Senate Education and Employment Legislation Committee
12 February 2026
Speaker dots
- Speakers in the chapter
- Colour: political group
- Grey: no group
Tap or click a chapter's dots to see names and groups.
Contents updated on 22 Oct 2026
Legend
Transcript markers
- text Sentence being played
- text Search result
- text Intervention cited by the link you opened
Click a sentence to play the video from that moment. Select text to quote it with the speaker, timestamp and link.
More options
Senate Education and Employment Committee Australian Parliament
14:19 - 16:36
Speaker 3
Alright. Good morning, everyone. I declare open this hearing of the Education and Employment Legislation Committee into the university's accord Australian Tertiary Education Commission bill twenty twenty five and a related bill. I begin by acknowledging the traditional custodians of the land on which we meet and pay my respects to their elders past and present, and I extend that respect to aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people here today. The committee will be conducting today's hearing by, both via video conference and in person.
I'm joined today by senators Delega, Farooqi Mulholland, and senator Pocock, and we're expecting senator Kavacic as well. These are public proceedings being streamed live via the parliament's website, and a hand side transcript is being made. I remind all witnesses that in giving evidence to the committee, they are protected by parliamentary privilege. It is unlawful for anyone to threaten or disadvantage a witness on account of evidence given to a committee, and such action may be treated by the senate as a contempt. It is also a contempt to give false or misleading evidence.
Witnesses also have a right to request to be heard in camera. The senate has resolved that an officer of a department of the commonwealth or of a state shall not be asked to give opinions or matters of policy and shall be given reasonable opportunity to refer questions asked of the officer to superior officers or to a minister. This resolution does not preclude questions asking for explanations of policies or factual questions about when and how policies were adopted. If a witness objects to answering a question, they should state the ground upon which the objection is made, and the committee will determine whether it will insist on an answer having regard to the ground which is claimed. If the committee determines to insist on an answer, a witness may request that the answer be given in camera.
Commonwealth officers appearing today are also reminded of the senate order specifying the process by which a claim of public interest immunity should be raised, and a copy of the order is available from the secretariat. I remind senators of their obligations under the behavior code for Australian parliamentarians treat witnesses with dignity, courtesy, fairness, and respect. I remind committee members and witnesses who are appearing via video conference and who are not speaking to mute their microphones. I now welcome representatives from the group of eight universities and innovative research universities. I understand that information on parliamentary privilege and the protection of witnesses giving evidence to senate committees has been provided to you.
The rest of the transcript is for Pro customers
Unlock the full transcript, chat, and every analysis feature with Polyfact Pro.
The video itself stays free to watch, in full, no account needed.
Start a free trial