The COVID-19 pandemic has posed a real -- albeit rare -- test for human and organisational resilience worldwide, including those in the higher education sector. In this paper, I reflect on my observations of the pandemic's impacts that have rippled through the university sector in Australia in the first three quarters of 2020. The pandemic has not only heightened existing issues in universities, such as the tensions between university management, union, and part of university staff, but also posed new ones, such as supporting doctoral students to overcome research disruptions at an unprecedented scale. In terms of supporting doctoral students, the case of the University of Melbourne, one of the largest Australian universities, shows that there are still hidden issues even with a relatively flexible approach based on good intention. Given the uncertainties caused by the pandemic, the sustainability and effectiveness of the university's current support measures remain to be seen.