According to the University of Sydney’s Annual Financial Report, the educational institution recorded a surplus of $351.8 million in 2023. In 2022, the recorded surplus was $298.5 million. Both numbers pale compared to the COVID-19 2021 surplus of $1.3 billion. USyd reports that this is the sixth year in a row reaping a profit.
With expenditures such as quarantined grants and investment funds factored in, USyd operated at a loss of $9.4 million last year. Comparatively, the margin made last year with these funds factored in was a profit of $200 million.
In response to the figures, Vice Chancellor Mark Scott said “the financial environment in which universities operate remains challenging, and there are ongoing uncertainties ahead.”
The Report also contained an update to the University’s Employee Payments Review. USyd is conducting a manual line-by-line analysis of the work done by casual employees to determine if any underpayments have occurred.
The 2023 budget set aside $70.1 million for potential payment liabilities. USyd has also developed a new “online teaching allocation tool” and hired more staff to ensure compliance under existing Enterprise Bargaining Agreements.
Part of USyd’s Annual Financial Report recognised that “underpayments may be owed arising from practices relating to work allocation and payments”. The Report provided for $70.1 million to be set aside to remedy any historical underpayments.
The NTEU claims $170 million has been stolen from 110,000 staff in recent years.
Pressure on University funding is likely to continue with government policies targeting the growth of international students and no direct funding increases in the recent Federal Budget for research.
SRC President Harrison Brennan criticized the surplus telling Honi “It’s pretty deplorable that a public university chooses to make a surplus. Every dollar extra must be spent on improving the learning conditions of students and working conditions of staff.”
“Whilst posting this surplus, in the same breath, the University of Sydney is pursuing a slew of course cuts amongst many disciplines in the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, namely Philosophy which has some of the highest enrolment numbers in the University.”
Brennan also criticized university investments in fossil fuel and defense contractors as well as the lack of a pay rise for staff, noting that the wage increase negotiated in the 2023 Enterprise Bargaining Agreement has been outpaced by inflation.