Professor Jennie Shaw, University of Adelaide deputy vice-chancellor and vice-president (academic), also told the inquiry that she does not think the university merger “would go ahead” if being discussed now in the wake of the planned Albanese Government move.

The reforms, which are yet to pass parliament, would allow the federal Education Minister to set caps on international student enrolments by location, university or individual courses.

Final details of the caps are yet to be finalised but are due to come into force on January 1, 2025. It also comes after the federal government last month hiked non-refundable application fees for international student visas from $710 to $1600.

The changes come at a delicate time for the University of Adelaide and UniSA, which are working on merging into Adelaide University by January 1, 2026, and just last month opened admissions for international students.

“We’ve guaranteed no job losses through merger for continuing staff until mid-2027, but this might be a lever that we’re forced to pull.”

The business case underpinning the merger forecast that the new Adelaide University could enrol 6000 additional international students by 2034.

The universities also committed last year that there would be “no compulsory redundancies or retrenchments as a consequence of creating the new institution” until mid-2027.

But that position was called into question on Tuesday when Shaw and other leaders from the University of Adelaide and UniSA appeared before a senate committee examining the federal government’s proposed international student changes.

The committee earlier heard from sector peak body Universities Australia that 14,000 university jobs nationwide could be lost due to the crackdown.

Greens senator Mehreen Faruqi asked Shaw whether the University of Adelaide was concerned about job losses stemming from the federal government’s legislation and visa changes.

Shaw said: “Our big unknown at the moment is Adelaide University. We open the doors January 1 (2026).”

“We started on July 15… and we have our first offers – we have our applicants and first offers – out with that 18-month timeframe.

“It’s very live. It’s why we went July 15^th. So, for us, this is a huge question mark.

“If we were having this discussion now and talking about a new university now, I don’t think we would go ahead because it just places the whole sector in such uncertainty.

“We’ve guaranteed no job losses through merger for continuing staff until mid-2027, but this might be a lever that we’re forced to pull.

“Neither university would want to do that.”

University of Adelaide deputy vice-chancellor Professor Jennie Shaw speaking to the Senate Education and Employment Legislation Committee on Tuesday. Photo: Australian Parliament House Streaming Portal

InDaily contacted the University of Adelaide and UniSA for clarification on its jobs guarantee.

This morning, the co-vice-chancellors of Adelaide University, Professor David Lloyd and Professor Peter Høj, sent a brief all-staff email reassuring staff that the two universities remain “firmly committed” to the jobs guarantee.

“You may be aware of comments made yesterday during parliamentary hearings about the potential changes to international student settings and the adverse impact these could have on both our universities and Adelaide University,” the co-vice-chancellors wrote.

“We want to reassure our staff that, as co-Vice Chancellors of Adelaide University, we remain firmly committed to our joint statement of intent on staff employment made on 29 June 2023 that all reasonable and relevant measures will be implemented to maintain the employment of our staff and there will be no compulsory redundancies or retrenchments as a consequence of the creation of the new university for the first eighteen months of its operations.”

The Malinauskas Government has committed $464.5 million to support the university merger through perpetual funds, land acquisitions and $30 million for measures to attract international students.

InDaily asked Deputy Premier Susan Close, who has ministerial responsibility for higher education, whether she was confident the merger universities will stay committed to the jobs guarantee and whether she has sought assurances about the promise.

In a statement, Close said: “The co-Vice Chancellors of Adelaide University have confirmed that they remain committed to no compulsory redundancies or retrenchments of staff as a consequence of the formation of Adelaide University, and for 18 months after it opens in January 2026.”

“The federal parliament is yet to consider legislation allowing restrictions on international students enrolling in Australian education so the impact, if any, on individual universities is not yet clear.”

National Tertiary Education Union SA division secretary Dr Andrew Miller said if the promise to preserve jobs during the merger was broken, it would damage staff trust with the university vice-chancellors and Premier.

International students account for 33 per cent of the University of Adelaide’s student cohort and 18 per cent of UniSA’s, a senate committee heard on Tuesday. Photo: CityMag/supplied

“As part of selling the benefits of the merger to staff, students, and the SA public, and to allay fears over massive job losses, the Premier and both vice-chancellors made an ironclad and very public guarantee to staff that there would be no forced job losses throughout the merger, at least not until mid-2027, if ever,” Miller said.

“That was a widely promoted public promise to all South Australians.

“For senior management of Adelaide University to now… threaten to slash jobs as a bargaining tool against the federal government is not only deeply corrosive to staff morale but would further erode staff trust in senior management at precisely the time both VCs and the Premier need staff motivated and energised to build the new university.”

Earlier in the committee hearing, Shaw said international students stayed loyal to South Australian universities during the pandemic and the University of Adelaide was able to post surpluses.

“In South Australia, the universities were very fortunate,” she said.

“Our international students stayed loyal to us through COVID and we saw growth, and what we’d be concerned about is going back to 2019 in fact because we’ve all grown a lot since then.

“But certainly, we only managed because we also made those really tough decisions about cutting jobs and not replacing people and being very harsh on our workforces through COVID, and we’ve come out with surpluses which is very unusual in the sector.”

The University of Adelaide has 9962 enrolled international students this year, up from 9115 international students in 2023, deputy vice-chancellor (external engagement) Professor Jessica Gallagher told the committee.

International students make up 33 per cent of the University of Adelaide’s student cohort this year, the committee heard, up from 31 per cent in 2023.

UniSA, meanwhile, has enrolled 6257 international students this year, accounting for 18 per cent of the student population.

In a joint statement to InDaily this afternoon, co-vice-chancellors Lloyd and Høj said: “From a comparatively modest base, Adelaide University has modelled managed and sustainable growth in international student numbers after inception, which aligns with the Government’s expectations.”

“However, we must keep a watchful eye on any short-sighted policy that takes aim at Australia’s educational future and sends a damaging message to our international community.”

Universities Australia chief executive Luke Sheehy told the committee that visa grant rates have been down 23 per cent over the past year, accounting for nearly 60,000 fewer international students studying across Australia.