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TRANSCRIPT
It is the first national report to investigate the prevalence and impact of racism at Australian universities.
76,000 students and staff across 42 Australian universities participated.
Race Discrimination Commissioner Giridharan Sivaraman says the accounts and findings are confronting.
“And what it shows is that racism is deeply embedded in our universities. It's embedded within the systems and institutions of our universities. And it has a profound impact on staff and students. And racism is something that betrays a university's duty of care, a duty of care to provide a safe, inclusive environment for students and staff.”
The federal government commissioned the research by the Australian Human Rights Commission, implementing a recommendation from the 2024 Universities Accord, which reviewed the higher education sector.
Mr Sivaraman says the racism reported took many forms.
“The thing about racism is it's often death by a thousand cuts. It's not just one particular thing, it can be a number of things. It can be that the curriculum doesn't recognise your experiences or doesn't have a diversity of experiences. Horrifically racist things said by tutors and academics. I remember a student telling me how... They were an international student, and the academic, the person teaching them, accused them of using AI because their answer was so good, rather than assuming the best of the person, and assuming they might actually be good at their subject.”
Seventy per cent of students and staff surveyed reported witnessing racism.
Rates were higher among international students.
Seungbin Kang is the education officer at the International Students Representative Council.
He says what he has seen and experienced has had a lasting impact.
“One (experience) that really stuck with me during my university studies is inside residential halls, when you have dinner with people, you know, when you have a friend group of people that are largely white Australians and they're eating together. You know, people will talk about how they're having a good time and just hanging out with each other, which they are. You know, they're having a great time and hanging out with each other. But on the other hand, if you have a dining table, which is mostly international students, people will talk about how these people need inclusion, or these people are - they don't really fit in and what not. And I think for students to sort of hear that. When they're trying their best to make themselves a great education experience here in Australia, it's quite demotivating I think. They take a great risk to come overseas - both personal and financial risk as well - just to pursue a great education here in Australia. And when you're treated with otherness and unfamiliarity. And then people are not able to give you the same level of respect because of that, I think it's quite a demotivating experience towards people's studies that really all of us should be against.”
Racism was experienced at higher levels by those from Indigenous, Chinese, African, Jewish and Middle Eastern backgrounds; with at least 80 per cent of survey respondents in these groups reporting impacts.
Only six per cent of those surveyed who experienced racism firsthand made a complaint.
That doesn't surprise Anenya Kale, who heads a student-led group providing support for students from culturally diverse backgrounds at the Australian National University.
“There is a lack of clarity and transparency about reporting mechanisms, which can be really, really hard; and can be really discouraging for people who are trying to report racism. We've also found that training - and culturally informed, trauma-informed training is really lacking for people that are handling these disclosures. And that means that oftentimes the disclosure process can be more traumatic than the actual incident of racism itself.”
The group is called the BIPOC Department, representing students who identify as Bla(c)k, Indigenous or People of Colour.
It has published four annual reports on student experiences of racism at the university.
Ms Kale says a lot more still needs to be done to bring about change.
“But I do really think that it is equally as important that universities themselves are looking at how they can actually shift the culture to ensure that incidences of racism are minimised, and then those incidents that do fall through the cracks and that do happen, are handled appropriately. We really want to see a body that can actually look at how the university is complying with recommendations made from our racism reports. We believe that timelines are really important. So that we have a way to hold university governance accountable for things that they promise; or for things that they say they're going to do. Really, just more action, more engagement with, you know, student bodies.”
Lushy Chinganya is the President of the University of Melbourne Student Union, which is preparing to release its latest report [[fourth edition]] on racism experienced by students on campus.
he says the findings reinforce the trend established in the three earlier reports it released.
“Our latest report has found that one in five students will experience overt racism at uni, and that almost 50 percent have experienced casual racism. And again, this isn't something that's new or surprising, it's a trend that we've seen in previous reports. And on top of that, we've also seen that one in five students have witnessed lecturers making racist jokes, and it comes down to maybe the people aren't seeing it as much as a racist joke, more so just a joke that happens to be centred around badgering or making fun of a race. And it is really harrowing to look and explore when we see those kind of results coming from our students.”
Ms Chinganya says she was motivated to take on an advocacy role, after experiencing casual racism firsthand.
“Coming from a place where there is not too many African students at uni, and especially for someone like myself, who has a name that is a little bit different to the average name or a little bit harder to pronounce. I often am faced with the micro-aggression of mispronouncing my name or, um, suggestions about my culture or that sort of thing. It's just a casual thing that happens that I've experienced during my time here at uni. And the normalisation of these racist comments or situations is really the long-term effect, where the people that are experiencing it are also being able to push it aside and think 'like, it's okay, it happens'. When the reality is, is it's not okay, and it should never be happening. And it shouldn't be something that we just have to go through. We should never have to go through any sort of racist situation.”
She says knowing where to turn to - and having confidence that the matter will be dealt with appropriately, is important.
“I really hope that some really practical steps come out of the universities on how to combat racism actively. And how to make sure that every student on campus knows what it is. How to get support, how to report it, and how to know that you're not in this alone; and that this isn't okay behaviour. I really hope that unis look into that, especially in the colleges and the university accommodation spaces.”
The Human Rights Commission's report makes 47 recommendations, including regular complaints reporting; and a national framework for anti-racism in the tertiary education sector overseen by a working group.
“How effective and safe are the complaints mechanisms? What are the consequences for racism that is occurring? And of course, critically, what role does leadership play? Because it's very important that anti-racism work isn't just left at lower levels, that it involves leadership. This is not just about the racism experienced by students. That's significant. But it was the racism experienced by staff, and in fact, staff responded at a higher rate than students. And staff reported significant levels of racism, including when it came to progressing to senior levels. We don't see diversity at the leadership of universities.”
ommissioner Sivaraman says what would make a big difference is the adoption of the National Anti-Racism Framework - developed by the Commission since 2021 during the COVID pandemic, and formally launched in November 2024.
“What I think would be significant - and it hasn't happened yet - is that the government adopt and implement the National Anti-Racism Framework. If we're going to deal with racial hatred, and we've seen, of course, the most horrific of attacks at Bondi. We've seen the attack in Boorloo (Perth), but we've seen other attacks as well, and I think sometimes people have short memories. We saw racial violence spike during COVID against people of Chinese origin, including Chinese students, which comes through very clearly in this report. During the Voice Referendum, a surge in racism towards First Peoples. The target keeps changing. The problem remains. The racism remains. That indicates we need a comprehensive approach.”
Federal Education Minister Jason Clare says the government is working on its formal response to the report.
And he says work is already underway to lift the governance standards for the sector; and to strengthen the powers available to the regulator [[TEQSA; Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency]].
“Now, universities are great institutions, but they're not perfect, and Australia's not a racist country, but racism exists. And if you look hard enough, you'll find it. If you read through the pages of this report, you will see it. What this report tells us is that racism is not more prevalent in our universities than any other part of Australia. But that's really not the point. Racism does exist in our universities, and our universities have to hold themselves to a high standard. And this report tells us that we're not doing enough at the moment to stamp it out where we find it; or to prevent it in the first place.”
The government's Antisemitism Education Taskforce is set to brief education ministers on Friday on changes to teacher training to combat racism.
The Group of Eight coalition, representing Australian universities, says it accepts the report's challenge to move beyond frameworks to implementation, including strengthening complaints processes, and improving racial and religious literacy.
In a statement, CEO Vicki Thomson says the Group of Eight "reject all forms of racism" and remains committed to sustained, transparent action to ensure campuses are safe and inclusive places.
