‘Years of instability’: WA students doubt ‘benefits’ of university merger plans

Students at Western Australia’s biggest university have sounded the alarm over a possible merger of the state’s public institutions, believing any “so-called benefits” would come at the cost of fewer courses, staff cuts, bigger classes and more online delivery.

Curtin University, the University of Western Australia and Murdoch University are all in the firing line for a merger, with Edith Cowan University likely exempt due to the opening of its new inner-city campus in 2026.

Earlier in the month, WA Premier Roger Cook said the number of universities in Perth could be “considered too many” for the city’s size.

But Curtin Student Guild president Dylan Storer said that idea was not grounded in fact.

“The state benefits from diversity, specialisation and institutional autonomy – a merger would make WA’s sector slower, less competitive and less responsive to community needs,” he said.

“It means less choice, bigger bureaucracies and a weaker campus culture.

“None of the so-called benefits of mergers can be achieved without cost-cutting and that means cutting courses and services. Some programs could disappear entirely, and others would be shifted or reshaped.”

Rumours of a possible merger have been floating around since February 2023, when then-education minister (now Tertiary Education Minister) Tony Buti announced a review into WA’s universities due to plummeting student numbers and research grants.

Universities and stakeholders wrote submissions for that review, and a discussion paper was released before things went quiet.

Then, in mid-2025, the state government formed a committee to undertake a cost-benefit analysis of merging the universities, headed by former Labor minister Alannah MacTiernan.

That committee is due to report back to the government by the end of the year.

After the committee was announced, UWA released a statement saying it did not expect there to be any interruption to the university’s teaching, research or operations “throughout what is likely to be a long-term process”.

But Storer believed staff cuts, larger classes and more online delivery were “almost guaranteed”.

“The focus has been on speculation about efficiencies and rankings, rather than evidence about how mergers actually affect learning, wellbeing and retention,” he said.

“A merger will not fix governance, funding or workforce issues. It will create years of instability, slower decision-making and reduced support for students.

“Mergers consume leadership attention, financial resources and organisational capacity for many years.

“During this time student experience declines, staff morale drops and research output slows – WA has far better options that are safer, cheaper and more effective.

“WA needs a diverse sector with strong institutional identities, not a single amalgamated organisation that carries all the risks.”

National Tertiary Education Union WA division secretary Scott Fitzgerald shared the concerns of students, and said a merger between two or more universities in WA would exacerbate existing problems and not provide an outcome that was in the best interest of the students and staff.

“Experiences elsewhere, including with the university merger in South Australia, only deepen our concerns,” he said.

“Staff tell us they are highly cynical about the manner in which the process has been run, especially given that it appears that initial review’s findings have been released to university management but not to staff.

“Our members tell us they have little faith in senior managers to protect the interests of the institutions, staff or students.”

Fitzgerald said the union would oppose any merger that reinforced a focus on metrics such as research rankings and international student income at the cost of the diversity and vibrancy of higher education courses, or one that doesn’t address concerns about university governance.

He said if a merger was proposed, the union would demand to be part of the co-design process.

“University mergers typically lead to significant disruptions in the short term, fewer courses and staff cuts – in that scenario, students of course lose out.”

The West Australian recently reported UWA was losing prospective students due to perceptions it was “elitist, aloof and stand-offish”, and that the institution had conducted financial modelling on the benefits of merging with Curtin or Murdoch University, with early findings favouring a UWA-Curtin merger.

The research, which was presented at a recent forum for graduates, was published online and then promptly deleted following questioning.

Meanwhile, Murdoch University has been vocal on its disapproval of a merger, saying the state was “best served by having four public universities, each with its own special characteristics”.

In its original submission to the review in 2023, Curtin University also said it was “very concerned” a merger would create significant disruptions, and that it was “not a university in crisis”.

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