Allegra Spender (Wentworth, Independent) Share this | Hansard source

I rise to speak in support of the Universities Accord (National Higher Education Code to Prevent and Respond to Gender-based Violence) Bill 2025 and I do so with a sense of pride, having pushed for this action against sexual violence at universities, but also with a strong sense of urgency because, while this bill is a welcome step forward in keeping students safe on campus, the scale of harm facing students demands serious and sustained action. This bill is personal for me as I have been seeking action against campus gender based violence since last term. That was inspired by a group of young, courageous women that I met in 2023, including representatives from Fair Agenda, End Rape on Campus and the Stop Campaign, who came to parliament and shared stories of sexual assault and harassment on campus, stories not just of trauma but also of bravery.

I'll be honest that, before that date, I really didn't understand what a problem this was across our campuses, and I was shocked by the extent as well as by the experience of young women seeking to address this on campus. I was shocked by the lack of action. Immediately after that meeting, I, along with other members of the crossbench, raised these concerns directly with the Minister for Education, Jason Clare. I credit the minister for swiftly meeting this group and others on this action and for the action he has subsequently taken, including the introduction of this bill. I would like to acknowledge Senator Pocock and other crossbench colleagues who championed these issues alongside the student activists who continue to speak out, often at great personal cost.

The evidence is stark. Over 14,000 sexual assaults occur on Australian university campuses every year—around 275 each week. These are not just statistics. These are young people, overwhelmingly young women, whose confidence, academic achievement, mental health and futures are being shaped by trauma. Fewer than six per cent of students who experience sexual assault on campus report it. Of those who do, only around half feel that their complaint is taken seriously. This is an institutional failure, and it's why I support this second step on reform, the creation of a higher education code to prevent and respond to gender based violence.

What does this bill do? This bill aims to embed national standards for how universities prevent and respond to gender based violence. It introduces a new legislative instrument requiring higher education providers to adopt evidence based strategies and practices to ensure student safety. It includes meaningful accountability. Vice-Chancellors and CEOs will be required to implement a whole-of-organisation response plan to be reviewed every six months by their governing bodies. Staff and students must be given education and training on prevention. Universities must consider a staff member's history of gender based violence in recruitment and promotion processes. Most importantly, universities must engage students, staff and those with lived experience in designing and reviewing their responses to complaints. Often, it is particularly in the responses to complaints that the greatest challenges lie. A trauma informed, student centred complaints process will be a core obligation. I welcome the government's close collaboration with its expert reference group, comprised of university leaders, gender based violence experts and victim-survivor advocates, because policy works best when it is shaped by the people it is designed to protect, and trauma informed approaches are essential to both healing and prevention.

While I commend this bill, and I commend it strongly, I would like to acknowledge the work that still is to be done. I want to recognise that gender based violence is not the only form of harm that students experience on campus. I'd like to talk to you about one form of harm that is of particular concern to my community and particularly in recent times, and that is specifically about hatred and harm directed at Jewish students on our university campuses. Over the last two years, I've heard from dozens of young people about the rising tide of antisemitism on Australian campuses.

Following the tragic events of October 7, I conducted a national survey with Jewish students to understand what, if anything, had changed on campus. The stories I heard were distressing—Nazi symbols graffitied on buildings and slipped into student backpacks, food thrown at students wearing a kippah, Jewish students afraid to grieve publicly or speak out for fear of social or academic repercussions. In meetings with students from my local area, I heard about Nazi posters pasted next to university rooms and about stickers across campus that read 'Zionism is terrorism', yet those same students are working to build an understanding. One young man set up a campus store titled 'Judaism and Zionism—come and ask us anything', trying to engage constructively despite a lot of hostility.

These are difficult times, but these students are trying to do the right thing, and, in some cases, they are being met with intimidation and abuse, and this is unacceptable. A Senate inquiry last year confirmed that Jewish students are withdrawing from university life. Parents are questioning whether Australian universities remain safe and welcoming for their children. That is a tragedy for all of us. Each quarter I meet with students from across my community in primary school and high school. Last year I remember very vividly that, when I was asking the year 11 students what's on their mind, every single time antisemitism came up, and this student said, 'I'm just not sure if I'm going to be welcome on Australian university campuses.' As a child of an immigrant, as someone who values multicultural and multifaith Australia, I recognise that any group feeling excluded from our institutions and not feeling welcome is a tragedy for all of us. Let's be clear: there will always be issues where different parts of our community feel different, where different individuals feel different and where people want to express their views strongly with protest and other actions. That is an extremely important part of our vigorous and democratic society.

But that sort of desire to speak up on what is most important to you does not and should never condone abuse of any Australian on the basis of their religion, their culture or any other characteristic. We need to draw that distinction extremely sharply in our universities and across institutions in our country, because universities need to be places where every student—regardless of background, faith or belief—feels safe and supported. The Parliamentary Joint Committee on Human Rights inquiry into antisemitism at Australian universities delivered several recommendations to combat antisemitism on campus, including:

… that government monitor the implementation of these recommendations and further recommends that the National Student Ombudsman review university practices to reduce antisemitism on campuses within twelve months of the tabling of this report.

I thoroughly support those recommendations and I look forward to this review by the ombudsman and hope that this code will aid in enforcing the findings of the review.

That experience of Jewish students in my community is why I do support the amendment put forward by the member for Berowra today calling for the development of a higher education code to prevent and respond to antisemitism. Universities should have obligations imposed on them concerning student and staff safety which ensure that education providers comply with recommendations of the National Student Ombudsman concerning antisemitism. Tomorrow I will again meet with AUJS, the Australasian Union of Jewish Student, and I want to commend the work they do in advocating for students and building community. Time and time again I have heard the same thing from Jewish students—that their complaints about antisemitism are being dismissed and ignored, that they feel afraid to make complaints in case it affects their grades or academic opportunities. I say this is not acceptable in any Australian institution and it must change.

This is more than about just safety. It's about what kind of university experience we want for the next generation. University is often the place where young Australians take their first step to adulthood. It's where they begin to find their voice as thinkers, citizens and future leaders. It's where we learn not just what to think but how to think and how to disagree well, to stretch ourselves, to be curious, to have our beliefs challenged in an environment that values respect. Our universities have a long tradition of being places of discovery and dialogue, but that can only happen if students feel safe to speak, question and grow.

I have particular insight into the experience of Jewish students because of the community I represent, but I know all too well that they are not the only group that face harassment and harm on campus. I have heard from Chinese Australian students who faced some of those challenges, particularly at times where the relationship between China and Australia was poor. I know that this has been an issue for Aboriginal students. I know that Muslim students can and do face some hostility and prejudice at different parts of university at different times and have been targeted and marginalised. Vice-chancellors have shared with me some of the feedback they've had from international students who, after the big debate on international student numbers, were approached on campus—'You're stealing our houses. You're stopping me being able to get on in my life'—in a really aggressive and unacceptable way. The tensions that sometimes boil over in this parliament feed into what goes on in our universities, and that sort of behaviour against any group is unacceptable. It is why the ombudsman and this new code matter. They provide a mechanism to hold universities accountable for creating a safe, inclusive and enriching environment. We must be prepared to use these tools, and strengthen them where needed, to ensure that all forms of harm are taken seriously, because our students deserve no less.

Our universities are meant to be places of discovery and growth, not of fear. The universities accord bill is a strong step forward. It rightly shifts the burden from students to institutions. But we must go further. We must confront antisemitism with the same seriousness and structure we are applying to gender based violence. We need to build those systems supporting all students to thrive, regardless of background or belief. And we must keep on holding our institutions and ourselves to account, because our young people deserve better.

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