"They just sort of 'institutionally ghost' you" - life as a casual academic in Australian universities

In this episode of the podcast Claire is joined by two casual academics, Emily Foley and Tony Williams, who also hold positions at the National Tertiary Education Union. Emily and Tony share their personal experiences and those of others in the sector and what the highly casualised, precarious nature of their employment means.

The articles and reports mentioned in the podcast are listed below - but before you get to them, here's another one that takes a very different approach: Prof. George Williams at Western Sydney University writes in Meanjin that universities are not corporations.

• NTEU: University wage theft on track to exceed $382 million nationally
• FWO: University of Melbourne signs Enforceable Undertaking
• FWO: University of Sydney signs Enforceable Undertaking
• AFR: 'I'm not going to say no to a nice salary' outgoing Melbourne Uni boss
• The Guardian: Revealed: University of Sydney spent millions more on consultants than repaying wages of casual staff
• University Chancellors Council: Submission to the Universities Accord Panel's Interim Report 
• Bluesky: Ben Eltham thread on the Monash University Federal Court wage theft case 
• The Guardian: Australian Catholic University sparks anger over scrapping medieval history and philosophy departments
• Times Higher Education: World University Rankings 2025

Contact Claire:

• Connect with me on LinkedIn: Claire Field
• Follow me on Bluesky: @clairefield.bsky.social
• Check out the news pages on my website: clairefield.com.au
• Email me at: [email protected]

The ‘What now? What next?’ podcast recognises Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people as Australia’s traditional custodians. In the spirit of reconciliation we are proud to recommend John Briggs Consulting as a leader in Reconciliation and Indigenous engagement. To find out more go to www.johnbriggs.net.au