Ellie Whiteaker (WA, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

It's my absolute pleasure to rise this evening and talk to the Universities Accord (National Higher Education Code to Prevent and Respond to Gender-based Violence) Bill 2025 and the Universities Accord (National Higher Education Code to Prevent and Respond to Gender-based Violence) (Consequential Amendments) Bill 2025. It's really clear that these bills are the result of a lot of work by a number of senators in this place, and I particularly want to acknowledge Senator Nita Green for her work on bringing these bills here. Everyone deserves to feel safe at work and when they're studying at university, wherever that happens to be around the country, and that's why we've taken this step to ensure that higher education providers are proactive in their efforts in preventing gender based violence on campus, as well as putting in much-needed, better support for the students who need it and for those victims-survivors.

It's clear that, for too long, students and staff have felt let down by convoluted, unsatisfactory reporting processes. Systems that should have offered protection have instead added pressure, forcing victims-survivors to carry the burden of navigating complex complaints pathways just to seek the justice and support that they deserve. We know that inadequate reporting systems and a lack of proper support infrastructure can have serious and long-term consequences not just for the mental and physical health of victims-survivors and the people around them but also for the educational outcomes of students. Many felt they had no choice but to withdraw from their studies altogether. This works against the sole purpose of a higher education provider, which is to provide education to students, so that's why we are taking this action now.

The National Plan to End Violence against Women and Children is the blueprint that underpins this bill. It's agreed to by every government and every education minister across the country. It's an ambitious plan to end gender based violence in a generation. For too long, dealing with gender based violence has been an issue put in the too-hard basket by successive coalition governments. Students, particularly young women, have been let down—let down by institutions who have failed to act, let down by systems and people that didn't listen, and let down by governments who have looked the other way. It's just not good enough. This is a plan grounded in evidence, taking a trauma informed approach and putting the voices of victims-survivors front and centre, because we say enough is enough.

Gender based violence, we know, is driven by inequality, disproportionately impacting women, people of colour, the queer community, First Nations students and students with a disability. This is such an important bill. It aims to protect students vulnerable to systemic oppression and aims to deliver better outcomes, ensuring safety across every element of campus life, whether that be in the classroom, at student accommodation or in university clubs.

I too want to acknowledge the many victims-survivors who participated in the committee processes and shared their stories, which have been really key in putting together the plan that is laid out in this bill. The plan lays out seven actions that will guide implementation and ongoing accountability. The first step is the establishment of the National Student Ombudsman, a truly independent pathway to justice for students and staff impacted by gender based violence on campus. The second is to have all higher education providers embed a whole-of-organisation approach to prevent and report gender based violence within their organisation, led by the most senior executives and governance bodies.

Universities are so often the ground for social movements. For many students, university is the place where they find their voice, share their passions and form their beliefs. These are environments where often we're first challenged and taught to challenge what we know and what we believe. Universities deliver leaders, thinkers and workers. So this is an opportunity to make lasting change not only on campus but for a generation of young people. It's why a whole-organisation approach is so important.

The third action under this bill is to strengthen provider accountability for systemic issues relating to gender based violence by introducing a new National Higher Education Code to Prevent and Respond to Gender-based Violence. This code will be led by a new expert unit, initially sitting within the Department of Education. The purpose of this unit will be to assist higher education providers by building their capacity to prevent and respond to instances of gender based violence, as well as ensuring that the work being undertaken is informed by the latest and evolving evidence. Ensuring there is space for best practice to grow and change with the times is crucial for these programs to become part of real and lasting cultural change.

Another really important area is, of course, student accommodation, a place where we know that safety is particularly important and often, unfortunately, particularly at risk. Safety, of course, doesn't just stop at the classroom door. That's why this plan calls on student accommodation operated both by universities and by other independent providers for more seamless collaboration between those universities and accommodation, including in cases where the university doesn't directly manage that accommodation. This is really important so that victims-survivors don't have to make multiple reports and recounts of what has happened and, if a student does suffer harm in residential housing linked to a university, then the institution, the university itself, will still be expected to respond in the appropriate way.

These are not just one-time initiatives; this is long-term structural change, because we're in it for the long haul. Gender based violence has no place in our lecture halls, our labs, our libraries or our student accommodation. With this plan, with these reforms, with this shared commitment, we are building a future where higher education ensures every person is safe, respected and able to thrive. The evidence is stark, and it bears repeating. One in 20 university students report being sexually assaulted during their studies. One in six has experienced sexual harassment. Half feel they were not heard when attempting to report those experiences. So this legislation is about something that should never be up for debate—that every student and every staff member on every campus across our country should feel safe in their place of study or work. This bill is a critical part of this government's response to those failures.

Part of the Action Plan Addressing Gender-based Violence in Higher Education, agreed to by every education minister across the states and territories earlier this year, sets out some really important objectives: to reduce the incidence of gender based violence in higher education; to establish national standards for prevention and response to gender based violence; and to create a regulatory framework to monitor and enforce compliance. This builds on the establishment of the National Student Ombudsman, which began its work in February, giving students a new independent avenue to escalate complaints, with real powers to investigate, recommend and now, through this bill, see those recommendations enforced.

What this means and why it matters so much is that it moves us from a patchwork of voluntary efforts to a really clear set of national standards, a national code which is underpinned by legislation that all providers must meet. Really critically, accountability will no longer sit within a committee or taskforce or be buried in some report somewhere that just sits on someone's desk and is ignored. Accountability sits at the very top of our universities, with vice-chancellors and governing bodies. They will be required to report on what they're doing not just in responding to gender based violence when it occurs but also in preventing it. There will be an obligation for them to train staff and student leaders so that everyone on campus has an understanding of what they can do to be a part of this change; to provide trauma informed care to victims-survivors who need it; to track and publish data; to provide accountability so we can see the true depth of where and when this is happening; and, importantly, to listen to students, especially those who have lived experiences. In unfortunate circumstances where a university fails to act, the government will now have the tools to intervene, because universities must be responsible for what happens on their campuses. They have an obligation to keep every student and every staff member safe, and that should be a proactive obligation.

I understand that there are some in the sector that have raised concerns about the regulatory burden that this may create. But to them I would say this: the burden of action for too long has fallen on students. For too long, it has fallen on victims-survivors, and those costs, psychological, educational and social, are far greater than the costs of any compliance requirements in this bill and in our broader plan to tackle this issue. That's why the government is establishing this gender-based-violence unit—not just as a watchdog but as a partner, offering guidance, advice and support so that institutions are best able to provide support and meet their obligations. It's not just about punishing institutions for the sake of it. It's about driving cultural change. It's about making sure that no student or staff member is ever made to feel like their problem is being managed away or ignored, like their experiences aren't important and like action won't be taken.

We know that many universities across the country, including in my home state of Western Australia, have already taken steps in the right direction. There is, of course, more work to do. This legislation supports those efforts and provides consistency right across the country to make sure that no-one falls through the cracks simply because of where they study. This bill follows many months of broad consultation within the sector with advocates, victims-survivors, experts, accommodation providers and students. It is not just a project that began in isolation; it was shaped by real experiences. I think that's one of the things that makes this so important and makes it a bill that really will deliver the kind of lasting change that we need.

Why does this matter so much? Why is it so significant? It's the first time that accountability has been clearly assigned to senior leadership at institutions, at universities, with the governing bodies of those universities to receive biannual progress reports. It mandates prevention education built from evidence and lived experience. It brings student accommodation clearly within a university's responsibility, regardless of whether or not they run or own the accommodation. It builds a national database on prevalence and outcomes, so we can measure whether interventions are working and take action if they are not. It provides enforcement powers where voluntary reporting has repeatedly failed. It does this because we believe that students should not have to fight for safety, that they should not have to navigate trauma alone and that they shouldn't be asked to settle for less from the institutions that are meant to support them.

This is about doing better for university students. It's about doing better for young people. It's about doing better for the staff on those university campuses. It's about making our higher education system stronger. It's about making our higher education system better, and it's about making our higher education system one that we can all be proud of.