鈥淲e are in early discussions with the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade and the Department of Education, Skills and Employment on the implications for universities of the Government鈥檚 proposed foreign relations legislation.鈥
鈥淚t will be very important to discuss the exact definitions and scale of what the new laws are intended to capture.鈥
鈥淯niversities are equal partners with Government agencies in the Universities Foreign Interference Taskforce (UFIT), which has devised robust guidelines that build on measures to keep our institutions and intellectual property secure.鈥
鈥淚t is critically important to strike the right balance between national security and the research collaboration which is driving so many advances in knowledge 鈥 including the search for a COVID-19 vaccine.鈥
ENDS
