Governance Framework
Support with the early design, establishment and documentation of higher education governance arrangements, including governing body structures, academic governance, terms of reference, delegations and foundational governance records.
Establishing Governance for a Higher Education Provider
E-Skills Australia assists organisations seeking to establish or strengthen higher education governance structures in preparation for provider registration, course development, academic oversight and ongoing regulatory readiness.
For a higher education provider, governance is not simply an organisational chart. It must demonstrate that the provider has clear corporate governance, academic governance, accountability, independent oversight, decision-making processes, reporting arrangements and the capacity to assure the quality of higher education delivery.
Our support focuses on the early establishment of suitable governance arrangements, including the governing body, academic governance body, committees, terms of reference, delegations, constitution or rules amendments, agreements, reporting cycles and foundational records needed to support a credible higher education operating model.
The HESF places strong emphasis on governance and accountability under Domain 6, including corporate governance, corporate monitoring and accountability, and academic governance. TEQSA notes that the governing body is expected to exercise governance functions and hold the organisation accountable, and that these functions should be reflected in instruments such as the constitution, board charter or delegated authorities.
Key HESF Areas Relevant to Governance Frameworks
Our governance framework support is guided by relevant HESF areas, including:
- HESF 6.1 Corporate Governance: establishment of a formally recognised governing body, independent oversight, governance roles and accountability.
- HESF 6.2 Corporate Monitoring and Accountability: monitoring of quality, risk, compliance, financial viability, academic governance and provider performance.
- HESF 6.3 Academic Governance: academic oversight of course quality, academic standards, teaching, assessment, scholarship, academic integrity and student outcomes.
- HESF 5.1 to 5.4 Institutional Quality Assurance: internal course approval, academic integrity, monitoring, review, improvement and oversight of third-party arrangements.
- HESF 7.1 to 7.3 Representation, Information and Information Management: accurate public information, student information and secure management of provider records.
Governance Establishment and Documentation
We can assist with:
- Higher education governance model design
- Initial corporate governance and academic governance structure
- Governing body role, composition and responsibility mapping
- Academic Board or Academic Governance Committee establishment
- Terms of reference for governing bodies and committees
- Delegations and authority framework
- Committee reporting cycles and annual governance calendar
- Constitution or company rules review and amendment support
- Governance charters, board protocols and committee documentation
- Conflict of interest and independence arrangements
- Governance records, registers, minutes and action tracking templates
- Risk, compliance and quality reporting pathways
- Agreements, service arrangements and third-party oversight documents
- Initial governance evidence pack for provider planning and readiness
Building the Initial Governance Bodies
We assist clients to establish the core governance bodies required to support a credible higher education provider model.
The structure does not need to be unnecessarily complex. The key is that it must be proportionate, independent where required, properly documented and capable of exercising real oversight over academic quality, compliance, risk and provider performance.
Guided by Governance and Management Bodies
After initial establishment, E-Skills can provide ongoing advisory and documentation support guided by the provider’s governing body, academic governance body and management team. This may include:
- Preparing governance papers and reporting templates
- Supporting committee establishment and early meeting cycles
- Reviewing governance records and evidence
- Assisting with risk, quality and compliance reporting
- Supporting academic governance documentation
- Preparing regulatory readiness documents
- Assisting with annual reviews and governance improvement actions
- Supporting course planning and documentation through academic governance pathways
- Assisting with TEQSA applications