FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
AUGUST 2025
25th August 2025 – The Council of Australian Postgraduate Associations (CAPA) congratulates the Minister for Education, Jason Clare, for legislating the National Higher Education Code to Prevent and Respond to Gender-Based Violence. CAPA welcomes the government’s commitment to protecting postgraduate students, and urges the government to continue delivering on all 47 recommendations made by the Universities Accord.
The 2021 National Student Safety Survey (NSSS) found that one in six students had been sexually harassed since starting at university, and that postgraduate research students were more likely to have been sexually harassed than undergraduate students.
“Postgraduate students, such as those undertaking research or work-integrated learning, are the most vulnerable students at our universities. This legislation will complement the work of the National Student Ombudsman to ensure that postgrads no longer fall through the cracks when it comes to safety,” said CAPA National President Jesse Gardner-Russell. “We thank universities such as The University of Melbourne, The University of Sydney, and Monash University, who read the sobering 2021 report and took proactive steps to begin improving their culture and practices,”
CAPA is proud to have worked with the Department of Education on developing the Action Plan Addressing Gender-based Violence in Higher Education, the National Higher Education Code to Prevent and Respond to Gender-based Violence, and advocating for the creation of the National Student Ombudsman in 2023 and 2024.
The Code, which establishes a new standalone framework to reduce incidences of gender-based violence, prioritise safety, strengthen prevention efforts, improve the response to gender-based violence, and hold providers accountable for their performance, including in student accommodation, is sorely needed in the current university settings.
“These systems must be developed to respond to gender-based violence in a trauma-informed way, to ensure that victim-survivors are heard, supported, and provided with just outcomes,” said CAPA Women’s Officer Vaness Yap.
“Postgraduate students, often being mature-aged students, often face unique vulnerabilities compared to undergraduates, are more likely to report experiences of sexual harassment during professional placements and work-integrated learning. Universities and employers must work together to ensure robust mechanisms are in place, so that no student is left unprotected simply because of where their study takes them.”
“The upcoming 2026 NSSS will be essential to understanding whether this crisis has worsened, and identifying concrete policies, procedures, and safeguards are needed to protect postgraduate students from gender-based violence,” continued Yap. “Our members are committed to working with universities to ensure stronger governance and transparent accountability measures that ensure genuine prevention of, and response to, gender-based violence across all institutions”
“There’s no doubt this is a significant step to protect postgrads. We are excited to see renewed government momentum in the higher education sector, such as increasing HELP repayment thresholds, the National Student Ombudsman, addressing university governance issues, and the creation of ATEC. We hope that this momentum translates to action on the remaining Universities Accord recommendations, such as increasing the HDR stipend and ending taxation on the part-time stipend,” said Gardner-Russell.
ENDS
For Comment
Jesse Gardner-Russell & Vaness Yap
National President | Women’s Officer
Council of Australian Postgraduate Associations Inc.
Level 1, 120 Clarendon St, Southbank, Victoria 3006President@capa.edu.au | Women@capa.edu.au
