CAPHIA warns against dismantling Public Health at UTS

The Council of Academic Public Health Institutions Australasia (CAPHIA), representing university schools and departments of public health across Australia, Aoteroa New Zealand and the Pacific, expresses deep concern regarding the proposal by the University of Technology Sydney (UTS) to disestablish its School of Public Health.

Public health is a foundational discipline that underpins the health, wellbeing, and resilience of our communities. It cannot and should not be diminished or absorbed into structures that fail to recognise its central role in prevention, population health, and health equity. 

Universities have a civic responsibility. They are not corporations; they are institutions of public good. Undermining public health disciplines to meet short-term financial targets runs counter to that responsibility and risks weakening our national capacity to respond to health threats and to improve the health of all Australians. Disinvestment threatens not only the pipeline of skilled graduates but also the innovation and evidence needed to meet today’s pressing challenges.

CAPHIA stands in solidarity with public health educators, researchers, and students at UTS. We call upon university leadership and governments to safeguard public health as a core academic discipline and to ensure it is properly resourced to serve the Australian community now and into the future.

CAPHIA respectfully urges UTS to reconsider this decision, given the critical role that public health education and research play in advancing population health, informing policy, and preparing future leaders in health systems. The School of Public Health at UTS has made valuable contributions to the field, and its closure would represent a significant loss to the public health community both nationally and regionally.

CAPHIA stands ready to engage constructively with UTS leadership to explore strategies that preserve and strengthen public health capacity within the university.

Sincerely,

CAPHIA Advocacy and Engagement Committee,

endorsed by the CAPHIA Board of Directors