A spokesman for Griffith University said the Confucius Institute was not involved in delivering formal academic qualifications and was instead"focused on offering cultural and language programs for our local communities"under the direction of a senior university academic.

A spokeswoman for La Trobe said its institute"does not engage in management of any award courses of the university or in other academic endeavours of the university and so there is no impact on academic autonomy and independence".

A spokeswoman for CDU said the university was satisfied with its institute,which"does not have a direct role in any academic certification"awarded by the university.

John Fitzgerald,an emeritus professor at Swinburne University of Technology and leading expert on Chinese politics,said the clauses on teaching quality assessments could place universities in breach of higher education standards if they related to the awarding of degrees.

"Even if they are not in breach of[Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency] standards,accepting foreign government assessments of Australian university teaching programs is hardly a good look,"he said.

"Australian universities enjoy freedom and autonomy because they are generally believed to be self-governing institutions not subject to foreign government interference. Anything that undermines that belief risks harming the sector as a whole."

Amid the ongoing concerns about implications for academic freedom,deals signed by other Australian institutions appear more assertive about their rights.

Victoria University's agreement says the institute must accept Hanban's assessment on teaching quality but adds that,"if the teaching relates to a Victoria University award course,the teaching quality must also satisfy Victoria University's requirements".

The University of Melbourne's agreement states only that its facility"must take into consideration any assessment by the Headquarters on the teaching quality at the Institute".

The University of Sydney's agreement stipulates it must accept Hanban's assessment of the quality of teaching"unless it is inconsistent with the university's academic rules,policies and procedures".

The University of Western Australia's states that it has"the right to determine the content of the curriculum and the manner of instruction for all programs administered by the Institute at UWA"while Hanban"ultimately has the right to determine the programs to which it provides funding".

The contracts signed by QUT and the University of Newcastle similarly state the universities'control over content and instruction while Hanban has discretion over its funding.

UNSW's agreement is unique in that it does not have a relevant clause clarifying where authority sits.

The Sydney Morning HeraldandThe Ageobtained the contracts governing eleven of the 13 institutes at Australian universities.

RMIT and the University of Adelaide declined to provide the agreements in response to multiple requests.

A spokeswoman for RMIT said the university considers agreements with third parties to be confidential and a spokesman for the University of Adelaide cited the fact the contract was a legal document.

The institutes have loomed as afocus for the foreign influence transparency scheme introduced by the Coalition government. While the universities have been warned the facilities might be subject to the scheme,they have so far declined to register them.