NiTRO + Creative Matters

Perspectives on creative arts in higher education

Expert Panel To Advise On Higher Education Sector Finances

Education Minister Simon Birmingham has announced the members of the expert panel who will assist to determine higher education funding reform, expected to include discipline cluster funding and changes to the Higher Education Loan Program. . .

Education Minister Simon Birmingham has announced the members of the expert panel who will assist to determine higher education funding reform, expected to include discipline cluster funding and changes to the Higher Education Loan Program.  Members are:

  • Dr Michele Allan, CSIRO Director, Chair of Meat & Livestock Australia and Charles Sturt University Chancellor; 
  • Professor Peter Noonan, Mitchell Professorial Fellow at Victoria University and Member of the Bradley Review Panel;
  • Andrew Norton, Grattan Institute Higher Education Program Director; and
  • Professor Sally Walker, Principal at Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu and former VC of Deakin University.

One year funding contracts will be put in place until the current Mission Compact agreement runs out but from 2018, Universities Australia hope that 3 year funding agreements will be applied

Other recent news

Other related news

A new National Cultural Policy

The DDCA together with DASSH (Council of Deans of Arts, Social Sciences and Humanities) made a submission to the National Cultural Policy review of Revive. Our submission recognised the important architecture of the existing 5 pillars that work to support First Nations First; A Place for Every Story; Centrality of the Artist; Strong Cultural Infrastructure; […]

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APPLY: 2026 DDCA AWARDS

The DDCA Awards are designed to acknowledge and celebrate outstanding contributions to creative arts, elevate and share best practice, and encourage and promote the next generation of creative arts leaders in research and education. The Awards promote diversity and recognise contributions and achievements by First Nations creatives, as well as early-, mid- and senior-career practitioners […]

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OUT NOW Evaluating creative practice research: A new framework

ABSTRACT It has been widely noted that creative practice research agitates in positive ways certain attitudes, understandings and/or practices towards ‘knowledge’ and ‘research’ within the university context. Not only this, or partly because of this, creative practice research complicates established scholarly protocols of assessment and evaluation. This has been a topic of concern and debate […]

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Arts education in Australia is at a critical turning point

Recent national media coverage has highlighted significant and ongoing declines in Arts education and training across schools and universities. Fewer students are able to access Dance, Drama, Media Arts, Music and Visual Arts, and this has serious consequences for young people, for education, and for Australia’s cultural future. The National Advocates for Arts Education (NAAE) […]

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“Australia in danger of becoming an ‘artless country’”

Read The Guardian’s coverage on Sandra Gattenhof and John Nicholas Saunders’ research into The Polycrisis for Arts and Creative Education in Australia: Australia in danger of becoming an ‘artless country’ as enrolments in creative courses collapse, reported by Caitlin Cassidy . “Australia risks becoming an “artless country” if it does not address the long-term decline in enrolments in […]

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Announced: Discovery Projects 2026 round 1  

The ARC has announced recipients of Discovery Project grants for 2026 round 1. An impressive number of creative practice research projects have been funded that span across the disciplines and wide range of subject matter – below is just a snapshot. See the full list of funded projects here. Congratulations to all recipients. Uncreative Australia: […]

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