Events and Meetings

Upcoming Events

All Chancellors of our Member Universities are invited to attend the UCC Plenary’s, held twice per year. In 2025, we have an additional Plenary Event arranged with Universities Australia in February 2025.

Plenary Workshop 1

Monday 24 February 2025

A joint plenary workshop with Universities Australia, held at the National Convention Centre, Canberra.

Plenary Workshop 2

Friday 2 May 2025

A plenary workshop for all Chancellors. This workshop will take place in Melbourne.

Plenary Workshop 3

Tuesday 21 October 2025

A plenary workshop for all Chancellors. This workshop will take place in Perth, pending confirmation.

National Conference on University Governance

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.

Past Meetings and Events

For the reference of all members of the UCC, please find previous events and plenary meetings held by the University Chancellors Council, arranged by year.

  • Thursday 2 May, University of Queensland, Brisbane

    Tuesday 22 October, Melbourne

    22 - 24 October, National Conference on University Governance, Melbourne

  • Two meetings were held in 2023, In April at the University of New South Wales and in October at Monash University.

  • Two meetings were held in 2022, virtually in April and as part of the National Conference on University Governance in Brisbane in October.

  • Three meetings were held virtually in 2021 in May, August and October. Main topics for discussion included:

    Universities Australia Health Check Review
    Vice-Chancellor and Senior Staff Remuneration Code
    Freedom of Speech and Academic Freedom attestation statements.

    University Chancellors Council Meeting 2021/1 – 25 March 2021, videoconference via Zoom

    University Chancellors Council Meeting 2021/2 – 4 August 2021, videoconference via Zoom

  • Due to the Covid-19 virus pandemic, the UCC has not been able to hold any in-person meetings this year.  A Zoom meeting for those who could attend via video conference was held on 18 November 2020.  Discussions covered recent meetings with the Minister of Education, Universities Australia and the National Covid Commission Advisory Board.

    The National Conference on University Governance which was due to be held in October 2020 was postponed to 20-22 October 2021 at the Brisbane Convention Centre

  • UCC Meeting 2019/01

    The first meeting of the UCC for 2019 took place on 20-21 May at Deakin University (Melbourne CBD campus).  One of the main topics for discussion was the recently released French Review into Freedom of Speech at Higher Education Providers. A copy of the report can be accessed on the Department of Education website.

    UCC Meeting 2019/02

    The second meeting of the UCC for 2019 took place on 8-9 October at The University of Queensland (Customs House, Brisbane CBD).  A presentation was given by the Chief Executive of Universities Australia, Ms Catriona Jackson and included a discussion on two recent government reports:

    The Performance-Based Funding Report and the Review of the Higher Education Provider Category Standards Report, which is available on the Department of Education website on their Reviews and Consultations page.

  • National Conference on University Governance 2018

    The 2018 NCUG conference took place on 3-5 October 2018 at the Adelaide Convention Centre. Some of the speeches given at the conference can be accessed below.

    The Hon. Gareth Evans AC QC - Maintaining Universities’ Raison D’etre: Meeting the Challenge

    Professor Peter Shergold AC - Freedom of Speech at University

    UCC Meeting 2018/01

    The first meeting of the UCC for 2018 took place on Tuesday 15th May at Victoria University. Presentation slides from the meeting can be accessed below.

    Universities Australia Indigenous Strategy Update  – presentation by Professor Tom Calma AO, Chancellor of the University of Canberra

Past Meetings

University Chancellors Council meeting 2017/02 – 13 October 2017, University of Canberra

University Chancellors Council meeting 2017/01 – 16 May 2017, The University of Sydney

University Chancellors Council meeting 2016/02 – 6 October 2016, Novotel Sydney on Darling Harbour

University Chancellors Council meeting 2016/01 – 16 and 17 May 2016, Monash University

University Chancellors Council meeting 2015/02 – 13 October 2015, University of Newcastle

University Chancellors Council meeting 2015/01 – 19 May 2015, Charles Sturt University, Wagga Wagga

University Chancellors Council meeting 2014/02 – 29 October 2014, University of Melbourne

University Chancellors Council meeting 2014/01 – 5 and 6 May 2014, Swinburne University of Technology

Past Conferences

2018 National Conference on University Governance - 3-5 October 2018, Adelaide Convention Centre

2016 National Conference on University Governance – 5 and 6 October 2016, Doltone House on Darling Island Wharf and Novotel Sydney on Darling Harbour

2014 National Conference on University Governance – 28 and 29 October 2014, Sofitel Melbourne