Australian universities have been warned off any sort of research relationship with Iran, North Korea or Russia as the federal government moves to strengthen its veto powers over university collaborations.

A Senate estimates committee on 5 June heard that “non-core” agreements between Australian universities and their overseas counterparts could come under the purview of the Foreign Arrangements Scheme, which empowers the minister for foreign affairs to strike out international deals.

Specifically, transnational education arrangements – such as joint degrees, Australian degrees taught elsewhere, programmes that start overseas and finish in Australia, and foreign branch campuses – could fall under the scheme’s scope. These arrangements already require approval from the higher education regulator Teqsa, under an “integrity bill” that passed parliament late last year.

The committee heard that “informal arrangements between researchers” could also be subject to Foreign Arrangements Scheme approval, under legislative amendments expected over the next month.

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The federal education department has also advised Australian universities against research collaborations with institutions in Iran, North Korea and Russia. The department said it had maintained “weekly contact” with Sydney’s Macquarie University over a joint PhD supervision programme with the Tehran University of Medical Sciences.

Macquarie said the projects in question related to biomedical science, medical imaging and health. “These agreements are being phased out and will be closed once all students complete their doctoral studies,” a spokesman said.

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“The research…does not contravene security, national interest or Australian sanctions.”

The government is also seeking advice on adding research security to the threshold standards for university registration, the committee heard.

Australian Research Council (ARC) officials appearing before the committee refused to divulge any further details about 13 grants that education minister Jason Clare vetoed last month on national security grounds – including the combined value of the grants.

“Why can’t we know how much they were worth?” independent senator David Pocock asked. “Because that’s not information we’re disclosing,” he was told.

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“How can the government justify a level of secrecy where we’re not even allowed to know how much these research projects were worth?” Pocock asked. “That just seems like almost comedic levels of government secrecy.”

The ARC said funds from the vetoed grants would be made available in future grant rounds.

john.ross@timeshighereducation.com