Respect. Now. Always.

The University of Tasmania is committed to being a place where all members of our community feel safe, secure and respected.

The goal we are all working towards is zero instances of sexual assault and sexual harassment at our University.

Support services

If you have experienced sexual assault or sexual harassment, support and assistance is available to you.

Please contact the Safe and Fair Community Unit where the team will respond confidentially and with sensitivity.

Find out more about the Safe and Fair Community Unit

How we are creating a safe and fair community

In 2022, we are continuing our involvement with the Universities Australia RESPECT.NOW.ALWAYS. campaign through our participation in the National Student Safety Survey (NSSS).

The National Student Safety Survey was conducted last year by the Social Research Centre in partnership with Universities Australia to understand the scale and nature of university students’ experiences of sexual assault and sexual harassment.

The results of the survey were released on Wednesday 23 March:

We understand that conversations about the NSSS and its results can be distressing for members of our university and wider community.

The report(s) contain discussion and descriptions of sexual harassment and sexual assault. It also contains mentions of self-harm, drug use and suicide ideation.

Support and counselling is available and we are ready to support you. Please visit the student portal to book an appointment with a counsellor and access our range of wellbeing services. If you are a staff member please visit our Employee Assistance Program page on the Safety and Wellbeing site or you can call 1300 687 327.

Alternatively, you can reach out to one of the national referral services.

We thank students and survivors for sharing their experiences. It continues to help us create a stronger, safer University of Tasmania community.

In recent years, we have:

  • Established a central unit – the Safe and Fair Community Unit – which is experienced in responding to reports of sexual violence. This has included the recruitment of skilled investigators.
  • Increased the number of counselling staff for students and introduced an after-hours crisis service.
  • Rolled out staff and student training initiatives which address consent, gender violence and trauma-informed responses.
  • Implemented an online reporting tool and case management system for managing reports of sexual assault and sexual harassment, and other forms of inappropriate behaviour.
  • Established guidelines for first responders of disclosures of sexual violence.
  • Implemented a new policy framework, which included the development of a new student conduct procedure.

More information on the surveys and our response

Following the 2016 survey, the Australian Human Rights Commission released Change the course: National report on sexual assault and sexual harassment at Australian universities.

One of the Change the course recommendations was to commission an independent, external review of our University’s current policies and procedures.

The University implemented all recommendations from the Change the course report and independent review.

Improving how we prevent and respond to incidents of sexual assault and sexual harassment and create a safer community is a vital task. It remains a focus and you can follow our progress below.