AHEIA to welcome Craig Laughton’s leadership from July

Sent: 30 May 2022

The university sector’s peak employer body, the Australian Higher Education Industrial Association (AHEIA), is pleased to announce the appointment of Mr Craig Laughton as Executive Director from July.

Laughton will replace Stuart Andrews, who is retiring after 11 years in the role of CEO.

AHEIA President Professor Carolyn Evans said the appointment was an exciting opportunity for the association to progress its agenda of transformation.

“Craig brings a wealth of experience in working for member-based organisations and universities. With issues around enterprise bargaining, employee rights and postCovid workplaces firmly on the agenda at most universities, AHEIA looks forward to this next stage in our development,” Professor Evans said.

“We also thank Stuart Andrews for over a decade of leadership in the sector.” Craig Laughton said he was looking forward to joining AHEIA at such an important juncture for the sector.

“This is a really transformative moment in the higher education space,” he explained. “As we move forward out of COVID, universities are having to look at the way they’ve structured their businesses, to not be so heavily reliant on overseas students. “One of the new ways to do that is through transformation, and commercialisation.

“Being able to play a key role in that shift is going to be really challenging, exciting and rewarding, both to universities as a whole and to their academic staff as well, because this is a brave new world for everybody.” Laughton said that while he would be progressing a new agenda for AHEIA, the association would ensure continuity in its core business. “AHEIA will continue to play a strong role in providing strategic, proactive leadership for the sector, and will assist universities in achieving their bargaining and other workplace objectives,” he said.

The Australian Higher Education Industrial Association is the employer association for the higher education sector, registered under the Federal Fair Work (Registered Organisations) Act 2009. Our membership currently comprises 32 universities.

AHEIA provides advice, assistance and representation to its members on workplace relations matters, including appearing for members in proceedings before the Fair Work Commission, on either an individual or collective basis, and in internal disciplinary proceedings.

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