Peter Noonan was a Professorial Fellow and Emeritus Professor at the Mitchell Institute and the Centre for Research on International Education Systems at Victoria University in Melbourne. Peter was also an Honorary Senior Fellow in the Graduate School of Education at the University of Melbourne in the LH Martin Institute for Tertiary Education Leadership.
Peter played a major role in shaping policy in higher education and vocational education and training in Australia for over 25 years as a researcher, senior public servant, consultant, and adviser to national and state governments.
His research interests were varied and included tertiary education funding, the opening up of higher education funding to private higher education institutions, options for reform of Australia’s income contingent loans system and the development of a more coherent tertiary education system in Australia across the higher education and VET sectors.
Peter also had extensive international experience undertaking major in-country projects in Singapore, Saudi Arabia, Abu Dhabi, China, Namibia and Papua New Guinea and as an invited speaker and member of bilateral delegations in India, Hong Kong, Japan, Brazil, Korea, the USA and England. In 2014, he facilitated the Victorian – Latin American Education Symposium in Melbourne. He was also an invited speaker at the 2009 and 2015 Universities Australia conferences.
Peter was involved in several landmark reviews, which is a testament to the regard that Peter was held. He was the Chair of the Australian Quality Framework review, delivering the recommendations in October 2019. He was also appointed to the expert panel to provide independent strategic advice to the Federal Government on key reforms flowing from the Expert Review of Australia’s VET System. Peter was also a member of the Bradley Review of Higher Education that was the basis for major reforms of the higher education sector.
Peter was instrumental in the establishment of the Mitchell Institute and its program of research. He was a valued colleague, a friend and a leader who has had a profound impact on the tertiary education sector.
