A National Conference on University Governance was established in 2001 and is held every two years. Originally established to provide training and discussion on governance issues for staff and Council / Senate / Board members with governance responsibilities, this training role has now been taken up by the Australian Institute of Company Directors University Governance course.  This has allowed the Conference to broaden the topics and issues under discussion within the Higher Education sector. Issues such as freedom of speech, ethics and corruption, the future of work and university productivity were on the agenda at the most recent conference. 

The conference allows the UCC members to hear from various experts on contemporary issues in the Higher Education sector that affect governance such as government policies, current issues such as freedom of speech and ethics and the future of universities and is open to all Council / Senate / Board members of member universities as well as senior staff, governance staff and any other interested staff at the universities. The program is designed to be interactive with experts and discussion panels giving an overview and then Q&A sessions and small group discussions to allow time to explore the issue in more depth.

The next conference will be held in 2026.

Information about previous conferences and access to some of the speakers’ presentations is available through the Archives.