ANU approved $250m cost-cutting plan without clear evidence, report finds

The report found ANU approved a controversial $250 million cost-cutting program without a clear business case. (ABC News: Callum Flinn)

A new report has found ANU approved its $250 million Renew ANU program without a clear understanding of its need, risks or likely impacts.

The report recommended the university improve financial reporting and seek independent advice prior to making some financial decisions.

ANU says it will implement all the recommendations in the report.

Australian National University's (ANU) leadership approved a $250 million cost-cutting program known as Renew ANU without clear evidence of why it was needed or whether it was achievable, according to a new report from the Australian National Audit Office (ANAO).

In its findings, ANAO found the ANU Council had approved the restructuring program "without a clear understanding of the problem, the options available, implementation risks, or the expected impact of the program on the university's purpose, financial sustainability, and people".

It did however highlight that the ANU, like many universities in Australia, had a chronic income problem that it was struggling to deal with.

Former ANU vice-chancellor, Professor Genevieve Bell, quit following months of controversy over the now-aborted Renew ANU restructure. (ABC News: Adam Shirley)

"Growth in Australian government funding and student fees has slowed in recent years, and since 2018 they have not been enough to cover ANU's expenses without supplementation from other income sources," the report said.

"This gap has been approximately 25 per cent since 2020, although there was some improvement in 2021 (to 12.0 per cent) and 2025 (to 20.3 per cent), due to declining expenses."

The report noted that between 2020 and 2024, a time when Professor Brian Schmidt was vice-chancellor, significant financial pressure had built up as a result of "optimistic revenue assumptions and limited spending control".

It concluded that while the Renew ANU program, which began in late 2024, delivered salary savings of $74.8 million, the program itself with associated redundancies cost $35.9 million and that "major" risks remained "particularly around staff impacts and reliance on future growth in international student numbers".

The report recommended that the university learn from its now-aborted Renew ANU program "to ensure such proposals are supported by a documented business case" that clearly shows key aims, realistic options and clear impacts of any future cost saving proposal.

It also recommended that the university improve its reporting syste