Following findings that interpersonal and structural racism are ‘deeply entrenched in Australian universities’, an even larger survey will seek to repeat the process.
The Australian Human Right Commission has enlisted the Centre of Social Policy Research or POLIS to ask university staff and students across the country about their experiences with racism, in what is said to be the largest survey of its kind.
An interim report commissioned by the Commission in 2024 found evidence of extensive racism and now this larger study will provide more extensive insights. With recent examples of antisemitism and many Indigenous and international staff and students pointing to anecdotal instances of racism over many years, the existence of racism in HE as in society is a fait accompli. The greater question is what effective action will be taken.
As ECU DVC (Equity, Students and Indigenous) Braden Hill observed recently, the initiative to survey racism widely came from Indigenous leaders wanting to see action, but it must be accompanied by an effective policy response.
Addressing antisemitism in universities was essential, and the release of a 20-point plan by Antisemitism commissioner Jillian Segal calling for punitive action against universities failing to address it was welcome, but it also highlighted an uneven response to racism.
“As a Noongar leader in higher education, I am committed to confronting the long-standing and well-documented concerns raised by Indigenous communities about systemic racism in education. Yet, these issues have not seen the same level of coordinated national response, media attention or political urgency currently being directed at antisemitism,” Professor Hill wrote.
“When only certain forms of racism or discrimination receive national intervention while others remain overlooked, we risk sending a troubling message about whose experiences of harm matters and whose does not. The persistent sense that harm toward Indigenous people is ordinary or inevitable continues to be astounding.
“In my time in higher education, I have not once received a formal request from any state or federal government – including during harmful Voice campaign – asking my institution to account for its actions in addressing racism against Indigenous students or staff. That absence speaks volumes. It also highlights what a missed opportunity the Voice to Parliament represented. I’m also not certain the same approaches now being advanced would be politically viable if proposed by the Minister for Indigenous Australians to address racism toward Indigenous communities.”