least one full cycle of course review and improvement, research outputs assessed against the Determination, and higher degree by research candidates supervised to completion. Our article on building sustainable university governance from the ground up describes how that record is accumulated deliberately rather than by accident.
Leadership that fits the university governance Australia expects
Governance structures do not govern. People do. A vice-chancellor who treats the senate as a formality, or a chancellor who defers to the owner, will produce minutes that show it, and TEQSA reads minutes. The university governance Australia recognises is one where the leadership accepts the constraint of a council and senate that can say no, and where the record shows they occasionally have.
That is the non-delegation principle applied at scale. Consultants like me can design the constitution, draft the terms of reference and plan the evidence. Only the council and the senate can build the record, and only by meeting, deciding and being seen to decide.
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Frequently asked questions
What are the requirements to become an Australian University?
Under Part B1 of the Threshold Standards an Australian University must deliver courses in at least three broad fields, undertake research at the standard set by the Quality of Research Determination 2021 in those fields, and offer higher degrees by research, alongside governance meeting Domain 6.
Does a university council need independent members?
Yes. Standard 6.1 requires a governing body with the independence and expertise to direct the institution, and at the university end TEQSA expects a majority of members independent of management and ownership, with a chancellor who is not the chief executive.
What is the University College category for?
It is the staging category between Institute of Higher Education and Australian University. In practice it requires academic governance and self-accrediting capability above the Institute standard, without yet meeting the research threshold of the university category.
How much does a change of provider category cost?
TEQSA's 2026 fee for a change of category application under section 38 of the TEQSA Act is $51,800, excluding GST and not refundable.
Dr Brendan Moloney is CEO of Darlo Higher Education, Australia's largest specialist TEQSA consultancy. He holds a PhD from the University of Melbourne, is a Cambridge University Press author on governance in higher education, and has advised private providers on registration and course accreditation for more than fifteen years.