The University of Sydney is offering several high-paying positions exclusively to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander candidates as part of its push to "Indigenise and decolonise" its curriculum.

In the past week, the university has advertised three roles, including a Senior Education Design Officer with a base salary of $108,557 plus 17 per cent superannuation. The role involves guiding academic staff in integrating Indigenous perspectives into course content and designing learning materials that promote "culturally inclusive education."

A second position, Project Officer, comes with a salary of $99,455 plus 17 per cent superannuation and will assist in "building new project plans related to Indigenising Curricula." According to the job description, the successful applicant will work alongside education managers and designers to advance "Indigenising and Decolonising Curricula" initiatives.

The third position is for a Senior Lecturer in Clinical Psychology, a two-day-per-week role paying between $150,461 and $173,492 (pro rata) plus 17 per cent superannuation. The job requires bringing together Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander and clinical knowledge to contribute to the university’s Master of Clinical Psychology program, as well as supporting efforts to Indigenise undergraduate coursework.

Dr Bella d'Abrera, director of the Foundations of Western Civilisation program at the Institute of Public Affairs, criticised the university’s approach. "This is illustrative of the shift in academic priorities of Australian universities, which have abandoned the pursuit of knowledge for political activism, in this instance under the guise of 'decolonisation,'" she told Sky News.

Despite concerns about the financial sustainability of Australian universities, the University of Sydney defended the hires. "These roles have been designed to assist our educators when they are developing teaching resources about Indigenous knowledge and cultures where relevant for our curriculum," a spokesperson told Daily Mail Australia.

Indigenous activist Warren Mundine also criticised the university’s direction. "I thought that universities were about people coming there, challenging, researching, backing their arguments up with empirical evidence, learning," he said. "All these courses have become indoctrination."

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