Foreign interference in universities inquiry under consideration

THE Parliamentary Joint Committee on Intelligence and Security (PJCIS) has received a letter from the Minister for Home Affairs referring an inquiry into foreign interference in Australia’s universities, publicly funded research agencies and competitive research grants agencies with a requested reporting date of July 2021.

The PJCIS recognises that this is a complex topic, and, in order to appropriately consider the issues before it, the Committee will seek private briefings from relevant agencies with a view to finalising the terms of reference, in consultation with the Minister for Home Affairs, and launch the inquiry later this month.

Chair, Andrew Hastie MP, said, "The Committee supports this inquiry. We will now take the opportunity to engage the relevant agencies as we refine the terms of reference. This inquiry is about transparency and accountability, so it’s important that we ask the right questions.”

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