The secret life of universities (Advocate 26 03)

Increasingly, universities are relying upon confidentiality directions to ensure that information is kept out of the public domain. It is then the university’s exclusive task to ‘craft the message’. This is particularly so when it comes to disciplinary proceedings. 
Everyone will be familiar with the Peter Ridd and James Cook University (JCU) case currently on appeal in the Federal Court of Australia. In that case, Dr Ridd was accused of, and ultimately had his employment terminated because he exercised his rights to intellectual freedom. JCU argue on the other hand that his employment was terminated because of breaches of the Code of Conduct. More...