The governing council approves the university budget, but senior executive pay is not in the reports it considers

The Australian National Audit Office calls on the university to address this in its new report on ANU governance and control. It is the stand-out criticism in a (relatively) favourable report and ironic given VC Brian Schmidt’s pay is on the record and he insisted on a cut when he took over.

Overall, the ANAO finds, governance is “largely fit-for-purpose, supported by systems of control and accountability that are partially effective,” and the university’s council, council committees and academic board, “appropriately challenge management, demonstrating a positive culture that encourages discussion and debate.”

The audit also points to a lack of an “appropriate” information policy and procedures, adding information and records management “require improvement” however the ANAO acknowledges that since the 2018 hack the university has been working on “cyber security weaknesses.”

ANU accepts all audit recommendations but does suggest it has had a tough couple of years, dealing with “several significant disruptive events, including bushfires, smoke, a devastating hailstorm, and COVID-19.”