We respond to disclosures and complaints of sexual assault and sexual harassment, concerns about student wellbeing and child safety, inappropriate behaviour and general university complaints.
You can report:
- Complaints about inappropriate or concerning behaviour
- Disclosures or complaints of sexual assault and sexual harassment
- Child safety concerns
- General complaints about a service or your University experience
- Wellbeing concerns about yourself or someone you know
- Financial and Legal Support
(Apply to the Student Financial Hardship Scheme (Login))
What does the Student Safety and Wellbeing team do?
You have the right to have a university experience that is free from racism, discrimination for who you are, sexual assault and harassment, gender-based violence, and any other behaviour that makes you feel unsafe.
You can come to us to informally discuss or move ahead with a formal report on any of these experiences, as well as complaints about unfair practices while you are studying.
We provide free and confidential services to students experiencing a range of issues that can impact their university experience and academic engagement.
Our Student Safety and Wellbeing team have backgrounds in social work, psychology, policing, counselling and human services. We work from a person-centered and trauma-informed framework, which means you will be treated with respect and dignity, no matter who you are or what you have experienced. You will be offered a confidential service, always free of charge, feeling empowered to seek help on your own terms and make decisions that work for you.
We’re here to talk to you about your mental health, assist with financial hardship, provide wellbeing advice, link you in with other services, and be here to support you during your whole University journey.
Our team are proud members of the Ally Network and support our LGBTIQA+ community.
Resources
Addressing food insecurity
TUSA's Food Security Program
TUSA Food Hubs are across all University of Tasmania campuses (Sandy Bay, Inveresk, Cradle Coast, Hobart City and Sydney) providing free fruit, vegetables, bread and frozen meals. With the option to purchase pantry staples for 40-50% less than supermarkets. It's available for all University of Tasmania students. For more information, opening hours and locations visit TUSA Food Hub.
TUSA's broader Food Security Program offers free community lunches on Sandy Bay Campus @ The Ref, on Thursday's. And the Food Education Program across Sandy Bay, Inveresk and Burnie Campuses each in semester 1 & 2. For more updates, follow TUSA Food Hub on Facebook.
Community gardens and food programs
There are a number of edible gardens, orchards, food allotments and even individual trees from which you can source fresh food across our campuses. Some are open to all staff and students, whilst access to others is limited.
You can discover more, including the University of Tasmania's commitment to enabling sustainable food options and initiatives, in our sustainability portal at food and gardens.
Cults on campus
The University is aware of a number of predatory cult organisations that are attempting to recruit students on our campuses. These organisations use deceptive psychological tactics to target individuals they suspect to be international and/or first-year students. Cults also target people who may be sad, struggling with university, isolated, or homesick.
A cult is a group of people who have unusual beliefs and live separately from the rest of society. They are often led by a charismatic leader who controls the beliefs, behaviour, and customs of the members. Some cults are like new religions, while others are not religious at all. Cults share some things in common, like authoritarian control, extremist beliefs, isolation from society, and the veneration of a single leader. New members are often isolated from their friends and family to control their minds and create a group mentality. In most cults, the leader is the centre of attention and followers adopt their beliefs and fulfil their requests.
If you are approached by someone and they seem nice, but their topics of conversation get weird… Trust your gut if you get a strange feeling about the person and/or their intentions.
- Say “No” or “Not interested” and leave the conversation. You aren’t obliged to speak to anyone, even if it feels rude to walk away.
- Contact Campus Security on 03 6226 7600 or via the SafeZone app.
- If the person is asking for help/directions, suggest Uconnect and continue to walk away.
- Be careful about the personal information you give out. Don’t give out your contact details.
- If someone is offering free food or invitations to exclusive social events, study groups or other gatherings that feel vague or too good to be true, check out any group before you join them. Do some digging online and ask around to see if anyone else has any experiences with the group before you join up.
- Consider accessing the free and confidential counselling service (Student Portal),
- Try Mindfulness, joining the gym or walking with other students,
- Check out the Wellbeing calendar (Student Portal for more ideas!
University expectations
The University's Behaviour Policy sets out the values, standards and expectations for behaviour that apply to our University community. People are the heart of our community. We want you to be safe, feel valued, and to actively contribute to our mission. Our University subscribes to the fundamental values of respect and self-respect, fairness and justice, integrity, trust and trustworthiness, responsibility and honesty.
When members of our community behave in a manner that is not aligned to our values and expectations, our focus will be on early intervention and restoration, providing an opportunity to understand the implications of inappropriate behaviour, and to rebuild responsibility and accountability. Inappropriate behaviours can be demonstrated in different ways. Please read Examples of Inappropriate Behaviour (PDF 80.5 KB) to understand more.
In circumstances where the inappropriate behaviour is of a serious nature and risks to health and safety are apparent, we will act swiftly and decisively to ensure safety for our community and to maintain our values-based culture.
A safe and respectful University community is everybody's responsibility
Below is a range of policies and procedures to assist you in understanding the processes we have in place to keep yourself and others safe.