Albanese government to appoint Ombudsman with stronger powers to address sexual assault at unis

An independent national student ombudsman will be given sweeping powers to investigate on-campus sexual assault amid startling statistics one in 20 students had been sexually assaulted in their university career. The new role will allow the ombudsman to recommend an uni take specific steps, and respond to a complaint if the provider is taking unreasonable delays, or acting unreasonably. They will also be empowered to state if the action or decisions taken by an university is unreasonable, unjust, oppressive, discriminatory or wrong. Legislation to install the ombudsman was introduced to parliament on Wednesday morning, with Education Minister Jason Clare conceding current measures were inadequate. “Not enough has been done to address sexual violence in our universities and for too long students haven’t been heard. That begins to change with this legislation,” Mr Clare said. “Universities aren’t just places where people work and study, they are also places where people live and we need to ensure they are safe.” Speaking to media longside advocates who have been advocating for the provisions, Mr Clare thanked the women for being the “driving force” behind the legislation. “I want to thank Sharna Bremner from End Rape on Campus, Camille Schloeffel and the team from the STOP Campaign, Renee Carr from Fair Agenda, Dr Allison Henry and all those who have fought for this.” Results from the 2021 National Student Survey found one in 20 students had been sexually assaulted since starting university, with one in six being sexually harassed. Reporting measures were also found to be insufficient with one in two students reporting they weren’t heard despite making a complaint. Dr Henry, an advocate and gender violence on-campus researcher, said the provisions for the ombudsman to annually report the number and types of complaints, and the actions taken by universities, will be especially valuable. “Up until now it’s been incredibly difficult to track what is going on in universities. They tend, as institutions, to be reputationally sensitive and not really want to actually put forward what their reporting rates are,” she said. Universities will also have to comply with a National Higher Education Code to Prevent and Respond to Gender-based Violence, which will be established through separate legislation. The code will force universities to ensure all formal reports of gender-based violence are investigated and concluded within nine weeks, and require providers to collect and maintain data on gender-based violence which will form a national dataset. Mr Clare said the legislation, which is slated to be introduced before the end of this year, would also contain penalties for universities which did not implement the recommendations of the ombudsman. 24/7 SUPPORT LINES