Up to five per cent of staff could lose their jobs and 19 courses scrapped under proposed changes by Charles Darwin University for its Vocational Education and Training department announced on Tuesday afternoon.

In a statement, deputy vice-chancellor Meredith Parr, rather than vice-chancellor Professor Simon Maddocks, said it would save $10 million through “financial efficiencies” by “unifying” the VET and the higher education part of the organisation.

A document about the changes was being given to staff this afternoon.

Ms Parr said the draft proposal replaces the plan from last year, and identified 77 positions across CDU which would be cut, or five per cent of all CDU employees. But she did not say how many students would be affected.

Ms Parr said 19 of 199 VET courses would be cut, with some of those having no current enrolments. The university did not specify how many did not have any enrollees or why that was.

She said they would work with all current students to ensure they have “an option to finish or continue their studies” but it is presumed they have to change courses.

A full list of the courses to be cut is at the bottom of this article.

“I am acutely aware that losing a position in a national market that could see up to 21,000 university sector jobs go by the end of the year is confronting, and comprehensive staff support measures have been put in place for staff and their families,” she said.

The statement gave no indication why Prof Maddocks – who resigned on September 7, but is not leaving until December 31 – was not the one making the announcement.

The university is planning to build a new campus in the Darwin CBD, which has been the subject of widely varying reports of eventual cost, but will be funded, in part at least, by $97 million by the Federal Government and $150 million loan from the Northern Australia Infrastructure Facility. It is unclear if the university is spending any of its own money on what has become a controversial project.

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The financial backstory

The university itself posted a $22.14 million deficit in 2015, after years of profit, with the CDU group posting a deficit of $13.89 million that year. Those financials were followed by university deficits of $21.9 million in 2016, $19.5 million in 2017, $21.3 million in 2018 and and $8.7 million in 2019.

In response to the annual deficits, Prof Maddocks last year made cuts to the College of Nursing and Midwifery faculty, its libraries, and some senior staff.

In July last year, according to an ABC report, he announced about 100 job losses, because for the first time, operating cash was in deficit.

“It’s going to be closer to 100-odd staff positions, based on my current assessment,” he was quoted as saying by the ABC.

However these cuts never eventuated.

In October last year, the NT News reported it had documents that showed 16 permanent staff and 35 qualifications for VET could be cut by December. However these too were silently put on hold.

In an April 2020 announcement Prof Maddocks said COVID-19 would cause a more than $22 million deficit – with revenue to fall between $22 million and $30 million – if the university did not make more cuts and savings. By late August, that projected figure had been reduced to $6 million.

Ms Parr said CDU is one of only six dual-sector universities in Australia, with 8,700 or 45 per cent of its students enrolled in VET

She said that since 2012, funding and enrolment for VET across Australia had been falling and two external reports by Ernst & Young, and CDU’s Dr Steve Shanahan and Dr Don Zoellner recommended significant restructure of CDU’s VET to balance the budget and refocus on growth opportunities.

Ms Parr said they would consult with staff until October 18, as well as seek feedback from industry and employers.

The courses proposed to be cut

The following are the courses proposed to be cut: Certificate III in Community Night Patrol; Certificate III in Business Administration; Certificate I in Business; Certificate I in Hospitality; Certificate IV in Business Administration; Certificate IV in Hairdressing; Diploma of Business Administration; Certificate IV in New Small Business; Certificate IV in Building Design Drafting; Certificate II in Automotive Air Conditioning Technology; Certificate II in Automotive Servicing Technology; Certificate II in Split Air-Conditioning and Heat Pump Systems; Certificate I in Information, Digital Media and Technology; Certificate II in Information, Digital Media and Technology; Certificate III in Library and Information Services; Certificate IV in Logistics; Certificate II in Community Services; Certificate I in Resources and Infrastructure Operations; Certificate III in Automotive Diesel Engine Technology.