Edith Cowan University becomes newest institution to join Unimutual

We’re pleased to welcome Edith Cowan University as our newest Unimutual member from 1 July. Edith Cowan University (ECU) joins 56 other Members of Unimutual including its Western Australian peers: University of Western Australia, Curtin University, Murdoch University, as well as the Guild of Undergraduates University of Western Australia.

ECU Vice-President (Corporate Services) Scott Henderson commented on the decision to join the Mutual:  “Unimutual’s understanding of the Higher Education sector – and of the associated risks in teaching, internationalisation, and research – made the Mutual a superior option for ECU’s risk financing requirements.

Unimutual is an attractive option because like-risks are pooled, and that distinguishes it from other risk financing providers in the market. The flexibility provided to ECU by the Mutual, based on its structure, is another distinctive feature.”

In today’s climate, the role of risk advisors and partners is more important than ever as education and research institutions face ever-changing and increasingly complex risks. Risk protection is only half the story – proactive risk mitigation is as important, and having market-leading support in this regard, especially as institutions struggle to do more with tighter resources, makes all the difference.

Regis Australia and Unimutual CEO Ty Birkett added: “It’s always exciting to have a new Member join their fellow university, higher education, and research organisations – especially if it is their first time joining Unimutual, as they discover the collective strength of its collegiality. We look forward to welcoming ECU as a Member of the Unimutual community.

Our interaction with ECU and their brokers showed that they had a strong focus on understanding and mitigating risk and a desire for a long-term partnership.  As such we are delighted to be able to continue the interaction with them going forward as our newest Member.”

Scott Henderson went on to discuss ECU’s strategy and the biggest concerns for the sector: “ECU’s risk management approach is ISO 31000 based and strategically driven in support of ECU’s core business of teaching and research.

In terms of threats to the higher education sector, any significant fallout from the US-China tensions or trade war could provide either great opportunity or threats. Domestically, performance-based funding provides an opportunity for universities to improve outcomes – but wrongly implemented, there could be harm.”

About Edith Cowan University

Established in 1991, ECU is named after Edith Dircksey Cowan, the first woman to be elected to an Australian Parliament and one who devoted her life to education, believing it to be the key to growth, change and improvement in society.

ECU is home to more than 30,000 undergraduate and postgraduate students and close to 6,000 international students. ECU incorporates the world-renowned Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts, the oldest and most popular School of Education in Western Australia, the largest Nursing program in the State, and Kurongkurl Katitjin, the Centre for Australian Indigenous Education and Research.

ECU has been ranked in the world’s top 150 universities under 50 years old in the 2019 Times Higher Education (THE) Young Universities Rankings, and had maintained a 5-star rating for teaching quality from Good Universities Guide for the past 12 years – one of only two universities to achieve this.

Read more about the opportunities and threats of the US-China trade tensions in our Emerging Risk Report #78