The Australian government believes that fostering a positive security culture, through a principles-based approach to risk management, can help to ensure the university sector continues to produce world-class research, while protecting academic freedom and minimising risks.

From a business perspective, investing so much in one portfolio is risky, and universities need to diversify where they’re getting their income to ensure a stable economic future.

This report establishes the scale of Australian universities’ China risk, assesses the difficulty of addressing it, and proposes steps to take toward reducing it in a fiscally and educationally responsible way.

This strategy document is the culmination of a detailed literature review, public submissions and responses to a series of issues papers, face-to-face consultations around Australia, and analysis of available data and evidence.

This report argues that a good tertiary education system steers prospective students towards courses that increase their employment opportunities and minimise their risks, and that Australia’s post-school system does not always achieve this goal.