Second Reading

Mr LEESER (Berowra) (15:30): Of course, the government has had years to act, along with universities, but, unfortunately, to date, it has failed to provide protection, recourse or cultural change. The Special Envoy to Combat Antisemitism in Australia, Jillian Segal AO, noted that antisemitism is ingrained and normalised in academia and in cultural spaces. The special envoy has proposed to work with government and grant authorities to withdraw or terminate public funding of universities where antisemitic conduct isn't adequately addressed. Ms Segal is the government's expert adviser on addressing the specific problem of antisemitism, and, after deep consultation, she's produced a clear and practical road map for ending a crisis of 21 months and counting. This is something that can wait no longer. The special envoy has recommended:

Should significant problems remain at universities by the start of the 2026 academic year, as assessed by the Envoy's report card, a dedicated judicial inquiry should be undertaken to address systemic issues, including the investigation of foreign sources of funding for antisemitic activities and academics at universities.

This report shows that antisemitism is not just a problem of security or law enforcement; it's a cultural and societal cancer that needs attention through our schools, our universities, our media and even the arts. The Segal report confirms what Jewish Australians have been telling us for months: antisemitism has surged to crisis levels while our Prime Minister has refused to act. A judicial inquiry remains the appropriate way forward for a serious government to identify and root out these issues. I commend to the House the second reading amendment I will shortly be moving.

I want to conclude by reiterating the coalition's support for this bill, because the matters I've spoken about today have a common thread. All of my remarks today are addressed at the single basic point that safety on campus is for everyone. This bill is the product of work from groups like Fair Agenda, End Rape on Campus, the Stop Campaign and many others who've been concrete and vocal on this issue for years. I applaud them, and I support them. Their message is simple: safety cannot be optional, and silence cannot be policy. I applaud and support their message.

To universities, whose leadership has failed time and again on so many issues about student safety on campus: while some—and, occasionally, most—of you are doing serious work, this bill should reward the serious and require the rest to lift. To the students and staff across Australia: your right to learn and your right to work in safety are not negotiable. I say that because, when we strip away the acronyms and the architecture, this bill is about dignity, safety and justice for every person who sets foot on a university campus. The coalition supports its purpose and will work to see it succeed, but success will not come from slogans or from centralising power. It will come from implementation. Our focus on this matter cannot be allowed to lapse after today. This isn't a one-and-done bill.

We should also be honest about what we do not yet know. Not every program works in every setting. We should be evidence led and open to refinement. We will judge this reform by outcomes: fewer incidents, higher confidence of students to report, faster and fairer resolutions and a better culture on campus. It behoves all of us in this place to revisit these issues as required in light of the results. Constructive bipartisanship matters here. There is no monopoly on compassion, and there should be no tolerance for complacency. That's the spirit in which the coalition's concerns are raised—concern for results on the ground that will improve the safety of our students and our staff in our centres of higher learning. It is this same spirit that I hope will support the second reading amendment. I commend the bill to the House and I move:

That all words after "That" be omitted with a view to substituting the following words:

"whilst not declining to give the bill a second reading, the House urges the Government to establish an additional National Higher Education Code to Prevent and Respond to Antisemitism, which:

(1) makes it clear to all higher education students, staff and providers that everyone on a higher education campus has a right to be safe;

(2) imposes on universities a range of obligations concerning student and staff safety which is very important given the alarming increase in antisemitic incidents on university campuses since 7 October 2023; and

(3) ensures that higher education providers must comply with recommendations of the National Student Ombudsman concerning the National Higher Education Code to Prevent and Respond to Antisemitism".

The DEPUTY SPEAKER ( Ms Chesters ): Is the amendment seconded?

Mr Thompson: I second the amendment and reserve my right to speak.

Ms COKER (Corangamite) (15:34): Gender based violence has no place in Australia. It certainly no place in our universities. Universities should be places of learning, opportunity and growth—places where students feel safe, supported and empowered. When I began my time as a university student I had left home to live on campus. I was young, living away from home for the first time, excited, open to what lay ahead and keen to learn and experience everything on offer. My time at university was amazing, but for some of my friends it was not always the case. It is for these students, for every student, that I rise today in strong support of the bills before us—bills that establish the national higher education code to prevent and respond to gender based violence. These bills are a decisive step. They will give students the confidence and pathway to make a complaint, to be heard and respected and to have their complaints—many shocking, serious, criminal and life-shattering—acted on to achieve justice.

These bills give the National Student Ombudsman the authority it needs. They establish enforceable standards to prevent harm, respond effectively when incidents occur and hold universities accountable. They are built on evidence, extensive consultation and the tireless advocacy of students, staff and survivor groups. I would like to acknowledge every young person who has shared their traumatic story so that tomorrow's students are better protected and supported. What we know is that, across the nation, many students report experiences with sexual assault or harassment or feel that their complaints have been ignored. One in 20 university students report being sexually assaulted on campus, one in six report sexual harassment and half of all students who have made a complaint feel their concerns were not taken seriously. These are not abstract numbers; these are real people navigating study, life and sometimes profound trauma.

The code strengthens the work in prevention and response to gender based violence already undertaken by universities, and it ensures consistent national standards across every higher education provider. The ombudsman is central to this framework. Independent, authoritative and empowered, the ombudsman ensures that student and staff voices will be heard and that recommendations are acted on. It transforms advocacy into action. It makes the complaints process more transparent, accountable and effective. It means prevention is no longer an option; it is a core responsibility—it is a leadership responsibility. Universities will be required to implement evidence based prevention, education and training for both staff and students. They must consult with students, staff and people with lived experience to ensure programs are practical and responsive, and recruitment and promotion practices must take into account any history of gender based violence. Leadership will also be informed by evidence and best practice. Non-disclosure agreement will only be permitted at the request of the survivor. When incidents occur, responses must be trauma informed, person centred and respectful of educational outcomes. Support must be immediate, safety measures must be enacted without delay and students and staff must have clear, accessible avenues for assistance. Universities will be required to report deidentified data. This monitoring will drive improvements. It will contribute to a national evidence base on what works.

Student accommodation is also included. Many students live on campus, and many incidents of harm occur in this environment. Following disclosure or a formal report, universities must immediately implement safety measures and provide urgent support services. Where accommodation is affiliated but independently operated, universities must secure agreement to meet code requirements or risk losing the benefits of that affiliation. Universities cannot pass responsibility to private colleges or other entities. Under these bills we are making it absolutely clear that safety cannot be outsourced. The stories we hear and the statistics we read provide the clearest basis possible for swift action now—and it's not only students who carry the burden. Staff, too, often carry the weight of these experiences. It is often counsellors, student support officers and academic staff who frequently manage disclosures and provide guidance while balancing heavy workloads and emotional strain. Many have spoken of the emotional toll of navigating complex situations while trying to uphold the safety and wellbeing of students. I want to take a moment to recognise all those officers and staff who have long advocated for this reform.

Universities are not only places of learning but also places of innovation, research and evidence based practice. This bill recognises and harnesses that capacity. It encourages universities to engage in continuous improvement and to research and implement the most effective strategies to prevent and response to gender based violence. It acknowledges the important role that staff, students and researchers play in developing innovative programs that strengthen campus safety and wellbeing. Universities have been testing peer led initiatives, trauma informed curricula and digital reporting platforms, all designed to create safer environments and empower students to speak up. The code supports these initiatives and ensures that successful innovations can be shared and scaled across the sector. And it is not punitive; it is collaborative. It builds on the partnerships that already exist between students, staff, leadership and specialist organisations. By embedding innovation and continuous improvement into the framework, the bill ensures that universities are proactive and not reactive. It encourages them to build on the work they are already doing to anticipate risks, evaluate programs and adapt strategies to changing circumstances. It also provides opportunities for staff and students to contribute ideas, research findings and lived experience to national policy discussions. In doing so, it helps ensure that universities continually evolve to better protect their communities.

This approach recognises that safety and wellbeing are dynamic goals. They require vigilance, creativity and shared responsibility. These reforms are not imposed lightly. They build on years of advocacy, research and lived experience. The universities accord report underlined the urgency of addressing sexual assault and harassment in universities. It demonstrated that prevention and response systems must be consistent, robust and nationally enforced. These bills respond directly to those findings. They embed accountability in the highest level of leadership. Vice-chancellors and CEOs will be personally accountable and compliance will be rigorously monitored. Importantly, civil penalties, infringement notices, compliance notices and injunctions will ensure that institutions act to better protect students, but, at the same time, these bills acknowledge the hard work universities already do. Across the country, universities like Deakin University in my electorate strive to provide safe, inclusive and supportive environments. Staff provide counselling, they run education programs and they respond to disclosures with professionalism and generally with care. Student leaders work tirelessly to create peer support networks and advocate for their fellow students. These reforms do not diminish that work. They strengthen it. They provide clarity and ensure that good practices are consistent everywhere.

Prevention is a central pillar of this legislation. Evidence shows that proactive education and training reduce incidents of gender based violence and build a culture of respect, accountability and safety. Staff and students trained in bystander intervention, respectful workplace practices and trauma informed response are empowered to act early, preventing harm before it occurs. These programs are not optional; they are an expectation and they are a leadership responsibility. Vice-chancellors and CEOs must demonstrate that these initiatives are prioritised. They must ensure programs are implemented effectively and continuously evaluated for impact. Leadership at every level matters. Where leadership is visible, accountable and committed to cultural change, students and staff feel safer, they feel supported and they feel confident to speak up.

I want to acknowledge the advocates who have fought tirelessly for these reforms over many years. Organisations like End Rape on Campus campaigned for years to make universities safer. They worked tirelessly, often unpaid, amplifying student voices and highlighting gaps in protections. End Rape on Campus has now closed not because the work is finished but because Australians have a government that is acting. The advocacy of groups like End Rape on Campus laid the foundation for these bills. Their work is now embedded in the Ombudsman and the enforceable code.

The evidence is clear. Significant numbers of students experience sexual assault or harassment and many feel that their complaints have not been taken seriously. This must change, because these numbers represent real people, students navigating fear while trying to learn, grow and succeed, students whose horrendous experiences are likely to affect them for the rest of their lives. Our response must be robust—as robust as the challenges are real. Universities should be places of opportunity, learning and growth, not fear, not harassment and not silence.

These bills put students first. They put accountability first. They put safety first. They transform advocacy into action, policy into enforceable practice and good intentions into tangible protections. These reforms provide clarity and consistency. They ensure that every student, every staff member and every campus meets nationally enforceable standards. They strengthen the foundations of trust between students, staff and leadership. They recognise the dedication of staff and the courage of students. They empower leadership to act decisively. They embed prevention, accountability and support into the culture of higher education.

I want to thank everyone who contributed to making these reforms possible—the universities accord panel, the expert reference group, education ministers, departmental officers and, most importantly, the advocates and survivor voices who have fought for these reforms for so long. Their work has transformed advocacy into law and practice.

In closing, these bills will help ensure that our universities are safe, supportive and accountable institutions for all and they will provide staff with the tools, authority and support to act when it matters most. They are a national benchmark. They'll create a culture where prevention, support and accountability are inseparable, where students and staff can trust that their safety is the highest priority. Having two daughters that have been through university, I know that, for them, these bills will help. We need to ensure that students who go to university feel safe and supported and can be their absolute best. This is the decisive action our universities, our staff and our students need and deserve.

Ms SPENDER (Wentworth) (15:48): 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.

Ms KEARNEY (Cooper—Assistant Minister for Social Services and Assistant Minister for the Prevention of Family Violence) (16:00): I rise proudly today to speak on the Universities Accord (National Higher Education Code to Prevent and Respond to Gender-based Violence) Bill 2025. This is a bill that should have been introduced long ago, because, for too many years, female students have endured violence, harassment and abuse on our campuses, while many governments and institutions looked away. For too long, survivors have been left unsupported, unheard and disbelieved. So I stand here not only in support of this bill but in recognition of the generations of students, advocates and survivors who've fought relentlessly to make this moment possible.

I also stand here as a woman who has experienced sexual harassment. The truth of the matter is that most women you know will have experienced sexual harassment, attempted assault or assault at some point, because, unfortunately, rape culture is deeply embedded in many parts of our society. I remember the first time, as a younger woman, I experienced sexual harassment. I felt deeply threatened and shocked. It makes me nervous even to stand here and talk about it now, because there's still a great deal of stigma associated with having been sexually assaulted. A man ran his hand up my skirt as I served him his meal in a restaurant that I was working in as a waitress. I was told, when I reported it, that working in hospitality, as I did, just goes hand in hand with this type of thing.

As I got older and started going out and started going to university, for me, too, the harassment began to feel, well, just normal—'That's life. Just put up with it.' And this isn't a good thing. Women should feel shocked when facing harassment. It should feel strange, like something we've never heard of before. Instead, I remember, as a young woman, always being prepared, and moving in packs with the sisterhood. And this is how most young women live. We'd always have a friend accompany us to the bathroom. We'd have code words or looks to get a friend to intervene, or we'd hold hands over each other's drinks, or we'd have sleepovers, because no-one was allowed to go home alone. We were always ready to get into a fight for one another and we were always ready to be a social buffer to a man making unwanted advances, because, as a woman, you couldn't just say no; that would hurt a man's ego. And you never know how a man with a hurt ego will react. Will he become aggressive? Will he become abusive? Will he simply walk away and take no as an answer?

As girls, we knew we had to defend each other, because we didn't know what our institutions would do. Would they believe us? It certainly felt like they wouldn't, if your perpetrator was someone you'd previously had an intimate relationship with. And we all knew, of course, we'd be asked, 'What were you wearing?' or, 'How much did you drink?' or we'd be accused of leading a man on and getting ourselves into these situations. And of course too many women are met with, 'Well, what are you going to do? You don't want to ruin his career, do you?' or, worse, lose your own job for speaking up, because victim-survivors are left to live with lifelong consequences and a trauma that could shape their career, their relationships and their mental health forever. I know many women really struggle to connect with their own body in the aftermath, too, saying that it doesn't feel like their own anymore. Many struggle with feelings of shame and isolation that never really truly leave.

Every time my three daughters would go out, I would fear for them. I would find myself being one of those people looking at what they were wearing—are their skirts too short; are their necklines too plunging—and telling them to stick together, to not go on the streets alone, to not leave a place alone, to call me if they couldn't get a taxi. I was teaching my girls the way to behave and to act in society, out of my fear for them.

I especially feared when they were at university. I fear for every young woman, really, because the numbers are stark. Right now, one in six students experiences sexual harassment at university; one in 20 are sexually assaulted. Almost half don't know how to report it, and only one in two students felt like they were heard when they did make a complaint. We now know that our Indigenous students are at a significantly higher risk of experiencing sexual assault at university too—so too are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and non-binary students. Students with disability and our international students and students from migrant and refugee backgrounds are all at greater risk.

Most of us in this building will know someone who falls into one of these statistics. For me, it's Matilda, a young woman from my electorate. After a university ball one year, she returned to student accommodation with her friends, where, in front of others, a young man repeatedly groped her. Each time she said 'stop'. Each time no-one intervened. No-one came to her help. When she resisted, he pinned her against the wall, put his hand up her dress, and, when she fought back, he chased her, kicking at her door and screaming abuse. What happened next? Nothing. None of the other boys responded. Not even the other girls came to her aid. No-one knew what to do. There was no action from the university, and there were no social consequences for him. Instead, she was left isolated and treated as the problem.

This is the culture that we are fighting to end. This is the culture that we must end—a culture where violence is normalised and survivors are penalised. And they're penalised whether or not they choose to speak up, because, frankly, women who have been abused are treated as pariahs, and we have a culture where women who react, 'ruin the fun' or insult perpetrators are treated very negatively.

So we have this bill, the Universities Accord (National Higher Education Code to Prevent and Respond to Gender-based Violence) Bill 2025, and this bill is about trying to change this culture. It's a huge task, but this is a great moment, because this establishes a new, standalone regulatory framework to prevent and respond to gender based violence in higher education. It gives the Minister for Education the power to set a binding national code. A code will require universities to make campuses, workplaces and accommodation safe and respectful; to actively prevent gender based violence, not just respond to it; to support survivors with trauma informed care; and to hold leaders—vice-chancellors and senior executives—personally accountable for compliance. For the first time, there will be real oversight, real transparency and real consequences.

This isn't something that's just happened overnight either. It has come from the incredible work of survivors, advocates and student unions who have pushed for this reform for years, often at great personal cost. There would be many in positions of power who wouldn't have wanted these changes—who would have been fearful that they'd be held accountable themselves. So I want to acknowledge the powerful advocacy of all those who fought for this change, including all the victims-survivors from the STOP Campaign, from End Rape on Campus and from Fair Agenda. I know that last term, when they met with Minister Clare, they described their experiences on university campuses as deeply traumatic.

University is supposed to be time of learning new skills, making new friends and setting yourself up for life, and often this is not what ends up happening. The victims-survivors described a terribly inconsistent complaint process, a lack of materials on how to even make a complaint, a lack of education on consent and the lack of feedback when a complaint was made. One student described it this way: 'I'm sick of my friends being assaulted. I'm sick of begging to feel safe. I'm sick of feeling ignored.' To everyone who shared their own stories and experiences: thank you. I know how traumatic reliving your pain can be, but none of it is in vain.

I also want to acknowledge the incredible of work of the Minister for Education, Jason Clare, and his leadership. It's so important that we have good male leadership and representation in our fight against gender based violence.

This bill builds on his work establishing the National Student Ombudsman earlier this year, ensuring students finally have somewhere independent to turn to when universities fail them. The ombudsman has also ensured a national perspective and experience of what's going on across our universities and gives students a consistent complaints process. So, whether you're in Melbourne, Perth, Wodonga, Cairns—it doesn't matter where you are; you'll get the same quality of response and care. The ombudsman is making important contributions towards the wider fight to end gender based violence, and in my own patch of social services, too.

These bills are part of a much bigger story, because the Albanese Labor government is leading a whole-of-government effort to end gender based violence. It really will take all of us. Tanya Plibersek, the Minister for Social Services, and I are building on the incredible work done by the former social services minister, Minister Rishworth, including a record $4 billion investment into family, domestic and sexual violence prevention and response services. This includes prevention services that work with our men and boys to help them navigate their own trauma and unlearn sexist attitudes.

This is important when it comes to our young men because we know sexist attitudes, what it means to be a man and sexist views about women are honestly going backwards right now. The research shows us it's getting worse. We must keep up with the times and respond to some of the terrible misinformation and hate that is being perpetrated online. We must catch harmful sexist attitudes even before our young men go to university.

I know the Attorney-General, Minister Rowland, off the back of the incredible work of the previous minister, Mark Dreyfus, is strengthening our legal system so it's safer for victims-survivors and easier to navigate, because we know right now that 92 per cent of female victims-survivors of sexual assault committed by a male did not report their most recent incident to police. Ninety-two per cent did not report. This is not good enough.

And we mustn't forget the social drivers of gender inequality, because while women are economically disadvantaged they are less likely to be able to flee abuse. That's why we're making record investments in education, housing, health and social services and we're increasing wages in female-dominant industries. Ending gender based violence will take every level of government, every institution and every community. Tackling economic inequality is vital to repairing the gender inequality that exists in our society.

Right now, it is not good enough for victims-survivors to carry the voices of trauma for the rest of their lives alone, constantly telling them that their body and agency were taken from them, constantly interfering with their mental health, career and relationships. Every student deserves to feel safe. Every parent deserves to know their child is protected. Every victim-survivor deserves justice, dignity and support.

This bill is about ensuring that no student's future is stolen from them by sexual violence. I'm deeply proud to support it. I commend the bill to the House.

Ms STEGGALL (Warringah) (16:13): I want to start by thanking all the very courageous young people who came forward with their stories of abuse, harassment and assault to ensure this issue got prominence and got acted upon. We know it is all too often incredibly hard to come forward and share those experiences.

I know, as a parent, I want my young adults to be part of an educational environment where they feel secure and supported. Universities must be places where students can focus on their studies and aspirations without concerns about their safety. Whether they're on campus, online or in student accommodation, every student, regardless of gender, background or circumstance, deserves to pursue their education without fear of violence, harassment, discrimination or assault.

The concerns around sexual assault on campus are unfortunately longstanding. In 2017, the Australian Human Rights Commission released Change the course: national report on sexual assault and sexual harassment at Australian universities, which shockingly revealed that one in five students experience sexual harassment in university settings. In 2021, the national safety survey reported this dropped to one in six—not much improvement. Alarmingly, one in 20 university students reported being sexually assaulted on campus. To make matters worse, this was most likely to occur with younger students. The most impacted groups were non-binary students and transgender students.

I should say that I recently attended an event. It was a fantastic event by Consent Labs that was hosted by Sydney university. Their information and offerings are incredibly powerful in relation to assisting with this difficult problem.

Painfully, while 16 per cent of students who had been sexually harassed sought support, only three per cent of them then made a formal complaint. We know that, in this area, change has been far too slow for far too long. Student protests highlighted the ongoing inaction and inadequacies of the universities and government in addressing gender based violence on campuses. It was as a result of that mobilisation of students that we finally got some action. This bill shows a suite of other legislation arising from issues raised by the universities accord interim report and follows other safety and gender based violence initiatives, which include the creation of the National Student Ombudsman; the Action Plan Addressing Gender-based Violence in Higher Education; and the National Plan to End Violence against Women and Children 2022-2032. Lots can be said about that action plan and its lack of actual KPIs and underpinning policy to actually achieve it.

In relation to this bill, I agree that it presents an opportunity to build a safer, more supportive future for students and staff in higher education. It's a commitment to ensure that our universities are environments where every individual feels secure, respected and empowered. Australia's universities are places of knowledge, growth and opportunity. They should be places of safety, too. Yet, gender based violence remains a reality for too many students and staff, so the importance of a safe and supportive higher education sector cannot be overstated. Institutions must not only provide high-quality education but also cultivate an environment where students and staff feel protected, respected and empowered.

I want to acknowledge the incredible importance of this, and I thank the government and the minister for acting upon this and bringing it to the forefront. It's acknowledging those survivors who have brought these issues to the fore. They've bravely shared their stories. There are advocates who have fought for justice and researchers who have provided us with the crucial insights into the prevalence and impact of gender based violence in universities. Without their ambition, resilience and determination to hold universities accountable, there would be no push towards meaningful change.

This bill sets out the basic regulatory infrastructure for compliance with the National Higher Education Code to Prevent and Respond to Gender-based Violence. It binds higher education providers to comply with the code and sets out the compliance and enforcement powers, including public disclosure of information. It also ensures that responsibility for creating a safe environment for young people on campus will not rest solely on survivors or support organisations, because addressing gender based violence in universities is a collective responsibility that involves everyone—educators, administrators, policymakers and students alike.

The draft code has been released. Higher education providers will be required to take evidence based steps to prevent gender based violence on their campuses. It includes requiring vice-chancellors and CEOs to make a whole-of-organisation plan and report to their governing bodies every six months on their implementation actions. It will enforce transparency and accountability, making sure that institutions follow through on their commitments to safety for their students. It has a requirement to provide evidence based prevention education and training to staff and students and consider gender based violence in recruitment and promotion decisions. In that respect, I applaud the code's whole-of-organisation approach, which ensures that institutions create safer accommodation for students, implement trauma informed support systems and use data driven methods to continually improve their response.

While this bill is a welcome step to stamping out gender based violence on campuses, policy alone is not enough. Institutions need training, guidance and long-term investment to create lasting change. Since 2014, universities have faced continual financial decline. By 2020, 40 per cent of universities were operating in deficit, rising to 70 per cent in 2023, marking a significant financial downturn compared to the pre-COVID-19 and pre-job-ready-graduate years. Our university sector is struggling, and in places like ANU and now UTS we've seen students bear the brunt of the crisis. I've spoken recently in this place about the impact of the job-ready scheme on the funding model of the university sector, but the decline runs deeper, and the consequences are clear.

If we're serious about ending gender based violence and ensuring safe campuses and learning environments, then the government must go further by ensuring our universities are equipped with the necessary resources, staff and stability to carry out these functions effectively. Students and staff must feel and trust that, when they report incidents of violence or harassment, their concerns will be taken seriously and actions will follow.

So I welcome this bill, and I'm optimistic that this bill will set the groundwork to help build a safe, accountable environment for our young adults on university campuses. However, guidance and long-term investment to ensure universities are well equipped to meet these obligations remain necessary.

Ms JARRETT (Brisbane) (16:21): I rise in support of the Universities Accord (National Higher Education Code to Prevent and Respond to Gender-based Violence) Bill 2025. Many in this chamber have studied at or been to a higher education institution. Any one of us could probably name six university students among their wider circle of friends, family and neighbours. Statistics show that one of them will be sexually harassed. Even worse, one in 20 university students is sexually assaulted. This is unacceptable, to put it politely.

For me, it is personal. I have twin boys, and nieces and nephews, and like many in this chamber I know children of friends who are or have been university students. My electorate has one of the largest student populations in the country. It is home to two of Queensland's largest and most prodigious universities: the Queensland University of Technology, my alma mater; and the University of Queensland Herston campus. Students and staff in higher education deserve to be and feel safe. We have to do better, and that's why I'm proud to speak to this bill today.

As the minister said, the bill seeks to establish a new standalone regulatory framework to reduce the incidence of gender based violence. It will ensure that higher education providers prioritise safety, strengthen prevention efforts and improve the response to gender based violence. Importantly, it will also hold them accountable for their performance, including on incidents in student accommodation.

The bill does this by enabling the Minister for Education to make a national higher education code to prevent and respond to gender based violence. This will set best practice standards and requirements that higher education providers will need to meet to effectively prevent and respond to gender based violence. This legislation is based on sound, research based statistics and policy development going back a number of years—and we've heard about some of these today—because, sadly, gender based harassment and violence is a longstanding issue in our higher education institutions.

National Union of Students surveys dating back to 2011 have repeatedly identified concerning levels of assault and harassment on campuses and in student halls. A landmark Australian Human Rights Centre 2017 report, On safe ground, identified three significant factors: (1) in line with the findings by the NUS, there are concerning levels of sexual assault and harassment within Australian universities; (2) women students, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students, culturally and linguistically diverse students, international students, students with disability and LGBTIQ+ students are more likely to experience incidents of sexual assault and harassment; and (3) the response of many universities to addressing complaints of sexual assault and harassment is often inappropriate or inadequate, with students being not believed or feeling blamed.

We've heard the stories and seen the media reports about the unsavoury practices of hazing and encouraging new and vulnerable students to participate in such practices. It used to be laughed off as part of university life or, in the military, as part of military life for the newbies and the freshers, but now we recognise it for what it is, and so we should: preying on the vulnerable—more often than not young people who just want to feel accepted. Now we call it out for what it is: harassment, assault and personal violence. We know the human cost to the victims is huge. But there's also the economic cost and the health costs of dealing with the potential impact on victims' mental health, and, to take an economic rationalist view, there is also the economic cost from adverse impacts on academic performance and completion rates. Uncompleted studies waste educational resources and cost us potential contributors to an economy at a time when Australia is seeking to build its international competitiveness.

A lot's happened so far. States and territories came together as part of the national Education Ministers Meeting to tackle the issue, leading to the development of the Action Plan Addressing Gender-Based Violence in Higher Education. It was released in February last year. Also, importantly, in the 2024 budget the government allocated almost $19 million over four years to introduce a national higher education code to prevent and respond to gender based violence, which started from 1 January this year. So there are runs on the board already.

The National Student Ombudsman—which we've heard about from a few today—is a key measure of that action plan and they started their operations on 1 February this year. It enables higher education students to escalate complaints about the actions of their higher education providers, including gender based violence complaints. Sadly, research shows that many students and staff don't know where to seek support or where to go to make a formal complaint to the higher education provider, and those that do are often dissatisfied with the process. In fact, the 2021 National Student Safety Survey by Universities Australia found that, where formal complaints were made about sexual assault, fewer than half of the complainants were satisfied with the process overall. The ombudsman will have powers similar to the royal commission and will investigate complaints made against the university—something advocates have sought for years. Together, these measures will ensure greater oversight and accountability of the higher education providers and help drive the social change we need to see in the higher education sector to prevent and respond to gender based violence. The ombudsman was an important first step towards keeping students safe and ensuring they are heard when they make a complaint. This bill is a crucial step in that regard.

The national code will also ensure the factors that drive and contribute to gender based violence are being addressed in higher education communities and that the prevention efforts are at the forefront to help create the cultural change that is needed. Accountability for compliance with the national code will sit at the highest levels of the provider organisation, meaning vice-chancellors and CEOs will be directly responsible. Compliance will involve regular reporting to a provider's governing body of incident data and efforts to prevent and respond to gender based violence. Change will also be driven by requirements for providers to develop a gender equality action plan and gender impact assessments, and they will need to provide evidence based education and training on the factors that drive and contribute to gender based violence.

The national code will require policies, procedures and processes for responding to gender based violence in a trauma informed way and ensuring key functions are undertaken by people who have the appropriate skills and expertise. This should help to improve the experiences and outcomes for people who disclose their experience of gender based violence, strengthening their disclosure autonomy to ensure they are heard and appropriately supported. To monitor and enforce the national code, a new, specialist gender based violence unit is being established within the Department of Education. The unit will provide guidance, education and advice to support higher education providers to understand and meet the requirements of the national code.

The bill creates a range of powers to enable the unit to monitor and respond to noncompliance with the bill or the national code, including monitoring and investigation powers, as well as powers to issue compliance notices, seek civil penalties and injunctions, issue infringement notices and enter into enforceable undertakings. To strengthen and provide transparency and accountability, the bill enables the secretary to disclose information to the public about a higher education provider's compliance with the bill and the national code. Annual reporting on the unit's operations and performance of functions will be publicly available and tabled in both houses of parliament. The secretary will be able to share information with relevant regulatory and other bodies through their functions and powers and for certain purposes. The bill is part of a package with the Universities Accord (National Higher Education Code to Prevent and Respond to Gender-based Violence) Bill 2025. This consequential bill amends the Higher Education Support Act 2003 to include compliance with the national code as a quality and accountability requirement for higher education providers approved under the act.

All violence, regardless of who uses it and who experiences it, is unacceptable. Unfortunately, it's not confined to university campuses. We see it in our homes, in our workplaces and on our streets. It is tough and complex to fix, but it's deeply rooted in all corners of our society and also plays out on our higher education campuses. For too long, as we have again heard today, students have been let down by universities and by inaction by previous governments. Over almost a decade of coalition government, this issue was placed in the too-hard basket. Universities and higher education providers have a responsibility to ensure their study, work, social and living environments are safe for students and staff. This government is taking strong action to ensure universities take this responsibility seriously and prevent and respond to gender based violence in higher education.

This is about university students we all know—people in your family, students that I have met in my campaign and ex-students, like a woman I spoke to recently about her experience at university. For privacy reasons, I will refer to her as Sarah. Sarah was kind and brave to let me share her story. Sarah said she was excited to go to university and had moved down from North Queensland to Brisbane to study law. This was her time to learn, to expand her thinking, to make new friends and lasting memories alongside other students. In Sarah's first year, she met a fourth-year student who quickly took a liking to her. She took Sarah under her wing and taught her what she needed to know about uni life.

On a night out, Sarah was drinking at a party and that fourth-year student took advantage of her, sexually assaulting her. Sarah said she felt confused and scared and that she didn't know who to turn to. She knew it was wrong and she didn't know what to do. She set up a meeting with the counsellor from the university a couple of days later. Sarah said it felt like the counsellor didn't have the skills or the knowledge to deal with these kinds of situations. She said they asked the wrong questions and left her feeling like she wouldn't get justice for what she had experienced. She said the counsellor didn't even advise her to report her to the police. Sarah felt alone. Sarah said many others had gone through similar experiences at the university. In fact, she said that the culture was indoctrinated and that young students are often vulnerable and impressionable. She said that the fourth-year students take the first-year students out for a night. They take them out drinking. They make you play games where you rack up points by completing the challenges that make you feel uncomfortable, but you yourself, as a student, just want to fit in. Sarah said, at the time during o-week, there was advice provided about excessive drinking but no education or advice about sexual assault and appropriate consent, nor what to do if it happened.

It was really brave of Sarah to share her story with me, along with those who've spent many years calling for reform and sharing their stories. To me, this bill is for them and for the people like Sarah so they don't feel unsafe or alone again when they are at university, when they're supposed to be in the prime of their life, enjoying, learning and becoming a stronger part of our community. We need to make sure that we stamp out this kind of behaviour not just in our universities but across the society. It's about keeping our young people and everyone else safe.

Ms CHANEY (Curtin) (16:34): The Universities Accord (National Higher Education Code to Prevent and Respond to Gender-based Violence) Bill 2025 is an important piece of legislation—one that deals not just with governance and compliance but also with the lives and safety of young people across our higher education sector. As well as being places of learning, universities provide an opportunity to transition to independence and a time of joy, growth and discovery. Yet for too many students that promise is overshadowed by an unacceptable reality: sexual assault and harassment are present in our universities.

The statistics are alarming. One in 20 students are sexually assaulted during their studies, and one in six experience sexual harassment. Half of those who report these incidents feel they're not listened to, not believed or not treated fairly. Behind those statistics are human stories, of students who sought help but were met with disbelief or blame, of students who reported violence only to find themselves ostracised or even evicted from their accommodation while the perpetrator remained, of students who decided it was safer to stay silent than risk retraumatisation through challenging complaints processes. For too long, the default response for some universities has been to step away, to take the path of least resistance, to manage these issues quietly and internally rather than confront the problem openly and decisively. That's why this problem has persisted for so long.

This bill recognises that failure. It aims to set clear, consistent and enforceable standards for preventing and responding to gender based violence in universities. The bill enables the Minister for Education to establish a national higher education code to prevent and respond to gender based violence. This code sets national standards that every university and higher education provider must meet. Compliance with the code will become a condition of being an accredited higher education provider under the Higher Education Support Act.

The bill also establishes a regulatory framework to monitor and enforce compliance. A dedicated branch within the Department of Education will oversee the code, with powers to issue civil penalties, infringement notices, enforceable undertakings and injunctions when universities fall short. This is part of a broader suite of reforms alongside the new National Student Ombudsman, the government's Action Plan Addressing Gender-Based Violence in Higher Education and the National Plan to End Violence against Women and Children. In short, the bill sets the legal scaffolding for a system of accountability on an issue that deserves attention and consistency.

There's much in this bill that deserves support. First, it sends a clear message. Universities must do more, and they'll be held accountable if they do not. Second, it recognises that gender based violence is not just an individual failing; it's a systemic issue requiring systemic solutions. By mandating national standards it ends the patchwork of inconsistent approaches across institutions. Third, it promises enforcement. Too often, universities have made well-meaning commitments on paper but have failed to follow through. This bill says that if you don't comply, there will be consequences. Finally, the bill places prevention at the centre. It's not enough to react after the harm has occurred. The national code is expected to require evidence based prevention programs, consent education, bystander intervention training and awareness campaigns. It will require trauma informed support services and transparency, including annual reporting of incidences and responses.

These are all good steps, but the devil is in the detail. The bill delegates much of the substance to the national code, which is made by the minister through delegated legislation. That gives considerable latitude. The Senate's owns scrutiny of bills committee has already queried whether it's appropriate to address this in delegated legislation. There are reasons to shift the detail to delegated legislation. It's easier to amend so it can be more responsive to new issues or parts of the legislation that don't work as planned, but it also means there's less scrutiny on the new rules. Rather than focusing on whether delegating the development of the code to the minister is the right approach, today I'll pragmatically focus my comments on the practicalities, issues that will need to be addressed either in the code or in it's implementation for it to be effective.

My electorate of Curtin includes the University of Western Australia, and I've spoken to various stakeholders at UWA about their concerns in relation to the code. All stakeholders I've spoken to are in favour of the goals of the code. They're already implementing some systems—we're not starting from zero—and there is recognition that this is an important issue. But stakeholders who will need to bring the code to life have legitimate concerns that should be considered in the code's implementation.

The UWA student guild is generally supportive of the code. The main concern expressed by the guild president, Nikhita Talluri, is about data sharing under the code. Survivors often turn to independent services, such as those operated by the guild, rather than university officers precisely because they do not trust the university to act fairly, so any requirement for student services to share data must be de-identified and must respect survivors' choices. UWA, along with other universities, is calling for clarity—clarity on how the 45-day disciplinary timeline will work and clarity on the relationship between the department's gender based violence unit, TEQSA and the National Student Ombudsman. These governance questions may sound technical, but they matter. Confusion at the regulatory level leave students in limbo.

I've had the pleasure of visiting student accommodation providers in my electorate a number of times and I know that the leaders there are passionate about creating a safe and welcoming environment for all students. Many of these student accommodation providers are not-for-profit organisations. The code is designed to apply equally to universities, university owned and operated accommodation providers, independent not-for-profit accommodation providers and commercial providers. This creates some challenges, as they all have different relationships with universities and different levels of resourcing. Some of the accommodation providers in my electorate have suggested that, at this stage, the lack of practical resources or advice from the Department of Education about the application of the code is creating real challenges, particularly for smaller providers. There's a risk that, without appropriately tailored supports from the department, this additional regulation could undermine the very outcomes that the code seeks to achieve. Some of the key issues on which the accommodation providers need clarification include definitions, privacy and legal obligations, workforce expectations, whole-of-institution plans, implementation timeframes, and sector support and engagement—and I'll run through these in turn.

On definitions and terminology, inconsistent definitions across jurisdictions and within the national code are creating confusion. For example, the expectation for student accommodation staff to declare all past and present intimate relationships is not clearly defined and may raise legal, contractual and ethical issues, and the term 'disclosure' versus 'formal report' requires clarification in relation to obligations and expected response timeframes.

On privacy and legal obligations, student accommodation providers operate under diverse legal frameworks across states and territories and may also be subject to religious, institutional and privacy related constraints. Requirements for staff, including professional psychologists, to disclose information received in therapeutic settings may contravene client confidentiality and professional codes of conduct. The requirement to share information with universities within 48 hours of disclosure raises complex privacy and liability issues for accommodation providers that are not part of the university's legal structure.

On workforce expectations, the code requires that only those with prescribed knowledge and expertise undertake risk assessments and investigations. Student accommodation providers do not currently have access to professionals with these qualifications. Recruitment, training and resourcing of appropriately qualified staff will be a major cost and capability burden for small providers. Increases in costs could result in significant fee increases that will impact equity and access.

On the requirement for whole-of-institution plans, all student accommodation providers must be included in their university's whole-of-institution prevention and response plan or develop their own. For affiliated but independent student accommodation providers, this presents a practical challenge. How can a university include a student accommodation provider that it does not control in its institutional plan, and what obligations arise if no legal agreement exists between the parties?

On implementation timeframes and resources, with the national code due to take effect on 1 January next year, most student accommodation providers have no access to funding, templates or endorsed training programs. There's been limited communication from the department's gender based violence unit since its establishment, and frequent staff turnover has also hindered progress.

Lastly, on sector support and engagement, the department has committed to develop guidance materials and a template for the whole-of-institution plan, but this needs to occur urgently and in consultation with accommodation providers.

Student accommodation providers are deeply invested in getting this right and ensuring that their environments are safe, inclusive and compliant, but without tailored guidance and resource support, smaller accommodation providers may struggle to comply, risking reputational harm and service withdrawal, particularly in regional areas.

Where does that leave us? Well, this bill is, in principle, a good step. It acknowledges that sexual assault and sexual harassment in universities is not a marginal issue and more must be done. It provides for a national code to establish clear, enforceable standards. It creates mechanisms for accountability and enforcement, and it affirms that every student deserves to feel safe and supported in their place of learning. I'm heartened by the goodwill of the stakeholders. Universities, student accommodation providers, student guilds and students themselves all want universities to be safer places, but the concerns listed here show how much work is still to be done to ensure that universities and student accommodation providers are realistically able to comply with the code.

I urge the government to appropriately resource the department to support all stakeholders through this implementation process. Many of the issues raised by stakeholders are not simple queries and will take time to work through. We need our universities to be safe places for students, but, in doing that, we need to ensure that this code is focused on practical, meaningful action that university stakeholders can take, not more regulation and box ticking. We owe it to students to get this right.

Ms BERRY (Whitlam) (16:46): 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, alongside it, the Universities Accord (National Higher Education Code to Prevent and Respond to Gender-based Violence) (Consequential Amendments) Bill 2025. We are debating legislation shaped by the stories of students and staff who have endured the unthinkable in places that should serve as safe harbours of learning and growth. Over the last several years, evidence has shown that gender based violence—specifically, sexual harassment and violence—continues to occur in higher education settings at unacceptable rates.

Unfortunately, many students and staff don't know where to seek support or make a formal complaint to their tertiary education provider, and those who do are too often dissatisfied with the process. This is all very concerning for parents and friends of students who are worried about what their loved ones may experience during their tertiary education years. This should not be the case. Students should be able to prepare eagerly for higher education and embrace everything campus life has to offer whilst knowing they are safe and supported. At the start of each semester, students are warned about drink spiking at O-week events and told how to stay safe at campus parties and what support services are available to them. They receive training from universities on consent and how to recognise dangerous situations and safely intervene. The onus has been placed on students time and time again to keep themselves safe.

I am pleased that this bill shifts some of the accountability and responsibility to ensure safe environments onto institutions and providers of services to students. Stamping out gender based violence is everyone's business and requires a zero-tolerance approach in every context. It is in that spirit that I rise to support this bill, as it recognises the problem that we collectively face and proposes concrete action to address it. This bill is not just another piece of legislation; it is a bold step in our national journey towards ending gender based violence, especially in higher education. This bill will ensure that higher education providers prioritise safety, proactively strengthen prevention efforts and improve the response to gender based violence. It will hold them to account for their performance in responding to these issues, including, importantly, in student accommodation.

The introduction of this legislation is a key measure of the Action Plan Addressing Gender-based Violence in Higher Education agreed to by all education ministers in February last year. This government has already been responding to this plan through the establishment of the National Student Ombudsman, which commenced earlier this year. With strong powers to investigate complaints made against a university, it is a national first that will actively ensure that students' concerns are heard and acted upon. The ombudsman is just the beginning, however. Over the last several years, evidence has shown that gender based violence—specifically, sexual violence and harassment—continues to occur in higher education communities at significant rates. For too long, universities have been blind spots in our fight against gender based violence. They are places where sexual assault and harassment go underreported, where survivors feel silenced and where institutional responses are inadequate. A 2024 report from the University of Sydney revealed 231 staff and students had reported sexual misconduct in a single year, with students making up 73 per cent of reports. Yet most victims chose not to proceed with investigations, citing fears of being retraumatised and a lack of trust in existing processes.

Legislative reform must accompany social reform, as we are witnessing within the community. Across the country, students have held vigils and rallies organised to respond to this important issue that has impacted too many young lives. Students should not be left to themselves to carry this responsibility to prompt action, and it's timely for parliament to respond. These are our students, our future educators, innovators, business owners, workers and leaders. Their education should not be derailed by harassment or violence, and their safety must be non-negotiable.

What this bill does is both deliberate and decisive. Firstly, it establishes a national higher education code, which will empower the minister to set national standards and requirements for preventing and responding to gender based violence. Secondly, it makes compliance mandatory for all higher education providers registered under the Higher Education Support Act 2003. Institutions must align with the national code to maintain their approved status. Additionally, providers must also develop a gender equality action plan and gender impact assessments and provide evidence based education and training on the factors that drive and contribute to gender based violence. Thirdly, it creates robust regulatory enforcement mechanisms. The secretary of the Department of Education, through a dedicated specialist gender based violence unit, will monitor compliance with powers including civil penalties, enforceable undertakings, infringement notices and injunctions. The secretary will also be able to disclose information to the public about a provider's compliance with the code.

Fourthly, the bill imposes national standards across seven key domains: leadership and governance, safe environments and systems, knowledge and capability, safety and support, safe processes, data and impact, and student accommodation. Fifthly, it introduces accountability at the highest level. Vice-Chancellors and CEOs will be directly responsible for compliance and required to report every six months to their governing body. The gender based violence unit will publish annual operational and performance reports to both houses of parliament. Sixthly, it builds on existing work through the National Student Ombudsman and the broader Action Plan Addressing Gender-based Violence in Higher Education, a multi-pronged strategy agreed to by education ministers, outlining seven actions to transform sector culture.

The new national code is at the heart of this legislation. With the goal to ensure study, work, social and living environments are safe, respectable and inclusive for staff and students, it will draw a line in the sand against university mismanagement and failures to respond. Every student and staff member deserves to learn and work without fear. Educational institutions must be sanctuaries for the development of knowledge. There must be proper complaint systems in place that provide safety and security for affected students. In their most vulnerable moments, these students must feel there are measures in place that will respond to their needs and deliver the response they rightly deserve. Survivors must be heard, supported and empowered.

This bill ensures survivors will not be left to drift in processes that do not deliver outcomes. It ensures victims-survivors receive timely and expert responses from their institutions. This legislation will provide a pathway to justice for survivors while pursuing the end of gender based violence. Institutional leaders will be expected to actively lead change. Vice-Chancellors and CEOs will be expected to confront these issues head on. This bill ensures that addressing the crisis of gender based violence in higher institutions becomes a priority for governing bodies.

Importantly, this bill is built upon consultations with students, victim-survivor advocates, gender based violence experts, the higher education sector, student accommodation providers and a range of other government agencies. This legislation also aligns with our national plans and international commitments, including the National Plan to End Violence against Women and Children 2022-2032. A new, specialist, gender based violence unit will be established within the Department of Education to monitor and enforce the new national code. This will collectively reduce systemic issues and proactively create safer environments within affected institutions.

This issue demands our continuing focus, and that is why the national code will require higher education institutions to provide annual data on gender based violence so that this parliament and future parliaments, along with the public, can remain informed on trends and performance. This ensures our continued attention to this matter. Further, it ensures increased data transparency and scrutiny which allow for adjustments and responses where necessary. This is not about red tape; it's about leadership. Universities already commit to excellence and will now also ensure the same commitment to safety. A whole-of-organisation approach will embed prevention at every level.

True change requires accountability, and this legislation's civil penalties and enforceable undertakings ensure that we move from symbolic gestures to actual transformation. To the supporters who fought for these changes to be implemented for so long: I thank you. I commend you for your time, your passion and your energy. I'm proud to be part of a government that listened and committed to delivering actual change for students. After extensive consultation and listening to those affected by the changes, the Albanese Labor government is pursuing these reforms to make a real difference for all students pursuing higher education. We must act now in the interest of the safety of our students. Students and staff are supportive of these changes alongside other associated stakeholders.

In the spirit of Labor values, safety, equality and fairness, I urge this House to support the Universities Accord (National Higher Education Code to Prevent and Respond to Gender-based Violence) Bill 2025. Let us ensure our universities become places where students and staff thrive always, free from fear, fully supported and pursuing their futures in a safe environment.

Dr RYAN (Kooyong) (16:57): All women who have attended tertiary facilities in Australia know someone who's been raped on a university campus. It's well past time that our government intervened to create stronger measures to combat gender based violence on university campuses, and this legislation is a really important part of that work.

The Universities Accord (National Higher Education Code to Prevent and Respond to Gender-based Violence) Bill 2025 comes after investigations by groups like the National Union of Students and the Australian Human Rights Commission—numerous investigations which have consistently identified really concerning levels of sexual assault and harassment in Australian universities. After the landmark 2017 Change the course report, there were more reports from groups like End Rape on Campus Australia and from the Stop Campaign which described sexual violence, hazing, bullying, intimidation and inadequate support for victims-survivors of gendered violence at our universities across the country. The 2021 National Student Safety Survey found that one in six students had been sexually harassed and one in 20 sexually assaulted at our universities. Those rates were much higher in women and in gender-diverse students. It's likely that that data underrepresents the reality. Only 5.6 per cent of students who took part in the survey and who had reported being sexually assaulted had actually made a formal report to their institution. Fewer than one in three of those who were brave enough to come forward were satisfied with how their university handled their complaint. More recent research has shown that 40 per cent of female international students have experienced at least one form of sexual violence since arriving in this country. That is an absolute disgrace. At the same time, the National Tertiary Education Union found that almost one in three university staff has also been sexually harassed in the workplace.

The responses of many universities to these sorts of complaints of sexual assault and harassment have long been deemed inadequate or inappropriate. Students have told us that they have been disbelieved or blamed and that their confidentiality has been breached in the process of any investigations that might have been undertaken. Our institutions have come up with ineffectual and underpoliced measures to try and tick a box on their responsibilities—schemes like Consent Matters, which was called out by both students and experts as being unhelpful and ineffective. A recent Senate inquiry was also critical of the failure of the higher education regulator, the Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency, which confessed to systemic under-reporting and inaction on sexual violence on our campuses. In recent years a number of courageous individuals have come forth to bring attention to the extent and severity of gender based violence on our campuses. It's become clear that universities simply can't be trusted to act on this issue without oversight and enforcement by an external regulator. The government had to act to reduce the incidence of gender based violence in higher education and to establish national standards and requirements for higher education providers to prevent and respond to gender based violence.

In late 2024 this house passed legislation to establish the National Student Ombudsman as an avenue for individuals to escalate complaints against higher education providers on issues like gender based violence. This bill and the companion legislation before the House are the next steps in the establishment and enforcement of a national higher education code to prevent and respond to gender based violence. This code arose after consultation with victim-survivor advocates, students, the higher education sector, the student accommodation sector, gender based violence experts, states and territories and relevant Australian government agencies. It will create, for the first time, meaningful and detailed standards that universities have to meet in order to adequately address gender based violence. These standards will be enforced by a specialist unit in the Department of Education, which will provide guidance, education and advice to support universities and other providers in understanding their legal obligations under the code and will exercise a significant range of powers to monitor, investigate and respond to noncompliance with the code and with the measures in the bill. It will report annually to both houses of parliament. Where universities fail to meet the standards for student safety, the unit will have the power to enforce financial penalties.

This national code therefore complements the National Student Ombudsman by filling an important gap. We can't have a system that allows universities to tolerate harm until someone complains about their actions. This code will finally enforce meaningful standards that universities will have to meet to support victim-survivors and other students. The code requires that university leaders make whole-of-organisation plans for evidence based prevention of gender based violence plans and for education and training of staff and students. This will include consultation with individuals with lived experience of gender based violence. The code will also ensure that, when that violence does occur, both students and staff have access to the very best supports possible—supports which are trauma informed and ensure that students are still able to go on and complete their educational goals.

For far too long student victim-survivors have been left without the support they need for their safety on campus or in exam spaces, and we know that many have dropped out or failed their studies as a result. Some have faced harmful actions from their universities, which have compounded the harm of the primary assault. Victim-survivors will now be protected by a code which will set clear and meaningful standards that universities have to meet. They will have to provide safe environments. They will have to provide timely safety support. They will have to action and resolve reports in a timely manner. They will have to provide necessary academic support and adjustments to victim-survivors, and they will have to train their staff to respond appropriately to disclosures. Very importantly, non-disclosure agreements will be prohibited unless they are specifically are requested by victim-survivors.

These are all things that students should have been able to take for granted for years, but we know that they've been lacking from far too many institutions. It's important that the code specifically addresses safety in student accommodation, including forms of accommodation affiliated with universities but not controlled by them. Universities will be required to investigate formal reports of gender based violence even where they occur at colleges and other forms of on-campus accommodation. There are some complexities to this, but it's important that it's included. This legislation has been developed over some months by experts in the field, and they have assured us that they feel that if it is properly funded and enforced it will function as intended. It will deliver meaningful change for women on our university campuses and for all victims-survivors of gender based violence.

It's particularly important that, at this point, we acknowledge the brave victims-survivors and other advocates who fought for this change for decades and who have made it possible. In 2022, I had the great privilege of meeting in this house with representatives from End Rape on Campus. A key advocacy group founded in 2016 by Sharna Bremner, End Rape on Campus Australia has now shut down. It did the thing that it was aiming to do: it advocated itself out of business. The women of Australia thank it for its work. There are many others who've worked on this issue for many years and whose achievements and contributions should be recognised in this place as we pass this legislation, including Renee Carr and her Fair Agenda; the STOP Campaign, including Camille Schloeffel; Dr Alison Henry; and so many others.

For far too many students—for far too many women—this legislation comes too late. But those of us in this House now commend this government for acting now as it has to prevent further harm to those who come after. I commend this bill to the House.