With the bloodbath at ACU, and the dubious reasons given for it, one has to wonder whether having a "tenured appointment" at an Australian university means much or creates any meaningful legal rights or entitlements? Consider what happened at ACU: starting in 2019, philosophers were recruited, often from tenured positions around the world, to a new research Institute devoted to "core" analytic philosophy; they were offered the Australian equivalent of tenure; in 2021, a new Vice-Chancellor came on board, the "unreconstructed Hegelian," and two years later their jobs were gone. Is this what tenure means in Australia: you have it as long as the Vice-Chancellor appreciates your research?
One ACU philosopher noted on Twitter that the provost of the Australian Catholic University, Meg Stuart, told him "that being sacked from a continuing contract less than a year after moving to the country is normal for universities in Australia, which must remain 'agile.'" Is this "normal"? If so, then tenure does not exist in Australia.
Comments from readers knowledgeable about Australian employment law and tenure practices welcome.
