by: Larissa Pearce (Managing Consultant, Organisational Improvement)
2025 didn’t just “increase demand” for WIL – it exposed the transition cost of embedding it everywhere.
The early signal from our national pulse check is in: the sector is operating close to capacity, and the operational load is rising faster than the system’s ability to absorb it.
2025 Sector Insights
Across universities and higher education institutes, we’re seeing the same pattern: strategic intent is strong, but the day-to-day reality is constrained resourcing and complex processes.
Two dynamics stood out in the mid-survey data:
1. The transition phase is the pressure cooker.
For institutions currently working to embed WIL in all programs, the gap between ambition and operational stability becomes stark. In our mid-survey sample:
- 100% of institutions actively embedding WIL listed resourcing as a top critical issue
- 75% reported system failures / inadequacies
- 100% reported difficulty sourcing sufficient placement opportunities
In other words: scaling WIL by doing “more of the same” doesn’t work. In reality it requires deliberate redesign of how placements are resourced, structured and work-flowed.
2. Workload ratios are tipping into risk territory.
A cluster of teams reported placement volumes surpassing adequate staffing ratios – and those teams were statistically the most likely to report process breakdowns and inefficiencies.
The Operating Model Gap – Centralisation is a Strategy
A common response to process challenges is to centralise WIL functions, but the data invites nuance. Centralised structures reported more process pain points than decentralised/faculty models, and hub-and-spoke appears particularly challenging.
The takeaway: structure alone doesn’t fix flow. Without investment in process design and operating model development, centralisation can simply make bottlenecks more visible (which is useful… but not sufficient).
2026 Outlook: Consolidate First, Then Grow
If 2025 taught us anything, it’s that the next 12 months should prioritise operational consolidation: reducing compliance drag, aligning staffing to placement volumes, and embedding fit-for-purpose workflows and systems.
This matters even more as the broader higher-ed policy environment continues to shift, including the Australian Tertiary Education Commission (ATEC) commencing interim operations in July 2025, with legislation introduced 26 November 2025 and an intention to be fully operational by 2026.
How DVE Can Support
When teams are under water, the highest-leverage work is usually unglamorous, but powerful:
- Business Process Improvement (BPI) + end-to-end process mapping (placement lifecycle): pinpoint duplication, fragile handoffs, and compliance “double handling” – then redesign for flow.
- Operating model clarity (especially for centralised/hub-and-spoke): service ownership, role clarity, decision points, escalation paths, and workable interfaces with faculties and partners.
- WIL function reviews: rapid diagnosis of where capacity is being lost (process, system fit, governance, staffing mix), with a staged improvement roadmap.
- Compliance/workflow optimisation: reduce administrative burden so teams can get back time for relationship-building and quality improvement.
Share Your Voice
The 2025 WIL & Placements Sector Survey is still open. Add your perspective to help build a comprehensive national picture of what’s working, what’s breaking, and what sustainable WIL operations need next.
Participants will be the first to receive the full white paper in April 2026.
Please forward to your colleagues in placements/WIL.
