Governance at UNE

Abstract

Each Australian university is a corporation established by its own Act of Parliament. The separate Australian states derive their power to pass such legislation from their general power to legislate for 'good governance' in their territory, while the Commonwealth Government's power to legislate is limited to the power to legislate for specific matters listed in the Australian Constitution. The power to legislate for corporations is limited to the power to legislate for 'trading corporations' 'established' in Australia, although the High Court of Australia has not had occasion to decide whether a university is a trading corporation. This leads to the situation, often described as anomalous, that while each university is established under state legislation, its major source of funding is the Commonwealth Government.