AbstractDuring the mid 1980s the Australian Vice‐Chancellors’Committee functioned as an informal but influential interest group in the higher education policy arena. With the introduction of the government's reform program of 1987–88 the committee found itself placed in a weakened and ineffective position. Since that time it has fought back to become an impressive and powerful political lobby. This article explores how the vice‐chancellors went about rebuilding their organization, the way in which it now interacts with government, and the extent of its impact on policy development. Discussion concludes with an examination of the internal problems still besetting the co