This article has been republished from Campus Review. First published on August 6, 2025.
The Australian Human Rights Commission’s landmark Racism@Uni survey will appear in student and staff inboxes from August 11.
This is the first national investigation of its kind into racism across Australia’s universities, an ambitious and timely effort to uncover the prevalence, impact, and systemic nature of racism affecting staff and students.
Commissioned by the federal Department of Education, the study is a partial response to Recommendation 33 of the Australian Universities Accord Final Report.
Its objective is clear: to equip public universities with the evidence and insights needed to take genuine, long-lasting action to create safer and more inclusive institutions.
It will be open for four weeks and is designed to collect data not only from those who have experienced racism, but also from those who haven’t, or may not recognise racism as a problem at all.
The survey is anonymous, confidential, trauma-informed, and tailored to include everyone’s perspective.
Universities are encouraged to actively promote the survey to ensure diverse and comprehensive participation.
The outcomes will provide a foundation for practical, systemic reform across the sector.
This survey is not just about data collection, it is also a call to action: racism continues to impact students’ well-being, learning outcomes, and sense of belonging.
For staff, it undermines professional progression and contributes to attrition, particularly for First Nations academics and international staff who often bear the additional burden of “colonial load” in university structures.
Previous consultations have revealed a disturbing consistency of issues: complaints processes that lack transparency; staff who fear professional backlash for speaking up; and students, especially international and First Nations, being redirected to under-resourced units instead of formal redress channels.
The result? A culture of inaction and deep frustration.
“Universities cannot address racism if they continue to frame it as isolated interpersonal incidents,” study director Hashini Panditharatne said.
“We must address structural and institutional dimensions too.”
There is growing public recognition that universities are not neutral spaces. They are institutions shaped by histories, power, and exclusion.
The Racism@Uni study, if embraced by universities not as a threat but as a turning point, offers a path to rebuilding trust, advancing equity, and ensuring the sector lives up to its stated values.
Universities have shown they can lead national change. We saw this in the response to gender-based violence after the Change the Course report.
The same level of urgency and coordination is now needed to tackle racism. This moment demands courage, clarity, and collaboration. The survey is a vital next step, but it’s what we do with the findings that will matter most.
Cate Gilpin is coordinator of Welcoming Universities, a network that aims to build inclusion and belonging in the higher education sector.
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