Having served for three years as Victoria University’s Vice-Chancellor, Professor Dawkins takes stock of his experience across all educational sectors and outlines the case for reconceptualising tertiary education. He goes on to comment on the recent higher education policy announcements outlined in the 2014 Australian Government Budget, which involved a major deregulation agenda. He examines whether these changes contribute to the reconceptualisation of tertiary education and argues the case for re-crafting aspects of the proposed reforms.