April 2025

Terms of Reference for the Social Licence Steering Committee

Guiding Principles

Reporting

The Steering Committee will operate under the following guiding principles:

  1. Transparency and integrity: ensuring that all actions are open, honest, and aligned with the sectors’ values, maintaining transparency and accountability throughout.

  2. Collaboration and inclusion:  a commitment to stakeholder voices being centred. The Steering Committee will engage with diverse voices, including students, staff, unions, communities, and governments, in shaping actions and reforms. 

  3. Proactive leadership: taking the stance of leading change, rather than waiting for external forces to impose it.

  4. Measurable impact: focusing on actions and outcomes that build trust and demonstrate genuine impact and change.

  5. Outrage mitigation: recognising that public outrage is driven by perception, emotion, and fairness – not just facts. The steering committee will proactively address the societal perceptions and concerns.

  6. Commitment to openness in engagement: recognising that there is a legitimate need for change in many spaces, the steering committee will maintain an openness in their engagement with stakeholders.

Purpose

The Social Licence Steering Committee (Steering Committee) is established for the purpose of guiding the higher education sectors’ continued efforts to rebuild public trust, strengthen social licence, and lead proactive reform.

The steering committee was agreed as an outcome from the Joint Plenary Workshop hosted by University Chancellors Council (UCC) in collaboration with Universities Australia (UA) on Monday 24 February 2025.

The steering committee will focus on immediate, high-impact deliverables which signal the university sectors’ willingness to engage, commitment, and responsiveness. At the same time, the steering committee will lay a foundation for long-term, sector-wide reform aimed at the rebuild of public trust and the reinforcement of the essential nature of the Australian university, and the essential contributions of universities to Australian society.

Membership

Stakeholder Engagement

As agreed in the Joint Plenary workshop, the steering committee will involve representatives from both UCC and UA. All members of the steering committee will be endorsed by UCC and UA. The steering committee will be co-chaired by UCC and UA.

The membership of the steering committee will include Chancellors and Vice-Chancellors who represent a diverse range of universities including:

  • University groupings (Group of Eight, Regional Universities Network, etc.

  • Locations – both state and regional/city diversity

Members will be selected from the volunteers after the Joint Plenary workshop. A group of ten representatives, plus the co-chairs, will make up the membership.

Stakeholder consultation will be centred throughout the process of works for the Steering Committee, to ensure inclusivity and broad perspectives are included in all stages. Key stakeholders identified include:

  • Students – with a recognition of the diverse student groups within universities and the need to have consultation and engagement with varying sub-groups of students (i.e. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students, mature-aged students, LGBTQ+ students, students living with a disability, international students)

  • Staff members

  • Higher education peak bodies, and representative groups

  • Relevant unions, including NTEU and NUS

Stakeholder engagement will be carried out primarily through:

  • Consultations (meetings either online or in person)

  • Requests for submissions (to be submitted via UCC website landing pages created on a per-need basis)

All key social licence issues will require stakeholder engagement – either via submission and/or consultation meetings – to ensure action is aligned with the public priorities.

Resourcing

The work on social licence will be led by the steering committee for both immediate actions and long-term reform phases.

The Steering Committee will report directly to the leadership of UCC and UA, ensuring full transparency and alignment with sector-wide objectives.