Public unis post $15m loss

Profitability was down at all four of Western Australia's public universities last year with two institutions finishing the year in the red.

Annual reporting tabled in Parliament this afternoon shows Edith Cowan University and The University of Western Australia reporting respective operating surpluses in 2022, of $37.9 million and $20.2 million, respectively.

Both results represented a steep decline on 2021, when UWA finished the year with a surplus of $203.5 million and ECU with $78.9 million.

The numbers were worse for Curtin University, which reported an operating loss of $36.1 million, and Murdoch University, which managed a deficit of $37.2 million, after both posted respective operating surpluses in 2021 of $113.3 million and $14.6 million.

Reduced investment returns appeared to account for significant lost revenue at all four universities, with UWA and Murdoch reporting investment losses.

That was in addition to a general decline in grant funding and domestic student payments across the entire sector.

Meanwhile, international student revenue remained stable across institutions, totalling $398.4 million for the year.

On the other side of the ledger, employee-related expenses remained the largest cost for all four universities.

That's despite three of the four reporting lower year-on-year salary bills, with Curtin the only institution to report a marginally higher figure on this front than last year.

Lower salary bills may prove a useful bargaining chip for the NTEU as it continues negotiations with the state’s universities over new pay agreements.