Social Licence Initiative
In February 2025, Chancellors and Vice-Chancellors convened for a Joint Plenary workshop to discuss the ongoing social licence issues for Australian Universities, and a framework to move forward. In March 2025, UCC and UA established a Steering Committee to inform this work.
Steering Committee
In March 2025, UCC and UA established a Social Licence Steering Committee to strengthen public trust in Australia’s universities. The committee recognises that maintaining social licence is critical to the sector’s long-term sustainability and success, and that university social licence is dependent on universities ongoing engagement with students, staff, communities, and broader society.
The Steering Committee brings together Chancellors and Vice-Chancellors from across the country to lead coordinated action on social licence areas for Australian universities. To ensure Australian Universities are well represented, the committee was selected from volunteers across multiple states, university networks, and regional/city networks.
Our Focus Areas
The Steering Committee brings together Chancellors and Vice-Chancellors from across the country to lead coordinated action, commencing with five initial priority areas, including: student safety and inclusion, workforce and remuneration, university governance, sector-wide messaging, and public communications.
The initiative builds on the shared understanding that social licence is shaped at the intersection of governance, leadership, and community expectations, and that engagement is essential for our universities to progress.
The Committee is genuinely committed to strong consultation as it reviews key areas impacting University social licence - and these areas’ ongoing ramifications for our wider communities. As such, both targeted and open stakeholder submissions will be invited to provide essential insight and viewpoints to the committee.
We want to hear from you.
We believe in Australian Universities: what they were, what they are, and what they could be. It’s important to us to hear from you — our university community — so that we can hear your concerns firsthand, and how we can support the change needed to continue to see our universities — and our communities — thrive, together.
Submission details can be found at the bottom of this page.
If you want to get in touch with the Social Licence committee directly, please reach out to our project coordinator — sociallicence@ucc.edu.au
Submissions to the
Social Licence Initiative
Submissions can be made anytime via the form below. Submissions can be directed towards a specific focus area, or could be for the purpose of alerting the Committee to key areas of concern. We’ve included essential information around scope, making your submission, and confidentiality below.
Scope of Submissions
Submissions can be made anytime. Submissions can be directed to any focus area, or can be made to alert the Committee of a key area of concern.
When submitting for a key focus area, consideration should be made to the scope outlined for the focus area. When making your submission below, you can select the area for which you are providing your submission.
Making Your Submission
The Steering Committee encourages submissions lodged electronically, either via email - secretariat@ucc.edu.au - or via online submission in the form below.
Submissions should be in PDF or Word format.
All submissions made become official Committee documentation on submission.
Confidential Submissions
Unless you request a confidential submission, all submissions will be attributed to the Author/Organisation. It is your responsibility to ensure that no personal or identifying information is included in your submission. Submissions on behalf of an organisation will be listed as such.
If you would like your submission to remain confidential, please include this in your submission note along with your specific reason for request.