Leah Blyth (SA, Liberal Party, Shadow Assistant Minister for Stronger Families and Stronger Communities) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Is this the kind of heavy-handed approach we want to have? Can universities really be expected to regulate the heinous actions of individuals?

The national code will be created by the Minister for Education under delegated legislation. The Senate Standing Committee for the Scrutiny of Bills questioned the appropriateness of this. The committee noted a lack of detail in the Universities Accord (National Higher Education Code to Prevent and Respond to Gender-based Violence) Bill 2025 as to what the code must contain and/or a more detailed explanation in the explanatory memorandum on the need to set the code entirely out in delegated legislation. We must scrutinise the implications of this approach. By allowing the minister to create the national code through delegated legislation, we open the door to government overreach that could undermine the autonomy of our higher education institutions. The stakes are high, and it is imperative that we engage in a thorough discussion about the potential consequences of such broad powers.

Is it really appropriate for a bill of this magnitude to not actually set out the national code and to give the minister such broad powers? At clause 17(q), it says the national code may 'include any other matters that the minister considers are necessary or convenient to give effect to the purpose of the national code'. The broadness of the powers in this bill and the ambiguous nature of its provisions must be questioned in this chamber.

There is also the question of how many layers of bureaucracy we need. This bill will introduce a new dedicated unit of the Department of Education to simply monitor the code. That's more taxpayer money on more regulation. This space already has a national student ombudsman, an action plan addressing gender based violence in higher education and the National Plan to End Violence against Women and Children 2022-2032. You cannot regulate your way out of bad behaviour, but adding yet another layer of bureaucracy to an already complex system could lead to inefficiencies and confusion rather than the intended improvements. Why can the government simply not strengthen the powers of the independent regulator TEQSA, and will this new regulatory body actually lower the incidence of gender based violence?

There is also the very pertinent question of priorities. The government has an opportunity to address more than just gender based violence. The coalition has been asking why the government has not introduced the same standards for antisemitism on campus. The fact is that no student should have to choose between their safety and their education, which is why the coalition has moved an amendment calling on the government to establish a code to prevent and respond to antisemitism. Over half of Jewish university students hide their identity at university. How can we support the free expression of ideas at our institutions of learning when our students cannot even feel safe to acknowledge their cultural background? We've seen clear attempts to silence and intimidate Jewish academics, staff and students. That is completely unacceptable. University campuses must be safe for everyone, and that includes Jewish Australians.

The Special Envoy to Combat Antisemitism in Australia, Jillian Segal AO, noted that antisemitism is ingrained and normalised in academia and cultural spaces. The special envoy has proposed withdrawing or terminating public funding to universities where antisemitic conduct isn't adequately addressed. This is the kind of measure we should be taking—a removal of taxpayer funding arrangements to incentivise universities to act with purpose and without adding more bureaucrats to the public payroll. The special envoy also recommended a dedicated judicial inquiry be undertaken to address systemic issues, including the investigation of foreign sources of funding for antisemitic activities and academics at universities.

Antisemitism in Australian universities is a cultural and social cancer that needs attention through our schools, universities, media and even the arts, but the Prime Minister refuses to back the report by the special envoy. He won't commit to the actions, won't say what he supports and won't lead. Jewish Australians deserve action not excuses. It is incumbent on the government not to delay but to act, and the Minister for Education won't implement a single recommendation until receiving a report from the Special Envoy to Combat Islamophobia. Why on earth would you wait? There is nothing within the recommendations that would require the government to wait for a report on a separate topic, which incidentally has no known release date. The government can, and must, act now. As the Executive Council of Australian Jewry's co-chief executive Alex Ryvchin said, this is something that cannot and should not wait.

Nita Green (Queensland, Australian Labor Party, Assistant Minister for Tourism) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I'm really pleased to be standing in this place and speaking on such an important piece of legislation as the Universities Accord (National Higher Education Code to Prevent and Respond to Gender-based Violence) Bill. I want to begin by expressing my gratitude to Minister Clare and to all in the government who have worked so hard to get us to this point today. This legislation means so much to so many people, and it marks just the beginning of more accountability for our universities and more protection for the students who attend them.

Now, in this chamber, we know that the issue of student safety on campus isn't new. This has been a decades-long fight, and there has been an enormous amount of work undertaken by advocates, by senators in this place and by the government to get us here today. For decades, advocates have been raising the alarm about the disgusting behaviours that occur on our university campuses and the substandard reporting and response processes that universities have used to avoid scrutiny. It is in large part thanks to that tireless advocacy, of many women in particular, that the Senate agreed to an inquiry into the current and proposed sexual consent laws in Australia back in 2022.

The inquiry received 79 submissions and held public hearings in Canberra, Melbourne and Sydney, and an in camera hearing in Brisbane. I was really pleased to be the deputy chair of the committee and to move for the establishment of that inquiry with my parliamentary colleague Senator Larissa Waters. We delivered a consensus report, supported by all members of the committee of all political persuasions, because we recognised that this issue was too important to not deliver recommendations that could be carried out by the government. We also recognised that the lives of these women and the stories they had to share were well above politics.

The committee took the opportunity, in delivering its report, to thank the witnesses, and I want to thank them again today for the effort they made to attend the inquiry and make it the success that it was. We wouldn't be here today if, throughout that inquiry, they hadn't shared their deeply personal experiences and relived their trauma. It's never easy to do that, but the courage they showed, their generosity and the honesty in the evidence they delivered shaped the recommendations that followed, and they have brought long-overdue national attention to these issues. The inquiry touched on so many subjects and topics across Australia, and it was an honour to bring those things to light and to talk about the issues that impacted so many Australians. But the most confronting and urgent issue the committee found was the sexual assault and harassment rates on campuses of students and, most importantly, the universities' responses to those assaults.

For so many younger Australians, university is their first endeavour in the real world, the first step beyond high school and life at home. Many travel from regional towns to a new city, moving into campuses and dorms to pursue their education and begin building their future dreams. They should be safe and they should be free to study, live, work and socialise without fear. But for too many university students this has also been the beginning of a nightmare. One in 20 university students reported being sexually assaulted on campus. One in six reported being sexual harassed. One in two feel like they can't be heard when they make a complaint. These numbers are unacceptable, and we know that they don't capture the full picture. The evidence presented to the inquiry made it clear that these harms are significantly underreported and that students with disabilities, First Nations students, LGBTIQ students and international students are even more vulnerable, with additional barriers to reporting and seeking justice.

Our government has heard what advocates have been saying for years, that this is not good enough, and it has taken action. Last term, the Albanese Labor government created the National Student Ombudsman. It was a proud moment for this parliament and it was a prouder moment for me to stand next to the minister in the Mural Hall with some of the most incredible student advocates who helped to make it happen. Sharna Bremner from the End Rape on Campus is one of those women. Renee Carr from Fair Agenda, Dr Allison Henry, and Camille from the STOP Campaign—all of these women, and many more, fought to make the National Student Ombudsman a reality. It was a national first. With similar powers to a royal commission, it's job is to investigate complaints against universities themselves, to do what advocates had been demanding for years. This was the first step, and this bill is its companion. I thank all of those advocates, all of those victims-survivors and the minister for getting us to this point today.

This bill creates a standalone regulatory framework—one that prioritises safety, strengthens prevention and demands a higher standard of response from higher education providers when gender based violence occurs. It will finally hold institutions, which include student accommodation providers, accountable for their performance. We heard so many times throughout the inquiry that an assault would occur on student accommodation and that a university would wipe its hands of accountability because it wasn't on university property. Well, that ends through this bill today.

Under this bill, the Minister for Education will have the power to establish the code, setting clear standards that all higher education providers must meet. These standards will ensure that places where students study, work, live and socialise are safe, respectful and inclusive. The national code will require providers to actively work to prevent gender based violence, to respond to it effectively when it occurs and to address the underlying drivers that contribute to it. It will also require institutions to have strong governance arrangements in place right across their operations and at every level of their organisation. And, most importantly, this will be a national requirement, so it doesn't matter what university you go to—this will be the law.

Providers will be required to maintain records demonstrating their compliance with the new framework, and the minister will have the power to determine what records must be kept and how they must be maintained. The rules will also outline the types of information that must be reported to the secretary of the department. If a provider becomes non-compliant or is at risk of becoming non-compliant, they must notify the secretary, and they must also update the secretary if any information previously provided becomes inaccurate. In short, this is a model with teeth. If the universities were capable of keeping themselves accountable and responsible on their own, then this bill wouldn't be required, but they have demonstrated for many years and through our Senate inquiry that this legislation is necessary.

This legislation also means that regulatory actions must be necessary and proportionate. They must support transparency and accountability, and the bill allows the secretary to publicly disclose information about a provider's compliance—but only after giving them the chance to respond. The legislation also ensures that the secretary can work collaboratively across the system, sharing information with all of the agencies involved. This is appropriate and necessary. This will include annual reports on implementation of the framework, and its performance will be tabled in parliament so that progress can be publicly tracked. This, again, is so important to the victims-survivors who shared their stories. At one point, witnesses told us that the only way they could get information about how their own assaults were being dealt with by universities was to lodge FOI or RTI documents. That was the only way they were able to access information about their own cases. We need to make sure that the national code is implemented to stop these types of behaviours.

The national code will commence as soon as possible, and compliance will be required of universities from 1 January 2026 and of non-university providers from 2027. This does provide an opportunity for institutions to prepare, while sending a very clear signal that change is coming. The legislation also delivers on recommendation 16 of our Senate inquiry. It called for an independent taskforce with real power to oversee university responses, and we are delivering that accountability today.

We must also remember that culture doesn't shift through laws alone. Our inquiry heard powerful testimony about the role of rape myths in shaping how victims are treated and how cases are prosecuted. We need education, training and cultural change to break down these myths on campus, in courtrooms and across the broader community. Changing the law is vital, but changing culture is just as urgent. That's why the inquiry also called for ongoing data collection through a regular student safety survey to be conducted by universities. I support that call.

If we are taking this issue seriously, then we must measure our progress with transparency and accountability, and we must make sure that those reports are public. That's what this bill will do today. But we also call on the universities to join us in this project. I know that they would want to keep their students safe, and we are acting today to ensure that that is happening.

Finally, before I finish, I do want to acknowledge someone who worked tirelessly behind the scenes to bring all of this work forward, a former staff member of mine and a former student advocate, Hannah Smith. Hannah championed this inquiry from the very beginning. She connected stakeholders, worked through the detail and made sure the voices of survivors and advocates were at the heart of this work. Although Hannah has now left the parliamentary staffing team to pursue another incredible journey, motherhood, I want to thank her for all of her efforts. It is incredible how tenacious some young women can be when they stand shoulder to shoulder with each other. That's exactly what Hannah did with all of the other student advocates. They hopefully will deliver this history-making legislation.

We know that this is not the end of the journey—in fact, we know it is just the beginning—but it is a solid and meaningful start. The bill sets a national standard, one that makes it clear that gender based violence has no place in Australian higher education. Every student has the right to feel safe. Every staff member has the right to be respected. Every institution has a responsibility to make that a reality. I want to say thank you again to the advocates, the survivors, my colleagues and those who never gave up. I remind the Senate that this inquiry report was delivered on a consensus basis, and I hope that this bill gets that same support from all areas of the chamber, because this is one of those times where we should stand up above politics and deliver justice for these victims-survivors.

Sarah Henderson (Victoria, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise to join with my colleagues in indicating the coalition does strongly support the Universities Accord (National Higher Education Code to Prevent and Respond to Gender-based Violence) Bill 2025 and its purpose, and that is to establish a national code to prevent and respond to gender-based violence in higher education. This bill makes it very clear that everyone on a university campus—students, staff and residents—has the right to be safe. As we have already talked about in this debate, the Universities Australia national student safety survey revealed alarming figures that one in 20 students reported being sexually assaulted, one in six reported sexual harassment, over half of students didn't understand the formal reporting processes and almost half were unaware of where to get support. There is no doubt that the universities sat on their hands in the face of this deeply concerning safety issue on university campuses and did far too little for far too long.

After my two years as the former shadow minister for education, I can only say that I am deeply disappointed in the regulator, the Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency, which failed to throw the book at universities and hold them accountable. TEQSA has a number of existing powers which it did not use as it should have, but also it did not exercise its statutory right to suggest to the minister that it needed further powers. Then, of course, when we had the antisemitism crisis on university campuses, it sat there doing almost nothing before rushing around in a last-minute, one-minute-to-midnight attempt to make up for lost time. During this period, in the first 12 months when I was the shadow minister, the Minister for Education, Mr Clare, also did very little in relation to these matters. He only got on the bus very late in the piece.

There is strong bipartisan support—or tripartisan support, I assume, if I include all members of the crossbench—and that is a very good thing, but it should not have got to this. We have a higher education regulator that is there to hold universities to account, overseen by the minister and the government. Unfortunately, for far too long, the minister did not do enough, and the regulator sat on its hands and did not seem to understand the urgency of the situation on university campuses. That is really disappointing because, as we've heard in a number of inquiries, including before the education legislation committee, many young people, mainly women, on university campuses have really suffered. We need to make sure that the universities, in every respect, give a voice to these complaints. Yes, of course, there is always the option, when a criminal act has been committed, to go to the police, but there are many other issues that arise on university campuses in relation to safety that, frankly, have been swept under the carpet for far too long.

I want to particularly acknowledge the work of advocates like Fair Agenda, End Rape on Campus and The STOP Campaign. I work very closely with those organisations to support their incredible work to improve the safety of students and staff on campus. I do want to raise, however, that, rather than give TEQSA the powers it needs to properly enforce the conduct of universities, the government, led by the minister, has decided to give the administration of the code to the Department of Education. I learnt—I was quite shocked to learn—that there will be 16 or so staff within the Department of Education charged with administering this code, which seems an extraordinary number of people. I think what that does say is the minister does not have the ticker to improve the performance of the regulator. The regulator should be throwing the book at universities in relation to student safety. The minister should be ensuring the regulator, answerable to him, is doing his job. I think he has also failed to do that. But, be that as it may, I think it is important that we provide bipartisan support in every respect to this bill, and that has very much always been the coalition's position.

However, there is one glaring oversight in relation to student safety on campus, and that is the antisemitism crisis on university campuses. While the government has been responsive to issues of sexual harassment, sexual assault and the safety of women in lecture theatres, on the grounds of universities and in student accommodation, the minister and this government have not been responsive in relation to the safety of Jewish students on campus. Frankly, that is a disgrace. That is why we are moving a second reading amendment to this bill, to implement a code to prevent and respond to antisemitism. For the last two years, and particularly since October 7, I've prosecuted the case in relation to what Jewish students have endured on campus. Antisemitism is a vile stain on any civilised society. It is not only an attack on the Jewish community; it is also an assault on the values of tolerance, diversity and freedom which defines our country.

Since the heinous Hamas terrorist attacks of 7 October 2023, we have witnessed a shocking surge in antisemitic hate across our nation. It is hard to comprehend what has unfolded: the firebombing of the Adass Israel Synagogue in Melbourne and, more recently, the synagogue in East Melbourne; the attack on the Sydney childcare centre; vile graffiti on schools and burnt-out cars; and the most recent vile attack on the Jewish restaurant in Melbourne.

All in all, we have seen an absence of leadership from the Albanese government over antisemitism in this country. It's all very well for the Prime Minister to stand with the wonderful antisemitism envoy, Jillian Segal, and welcome her very significant report to combat antisemitism in Australia. But I say—and I was burning with rage as I watched this—what a disgrace that the Prime Minister is up there with the antisemitism envoy, welcoming her work over many months but not indicating that the government will even consider or accept one of the recommendations by the antisemitism envoy. That is just an absolute disgrace.

Jewish Australians deserve better, and, as I say, when we don't stand up for Jewish Australians, it says a lot about our failure to stand up for social cohesion across our country. I am reminded of one of the most powerful conversations I had when I was the shadow minister. It was at a rally, a religious freedom alley, in Western Sydney, and an Islamic school's leader came up to me, and he said, 'Thank you for what you are doing to fight antisemitism on university campuses.' I said, 'Wow, that is incredible; that means so much to me, from the leader of an Islamic school.' And he said, 'My families and my students do not want to go to universities riddled with hate and division, so thank you for what you are doing and for what the coalition is doing.'

I was really proud to take, on behalf of the coalition, a comprehensive policy to the last election, which included: establishing a commission of inquiry into antisemitism at Australian universities, to be led by an eminent jurist; a requirement on all universities to adopt the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance, IHRA, definition of antisemitism, which is strongly supported by the antisemitism envoy—in fact, the Student Ombudsman is using that very definition when looking at and determining cases of antisemitism; developing a national higher education code to prevent and respond to antisemitism, the subject of the second reading amendment—and that would cover both staff and student safety; and the prohibition of encampments and other activities designed to intimidate and vilify students and staff. What a disgrace. Those encampments went on for months on university campuses, and Jason Clare, the minister, never said a thing. It is just extraordinary that at no time did he ever speak out and say this is not appropriate. Jewish students, particularly at the University of Sydney and the University of Melbourne, were hiding in the shadows. Many were too afraid to go to their university.

We also took a policy obligating universities to report antisemitism complaints to the Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency, enabling referral to Home Affairs if necessary. Our policy also included a very strong conviction that students on visas who are found guilty of antisemitic misconduct must be deported and that there should be an antisemitism specialist within the office of the National Student Ombudsman to address incidents and support affected students. Along with Alan Tudge, in earlier days of course, I was a very strong advocate for the National Student Ombudsman. I'm very pleased that the minister picked up the idea of the ombudsman, which of course came from the coalition. But, in order for the ombudsman to do her job properly, she needs to have appropriate experts, particularly on the issue of antisemitism. So it is really concerning that that resource, which we put up in an amendment in the Senate, was also rejected.

I just want to say, in relation to this pushback that we've seen about antisemitism on university campuses: Marcia Langton compellingly argued in her column in the Australian in January 2025 that there is 'no excuse for allowing Jewish hate to fester on our campuses'. She said:

Academic freedom is not freedom of speech; these are very different concepts and rights. Only academics are entitled to academic freedom, and this right is conditional on their work conforming with the rigorous rules of the academies and their disciplines that relate to evidence, ethics and integrity.

Freedom of speech is also limited by laws relating to defamation, racial and other forms of discrimination. University administrators and anti-Semitic protagonists alike have conflated the two concepts; one seeking refuge against their responsibilities on false grounds and the other seeking free licence on our campuses to spread anti-Semitism and hatred.

We also took a range of other important policies to the election, including an antisemitism taskforce, a security package for Jewish schools, some support under Crime Stoppers and, of course, our commitment to rebuild the Adass Israel Synagogue. Our message is very simple: the coalition stands with Jewish Australians every step of the way.

So I would hope and trust that this second reading amendment will get the support of the Senate, because it is just not good enough that we don't have a code after what we have seen on university campuses—a true antisemitism crisis against students and against staff. Much more needs to be done, and for this prime minister to stand up with the antisemitism envoy and then not commit to do anything, I say, is an absolute disgrace.

Deborah O'Neill (NSW, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Across this country, students walk through the gates of our universities with a sense of hope—hope for the opportunity to study, hope for knowledge and hope for the freedom necessary to create the context in which you can learn and grow. But, sadly, for far too many, especially women and gender-diverse people, that sense of opportunity is undermined by fear—fear of harassment, fear of violence and fear that, if they do speak out, they will not be believed or supported.

We now know from years of evidence that gender based violence, particularly sexual harassment and sexual violence, continues to occur at alarming, unbelievable and unacceptable rates in Australia's higher education sector. It's happening in lecture halls, laboratories, staff offices and student accommodation; it's happening at university bars and at social functions; and it's happening behind the closed doors of institutions that for too long have failed to adequately respond to this massive problem.

We know that many students and staff simply do not know where to turn. They don't know where to seek support. They don't know how to make a formal complaint. For those who do undertake that learning and navigate the system, their experiences, by report, are too often marked by confusion, delays and disappointment. I recall asking in this place, in estimates, for an answer to a question about whether trauma informed care was available at the end of a phone for a student who rang to report a sexual assault or a sexual violence incident, and the whole concept of trauma informed response capacity wasn't even on the agenda. It's just not good enough.

For years, students have called for change. They've reported their experiences. They've published surveys. They've gone to the media. They've begged for leadership. But what they received instead was silence from those who should have known better: their leaders in their institutions.

For almost a decade under the former coalition government, the crisis that I have just described was placed in the too-hard basket. Universities were left to respond on their own, with no binding national standards, no consistent accountability and no clear consequences for that failure. The result has been devastating, not just for the individuals who've suffered harm but for the trust that Australians place in our higher education institutions, and it's a cost that shouldn't be borne by the generations who are now experiencing university. They deserve better. That is why this government is acting.

Today we are debating the Universities Accord (National Higher Education Code to Prevent and Respond to Gender-based Violence) Bill 2025. This bill is a critical step in addressing gender based violence across our universities and our higher education providers. This particular piece of legislation is part of a broader action plan to address gender based violence in higher education. Happily, that was agreed to by all of the education ministers of the states and territories across this country, through negotiation and in accord with the leadership of Minister Clare, Labor's minister for education, on 23 February 2024.

One of the key pillars of that plan, the establishment of the National Student Ombudsman, has already come into effect, commencing on 1 February this year. The ombudsman provides students with a dedicated and independent body—independent of the university—to escalate complaints, including those relating to gender based violence, when their institutions fail them. That was an important first step in keeping students safe and ensuring that their voices are heard, particularly at a moment when they need someone to listen, to hear them, in a trauma informed way.

This bill follows that action, and it's the next step. It will establish a new standalone regulatory framework designed to reduce the incidence of gender based violence in the higher education sector. It will set the clear expectation that universities and higher education providers must take real action, not just put in draft policies, documents that sit on shelves, complying with a public reveal of care and not followed up by any action. It impels these institutions to prevent violence that is gender based. It compels them to support victims-survivors and to hold perpetrators to account. For the very first time, these expectations will be backed by enforceable standards and national oversight.

At the heart of this legislation is the creation of a new higher education code to prevent and respond to gender based violence, simply referred to as the national code. The code will set out best practice standards that all higher education providers must meet. It will embed prevention at the core of institutional culture, ensuring that the factors driving gender based violence are actually understood, then addressed and continuously acted upon. It will require institutions to deliver evidence based education and training, to conduct gender impact assessments and to develop meaningful gender equality action plans. Crucially, the code will ensure that all responses to gender based violence are trauma informed and victim centred, delivered by staff who have the necessary training and the expertise to respond appropriately and not inflame the wounds that are already being experienced by the reporters.

The message is very clear: the responsibility for change in our university sector to prevent and respond to gender based violence sits at the very top of those institutions. It's not something to palm off to someone down the food chain, to some lower-level person in the organisation, and have the distance of: 'It wasn't my fault. It wasn't my responsibility.' This puts the leaders right in the middle of the response to gender based violence. It demands that they understand what's happening. It demands that they undertake the necessary training to inform themselves of what an authentically trauma based response is and to maintain their awareness of progress with regard to that. Vice-chancellors and chief executives will be personally accountable for their institution's compliance with the national code. The governing bodies of our universities will be required to receive regular reports on incident data and institutional responses to that reality. So the days for the blind spots are over. There is no more plausible deniability for the leaders of these august institutions that see people in a position where their rights have been violated, where the trauma they experience impacts them and where they had a right to believe that they could be safe on their learning journey—or even on their teaching journey.

This legislation also establishes a new specialist unit within the Department of Education to monitor and enforce compliance with the code. I note the contributions of some before me who take issue with this despite declaring bipartisan support, and I just bemoan the fact that the necessary push to create some difference or individual relevance for senators here does not serve the people that this legislation is directed towards. If we're on a unity ticket on this, let the speeches sound like that. Let Australian people have the confidence that there is genuine unity in this place. No cute debating points of difference—if you're on board, be on board, because this sector needs unity after years and years of neglect. This particular unit will be equipped with strong powers to support its role, and it will have enough people to do the job, people who will be serving the public of Australia in doing their job, where there has previously been a blind spot. Quibbling about the appropriateness of that seems entirely inappropriate to me.

The unit will have the authority to investigate concerns, to issue compliance notices, to pursue civil penalties and to provide enforceable undertakings where providers fail to meet their obligations. It'll also support institutions to get this right through clear guidance, education and ongoing advice. And, because accountability demands transparency, the bill enables a secretary of the department to publicly disclose a provider's compliance record. No more hiding in the shadows. This is about a dose of sunlight into a sector that should have fixed its own problems a long, long time ago and not left a trail of people subject to gender based violence in our institutions of higher learning.

Annual reports on the unit operations will be tabled in both houses of parliament. The secretary will also be empowered to share information with other regulatory bodies, ensuring a coordinated response across government. The legislation is not being introduced in isolation. As I said, it forms part of the package alongside the Universities Accord (National Higher Education Code to Prevent and Respond to Gender-based Violence) (Consequential Amendments) Bill 2025. That consequential bill makes necessary amendments to the Higher Education Support Act 2003, ensuring that compliance with the national code becomes a formal quality and accountability requirement for all approved higher education providers.

Together, this collection of bills sends a very clear message: the era of silence, inaction and self-regulation is over. That was a failed experiment in trust. We're placing our trust in this legislation to change those entrenched, resistant behaviours where asymmetry of power has led to the festering of negative outcomes for young people, particularly young women, in our higher education institutional settings. This government will not accept a system where students are told to endure, to stay quiet or to seek help elsewhere. We will not tolerate a culture where the prestige of the university or the higher education institute is prioritised over the safety of the very students that they are set up to serve. Because every student—every single one of them, in all their glorious diversity—has the right to study, work and live free from violence, free from discrimination, free from fear and free from sexual violence.

The Universities Accord (National Higher Education Code to Prevent and Respond to Gender-based Violence) Bill is a vital step forward, but we know that legislation alone, while it leads public debate and strengthens enforcement, is not alone able to bring about the change that we need. It is not a panacea. What we're talking about here today is not just rules and regulations. We're talking about ethical disposition. We're talking about cultural practices. We're talking about change to longstanding practices where the victims were those who were subject to gender based violence. We are talking about leadership and about institutions choosing to listen, to believe and to act. This is about backing survivors who've spoken up—good on you. To every single one of you: thank you for what you've brought to the conversation, and I am so sorry for your lived experience.

That knowledge has come at great personal cost to too many Australians, and we want to make sure that their courage is not in vain. This is about a government that takes responsibility, that takes action and that honours the commitments it gave to the Australian people at the last election.

Maria Kovacic (NSW, Liberal Party, Shadow Assistant Minister to the Leader of the Opposition) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise to speak on 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. As has been articulated by my colleague Senator Duniam, the opposition supports these bills and the intent of these bills. Fundamentally, these bills are about protecting the rights and dignity of university students, particularly the right to attend university and pursue higher education free from gender based violence.

In her speech to the National Press Club, the Leader of the Opposition, Sussan Ley, made it clear that she considers the current situation of gender based violence and domestic violence to be our nation's greatest shame, and I agree with her. It is a shame. It is a shame on our nation and it requires concerted action, not just in terms of crisis support and management, but also in terms of early intervention and prevention.

These bills establish a new standalone regulatory framework to reduce the incidence of sexual assault and sexual harassment on our campuses and to hold higher education providers to account to ensure that they provide a safe place for their students to study.

The incidence of sexual assault and harassment on university campuses was highlighted in University Australia's National Student Safety Survey in 2021. This survey found that one in 20 students had been sexually assaulted since they started university and one in six had been sexually harassed. Let me repeat that so we actually understand how many people that is—how many young people who had embarked on the beginning of what should have been an exciting tertiary education journey and what they had been faced with instead. One in 20 students had been sexually assaulted since they started university and one in six had been sexually harassed. Around one in two students who experienced sexual assault and sexual harassment knew nothing or very little about the avenues available to them for support or about any formal reporting process. That is unacceptable.

The coalition strongly supports the Universities Accord (National Higher Education Code to Prevent and Respond to Gender-based Violence) Bill and its purpose, as I have outlined, in establishing a national code to prevent and respond to gender based violence in our universities and in higher education. We affirm that everyone on a university campus—students, staff and residents—have the right to be safe as they work and as they learn.

This bill is necessary because the Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency, TEQSA, has failed to hold universities accountable in relation to this massive problem. TEQSA has existing powers to highlight university failures, but it did not act, putting at risk students and staff at universities. And the minister did not strengthen TEQSA's powers or hold that regulator to account.

This bill will establish a specialist unit within the Department of Education to act as the new regulator. We have concerns about placing regulatory responsibility within the Department of Education rather than strengthening the independent regulator, and we note that embedding this function within the department risks politicising regulation and potentially undermining confidence in impartial enforcement. However, we are absolutely committed to supporting new initiatives in the higher education sector that aim to prevent and respond more effectively to the pervasive issue of gender based violence on our campuses.

We acknowledge the work of advocates, like Fair Agenda, End Rape on Campus and the STOP Campaign, to improve the safety of students and staff on campuses. However, more action needs to be taken by this government to respond to the proliferation of antisemitism on university campuses, which is why we have moved a second reading amendment to the bill. The coalition's amendment seeks to establish an additional national higher education code to prevent and respond to antisemitism. It responds to the real and urgent circumstances that Jewish students, particularly young female Jewish students, are facing at universities.

Universities should be life-transforming places. Young people and mature-age students do extraordinary work to become eligible to go to university, and there is also a great cost in attending university. Students should be safe when they are there, and we should ensure that mechanisms and frameworks are in place to ensure that they can be safe. Students should be able to go there and freely debate their ideas. They shouldn't be afraid of identifying, in respectful debate, who they are, where they come from or what they believe. We have a growing problem in this country with a culture that says, 'If you don't agree with me, I'll come out and destroy you.' That needs to end, and the first place that we need to try and stop that is on our campuses. We should be able to debate freely and respectfully without targeting each other based on our gender or our faith. There have recently been many attempts to silence and intimidate Jewish academics, Jewish students and Jewish staff, and that needs to end.

In addition to creating a code to prevent and respond to antisemitism, this amendment would make it clear that all higher education students, staff and providers—everyone on a higher education campus—have the right to be safe, and it would impose on universities a range of obligations concerning student and staff safety, which is very important given the alarming increase in antisemitic incidents on campuses—over the last 18 months in particular.

I think what we need to fundamentally accept here is that our universities have changed and that behaviour on campuses has been allowed to spiral outside of what we would consider to be okay. Young women should not feel unsafe on a university campus. They shouldn't have this conflict: 'I'm so excited I got here; I'm so excited that I did so well that I was able to achieve my goal, but, now that I'm here, I have to be afraid,' or, 'I have to be careful,' or, 'I have to be worried about whether somebody is going to attack me or target me.' As people in this place who can make a difference, we have to accept that this can never happen again, and that is why this legislation is so important. We in this place all have an obligation to address this national shame wherever it presents itself, whether it is on our campuses or elsewhere. I commend the Senate for the way in which it has engaged in the debate on this bill and I commend the bill to the Senate.

Charlotte Walker (SA, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I note that this is not my first speech. I rise to speak on the Universities Accord (National Higher Education Code to Prevent and Respond to Gender-based Violence) Bill 2025. This is the time of year when universities across the country are holding their university open days. Attending a university open day is an exciting experience for so many young people. It's a day when visitors see endless future opportunities before them. Campuses often feel like magical places on that day. There are talks, demonstrations, hands-on experiments and endless information stalls giving away biscuits, lollies and all forms of promotional material. Excitement is undoubtedly in the air as so many young people explore how to launch their future and expand their horizons. However, it is devastating that, for way too many young women, this journey can later turn into devastating physical and mental harm through sexual assault and rape.

Contrary to what some people believe, the threat of sexual assault hasn't rapidly diminished as the number of women attending university has increased. It is still a real and present danger for young women on campuses across Australia. Even at open days, you can hear this danger lurking, as older and past students say to prospective students, 'This study centre is open 24/7, but, if you're ever leaving here at night, make sure someone walks you off campus.' We know that one in six students report experiencing sexual harassment and one in 20 report sexual assault since starting university.

We also know that, far too often, complaints and reports of assault are being swept under the carpet. Victims are ignored, doubted or pressured into silence. This disgusting behaviour is often wrapped up in a veneer of virtue: 'You don't want people to talk about this. It will hurt your reputation,' 'He was drunk and didn't mean it. You don't want to ruin the rest of his life over that,' 'You know this college is a special place. We need to protect the reputation of all the students here,' and, 'He is a very good professor. He got carried away. He will apologise and we will reprimand him, but you wouldn't want him to never work again.' Or it is just blatantly dismissive: 'She didn't get the grades she wanted, so she put in a complaint,' 'She was pretty drunk herself,' 'There was a lot of touching going on at that party,' and, 'I'm sorry but there were no witnesses, so there's no proof.' And the worst excuse of all: 'It's just part of the culture.'

We know that the negative consequences of sexual harassment and sexual assault can last a lifetime. It can rob a woman of all the joys and benefits of her education, making attending university a millstone around her neck rather than a stepping stone to her future. Many young women living in on-campus residential halls have detailed incidents of sexual harassment, rape and stalking in their accommodation on campus, which, let's face it, is sexual harassment, rape and stalking in their homes. A number of those women have shared how their universities did not take them seriously.

It is important that we hear these voices of lived experience in this place. It is important we bring this horror out into the light. So I would like to read some of the quotes from some of the responses to the #IDeserveSafety survey detailed in the STOP Campaign's submission to the Australian Universities Accord panel in September 2023. So many respondents told the survey about their personal and horrendous experiences, like respondent No. 44:

I experienced assault as a young adolescent. I was so excited to leave my home town and attend university, live on campus and make friends. It was one of the worst experiences of my life—and that is saying something. The culture on campus was indisputably unsafe and toxic.

This doesn't just happen behind closed doors. Women report regular and repeated sexual harassment and assault in public settings. Respondent No. 22 spoke of the regular assault she experienced whilst playing sport:

I was grabbed on the arse multiple times by another residential hall's player whilst playing AFL, and goaded with "I bet you like that" …

Respondent No. 51 shared this horrible story of assault occurring in front of people:

Last year, I went to my friend's apartment to get ready for the student association's start of semester party. Here, I met her roommates, including a new student who had just started his degree. A man, who after hearing us talking about my past sexual assault, chose to drug and repeatedly sexually assault me based on what he'd just heard. I was sexually assaulted at the university bar, which was witnessed. I was sexually assaulted at another location, also witnessed. I was then raped in the public bathroom at the university residence, and the nightmare only ended when security staff asked for the door to be opened.

In case some people think we've moved past the age of 'She was asking for it,' let me quote from the experience of young women assaulted at university while they were drunk. Respondent No. 25 said:

I was so drunk I couldn't walk when it happened, but both of my perpetrators carried me back to one of their residences, where I was later assaulted by them both. I was confused and scared and felt like it was somehow my fault. It took me almost six months to come to terms with the fact that I had been assaulted.

Respondent No. 18 said:

It took me a long time to see this—

their experience—

as an assault because attitudes around drunk sex are generally that [non-consensual drunk sex] is acceptable.

I want to be clear—there are many stories like this, stories of what should be the best days of your youth turning into the worst. What makes it even worse is the betrayal by some university staff when complaints are downplayed or ignored. Respondent No. 48 said:

… countless senior staff members would regularly blame alcohol for assault and shame victim-survivors for their 'behaviour' that 'caused' them to be raped … a senior executive of the the university told 100 students in a session at our hall that students can be expect to be raped if they drink, and another Head of Hall would actively blame students who disclosed they were raped if they had had any alcohol when it happened … it reinforced harmful rape myths and stereotypes that alcohol rapes people… when in actual fact people rape people.

Respondent No. 35 said that, in response to an act of violence by another student, they immediately went for support. They said:

They turned us away and told us we would ruin her life if we went to the police. We received no support and had to figure this out ourselves, as international students in a foreign country … I ended up moving to another city because … I also wanted to get away from that educational institution who was only focused on protecting the offender to avoid bad PR.

And these students are being trained to work as professionals. Respondent 8 said:

… the university's decision to impose a mere six-month suspension for rape has left me feeling betrayed and unprotected.

Most distressing is the fact that, upon his return, he was permitted to engage in clinical placements at a hospital, working with vulnerable individuals.

And, just in case anyone thinks these are largely isolated incidents, listen to the words of respondent 3:

Almost every single woman in my life has experienced some form of sexual violence at university. A member of my family was sexually assaulted in her first year of university by someone at her college. My good friend was sexually assaulted in our first year by one of our friends … I have been harassed, grabbed and groped by men at college parties and out dancing with my university friends. I have been followed down the road to my university college at night. I have friends who have experienced sexual violence but do not recognise it as such—either because they didn't know how to characterise what has happened to them, or because they were gaslit by people around them to play it down or to let it go.

And the impact of this violence is significant. Respondents to that same survey reported the devastating consequences for them: nervous breakdowns, dropping out, failing subjects, withdrawing socially, panic attacks, PTSD, depression, losing friends, living in fear and institutional mistrust. That is why this bill is so important. This bill will force universities across Australia to take rape, sexual assault and gender based violence on campus and in residential colleges seriously.

This bill is a key measure of the Action Plan Addressing Gender-based Violence in Higher Education, which was agreed to by all Australian education ministers on 23 February 2024. Already the National Student Ombudsman, another key measure of the action plan, has been established, and it commenced operations on 1 February this year. The ombudsman gives students a place to escalate complaints about the actions or inactions of their university, including gender based violence complaints. No longer will there be nowhere to go when the university hierarchy turns a blind eye. The ombudsman is an independent body that can investigate how complaints were handled.

This bill is the next step and is about addressing the systemic approach by universities to gender based violence. This bill allows for the Minister for Education to create a national code that requires universities to address both the violence and the factors that contribute to it. They will be required to actively work to change both systems and culture in relation to violence against women on campus. Systems will need to be put in place to educate students and staff as well as listen to victim complainants and deal with complaints in a trauma informed way.

The code requires vice-chancellors and CEOs to make a whole-of-organisation plan and to report to their governing bodies every six months on the actions they are taking to implement it. Every institution must implement trauma informed complaint handling responses and train staff on how to respond to disclosures. Action plans are required to change culture and processes, as is regular reporting of incident data. And efforts to prevent and respond to gender based violence are being mandated.

There will also be a new specialist unit in the Department of Education to monitor and enforce the national code. This unit will be able to help universities meet their obligations. There will be annual reporting on the unit's operations, and this will be tabled in both houses of parliament. Critically, as well, the secretary will be able to report on whether universities are complying with the code. We know that the power to name and shame is a powerful motivator for compliance, and I hope that the very existence of the code will mean that it never has to be used.

Gender based violence is a scourge on our society and is significantly costing our country in every possible way. It costs us in mental health and wellbeing; it costs us in health and social services; it costs us in policing and justice; it costs us in productivity and talent; and, most importantly, it is stealing the positive futures of our young women. I am proud that this government has listened to the experience of so many young women and is acting on gender based violence in higher education.

Jacinta Nampijinpa Price (NT, Country Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Defence Industry) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise to speak on the Universities Accord (National Higher Education Code to Prevent and Respond to Gender-based Violence) Bill 2025 and the related bill, the Universities Accord (National Higher Education Code to Prevent and Respond to Gender-based Violence) (Consequential Amendments) Bill.

While the coalition does have some concerns about giving regulatory authority to the Department of Education, rather than strengthening the independent regulator, we are supportive of this bill. Sexual assault and sexual harassment are unacceptable in any context, and the statistics reported in Universities Australia's 2021 National student safety survey around incidents on university campuses are incredibly concerning. Every student deserves to feel safe when they go to their place of education. That is why the coalition supports the purpose of this bill—to establish a national code to prevent and respond to gender based violence.

But, in addition to our support of this bill, the coalition also seeks an important amendment—to introduce a national higher education code to prevent and respond to antisemitism. As I mentioned, the coalition believes that everyone on university campuses should feel safe, but we know that, unacceptably, that is not the case for many Jewish Australians. The fact is that Jewish Australians do not feel safe—not in their places of education and, more broadly, not within our society.

I went to Israel following the attacks of 7 October. I've been to the places where murder and harrowing atrocities were committed. I've seen the footage and images of things that no-one should ever have to see or experience—places and scenes that are burned in my mind. I saw the outworking of hatred which has no place in a democratic society.

Israel is a long way from Australia, yet Jewish Australians right here are facing those same hateful attitudes. That, as I have said many times in this chamber, is an indictment on the Albanese government. I have long pointed to the immediate aftermath of the October 7 attacks and the lack of action taken by the Prime Minister. When we saw those protests and chants being shouted on the steps of the Sydney Opera House in the days after those attacks, the Prime Minister did not step up and show the kind of leadership that Jewish Australians needed. Since then, we have only seen things get worse.

The crisis of antisemitism which now exists in Australia is just that: it's a crisis. Yet we're seeing that young people under the age of 35 simply don't recognise the nature of this crisis. We're hearing that they do not understand the severity of antisemitism and they are not treating it properly. Quite frankly, it is no wonder, because, when we look at the way antisemitism has been treated by our very own prime minister, especially the way he has failed to deal appropriately with antisemitism on university campuses, it makes perfect sense that young people don't think there is a crisis.

Students at universities should be able to focus on getting an education and setting themselves up for a life of success and opportunity. Universities should be places where ideas can be freely debated and discussed. But the rampant nature of antisemitism has seen those ideas being stifled, particularly the ideas of Jewish academics, staff and students. It is an appalling development but, again, not surprising under Anthony Albanese's Labor government. They have failed to ensure that Jewish Australians, whether they be academics, staff or students, are able to engage safely and freely within our universities.

This is why the coalition sees the amendment proposed today as being of the utmost importance. We must do more. We must do better for everybody. The proposed national higher education code to prevent and respond to antisemitism is absolutely crucial if we are to have any hope of combating antisemitism properly. The proposed code will do a number of things. It would make it clear to all higher education students, staff and providers that everyone on a higher education campus has a right to feel safe. It would impose a range of obligations on universities concerning student and staff safety. Those obligations are incredibly important in light of the alarming increase in antisemitic incidents on university campuses since the October 7 attacks. Finally, it would require higher education providers to comply with recommendations of the National Student Ombudsman concerning the national higher education code to prevent and respond to antisemitism.

The coalition is absolutely committed to the protection and safety of Jewish Australians, which is why we moved this amendment yesterday and why we moved a similar amendment when this legislation was before the House of Representatives earlier this year. Since the legislation was before the House earlier this year, the government's own Special Envoy to Combat Antisemitism, Jillian Segal AO, has prepared a report which highlights the fact that antisemitism has been ingrained and normalised in academia and cultural spaces. The special envoy has recommended a number of measures which this Albanese Labor government must take seriously. With respect to universities, the special envoy has offered to work with government to terminate or withdraw funding from those universities where antisemitic conduct is occurring. That is the kind of action that we need to see being backed by the Prime Minister—the kind of action which will actually have an impact and actually hurt those who fail to comply, and the kind of action that is more than empty words but has real consequences. The special envoy has also recommended that, if significant problems remain in universities at the start of the 2026 academic year, there should be a dedicated judicial inquiry.

Helen Polley (Tasmania, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Thank you, Senator. The time has come for us to proceed to two-minute statements.