Angie Bell (Moncrieff, Liberal National Party, Shadow Minister for Early Childhood Education) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I move the second reading amendment, as circulated, in the name of the member for Farrer:

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".

This is a bill to establish a national higher education code to prevent and respond to gender based violence—a national code. The coalition strongly supports this initiative and this bill. Everyone on a university campus or in student accommodation has the right to be safe. What we have seen recently at our universities is that students do not feel safe. Where there have been instances of violence—especially gender based—threats, abuse or harassment, our universities have not acted fast enough. The incidence of sexual assault and sexual harassment on university campuses was again brought to light by the Universities Australia National Student Safety Survey 2021, released in March 2022. The survey found that one in 20 students had been sexually assaulted since they started university, and one in six sexually harassed. It is important to note that the survey included the entire university context and extended to off-campus areas, student and private accommodation, work experience and professional placements. These statistics were shocking at the time. They remain so today and are clearly unacceptable.

The National Student Safety Survey 2021 also provided an insight into the ability for students to make complaints and seek support and assistance. More than half of students knew nothing or little about the formal reporting processes for instances concerning harassment or assault. Almost half of students knew nothing or very little about where to seek support or assistance.

The national code was developed after a consultation process in May and June last year. Stakeholders participated in expert reference groups, including provider peak bodies, accommodation providers and key advocates for the code, such as Fair Agenda, End of Rape on Campus, the Stop campaign, and Dr Allison Henry. The coalition acknowledges the important job that advocates have done to improve the safety of students and staff on campus. We also acknowledge the bravery of those who have spoken out about their experience of gender based violence, including through the Senate Legal and Constitutional Affairs References Committee inquiry into current and proposed sexual consent laws in Australia.

This bill, the Universities Accord (National Higher Education Code to Prevent and Respond to Gender-Based Violence) Bill 2025, is necessary because our national regulator of universities, the Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency, TEQSA, has not done its job in holding universities and other higher education providers to account when they fail to adequately protect students from and respond to incidents of sexual harassment, sexual assault and other gender based violence.

It is, however, important to ask the following question: why didn't the education minister demand a higher level of performance from the regulator? He has a range of powers to do so and yet this never happened. There is an emerging pattern of behaviour from this minister, an apparent weakness of leadership. Australian universities should be exemplary institutions. This bill puts universities and other higher education providers on notice.

Failure to protect and respond to gender based violence will have serious consequences. This bill establishes a new specialist unit within the Department of Education as the regulator. This specialist unit will, in effect, be the regulator, and it is on this basis that the coalition retains some concerns. This, self-evidently, should be the job of the higher education regulator, and demonstrates the failure of the minister to ensure that TEQSA is exercising its functions adequately.

Whilst TEQSA does not have the powers to investigate individual cases, TEQSA does have a range of powers which enable the regulator to ring the alarm bells about university failings, to keep students safe or to respond appropriately in relation to cases of sexual harassment or sexual assault. If things were so bad on campus, why didn't TEQSA alert the minister and make recommendations for action? The minister could have also acted to strengthen TEQSA's powers, but, instead, did nothing of the kind. It will be critical for the minister to ensure his secretary and departmental officials are appropriately qualified to fulfil these important regulatory functions.

The bill also gives the minister the power to establish the national code by legislative instrument and gives the minister significant powers relating to the providers' approval. While the coalition has some concerns with this bill, namely, the establishment of a regulator within the Department of Education, we are committed to seeing new efforts within the higher education sector aimed at preventing and responding more effectively to insidious gender based violence.

The coalition will be moving an amendment to this bill to ensure the code, which governs the obligations of higher education providers relating to gender based violence, is extended to incidents of antisemitism. The coalition has long called for a National Student Ombudsman to provide university students with greater access to justice. A new National Student Ombudsman became operational on 1 February 2025. The ombudsman is empowered to respond to individual complaints. The national code includes a provision that, 'A provider must implement any recommendations made by the ombudsman in relation to gender based violence, but not in relation to any other matters,' such as complaints of antisemitism. The coalition is moving an amendment to the bill to urge the government to introduce a second new national code, a national higher education code to prevent and respond to antisemitism: the antisemitism code.

The regulatory framework established by this bill could be replicated to take account of student safety as it relates to antisemitism. Even before the Hamas terrorist attacks on Israel, on 7 October 2023, universities were failing to adequately deal with antisemitism. In August 2023, the Social Research Centre and the Australasian Union of Jewish Students released the Australian Jewish University Experience Survey. It revealed that 64 per cent of Australian Jewish university students had experienced antisemitism on campus, 57 per cent of Jewish students had hidden the fact that they were Jewish at university and 19 per cent had stayed away from campus at some point because of antisemitism.

When antisemitism occurred, 85 per cent of students did not make a complaint. Of those who did complain, 61 per cent were dissatisfied with the outcome. The coalition has led the charge on holding the Albanese government and universities to account for failing to prevent and respond to antisemitism on university campuses. We continue to call on the government to legislate a commission of inquiry into antisemitism at Australian universities. Everyone on a university campus deserves to be safe, including Jewish students and staff. There has been an alarming increase of antisemitism on university campuses since the horrific Hamas terrorist attack on innocent Israeli citizens on 7 October 2023. Antisemitic incidents are up by over 700 per cent, with many of these occurring on campus, compounded by the weakness of leadership from the Albanese government. TEQSA has been equally deficient in combating antisemitism as it has been in combating gender based violence.

The Albanese government has failed Jewish students and staff in the face of the protests, encampments and other incidents which fuelled so much antisemitic hate and incitement on campus. The education minister failed to throw the book at universities. He put his head in the sand, and that is a disgrace.

Sharon Claydon (Newcastle, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Member for Moncrieff, are you going to conclude your remarks in order to get a seconder to this before the 4.30 cut-off?

Angie Bell (Moncrieff, Liberal National Party, Shadow Minister for Early Childhood Education) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Yes, I am. This amendment makes it clear to all university students, staff and providers that everyone on university campus has the right to be safe.

Sharon Claydon (Newcastle, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Is the amendment seconded?

Keith Wolahan (Menzies, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I second the amendment and reserve my right to speak.

Debate interrupted.