The WA Government will investigate the potential merger of Curtin University, Murdoch University and The University of Western Australia, with Curtin raising concerns about the impact on students and the future of its distinctive law school.
The business case will be led by the Department of the Premier and Cabinet, with a steering committee chaired by businessman Mark Barnaba and medical researcher Professor Fiona Wood AO as deputy chair.
The proposal follows the 2023 University Sector Review and the 2025 University Feasibility Study, which examined the performance, sustainability and future direction of WA’s public university sector.
Curtin University Vice-Chancellor Professor Harlene Hayne said the university was “vigorously opposing a proposed mega-university of almost 120,000 students”.
Professor Hayne said the merger would limit student choice while creating significant risks, costs and disruption.
“Our greatest concern is for the students who would fall through the cracks in a proposed mega-university, particularly those facing additional barriers in their access to education who have diverse needs that a university of that scale simply could not accommodate,” she said.
Curtin Law School Dean and Head Professor Robert Cunningham, who is also the National Law Lead of the Digital Finance Cooperative Research Centre, highlighted the school’s distinctive approach to legal education and its focus on accessibility.
Established in 2013, Curtin Law School is the highest-ranked law school in WA and aims to produce job-ready graduates through close integration with the legal profession, international perspectives and an emphasis on the rule of law.
Professor Cunningham said Curtin was the only law school in WA to directly offer a Graduate Diploma of Legal Practice, also known as Practical Legal Training. This pathway allows students to complete a Bachelor of Laws and practical legal training at Curtin and become eligible for admission as a legal practitioner within four years.
He said the school’s city-based premises at 57 Murray Street, its collaboration with Murray Chambers and the delivery of practical legal training demonstrated Curtin’s commitment to bridging the gap between academia and the legal profession.
Having barristers’ chambers housed within a law school was a “truly unique proposition”, Professor Cunningham said, giving students opportunities for real-world interaction with practising barristers.
He also emphasised the diversity of the school’s student population, saying more than two-thirds of students were female, more than one-quarter came from equity groups facing additional barriers to education, more than 13 per cent were from low socioeconomic backgrounds and 10 per cent had a disability.
Professor Cunningham said these figures reflected Curtin University’s ethos of providing high-quality, accessible education, an approach associated with the institution’s namesake, former prime minister John Curtin.
The University of Western Australia said it acknowledged the State Government’s announcement and remained open to discussions about the future of WA universities.
However, UWA said any proposal to merge the universities would need to be supported by a sound business rationale and deliver significant benefits to students and the WA community.
UWA said it would reserve further comment until it had reviewed the proposal and communicated with staff and students, which it identified as a priority.
