The report shares survey data of student and staff experiences over two years and recommendations for how to address this systemic issue.
This month (February 2026), The Australian Human Rights Commission published Respect at Uni: Study into antisemitism, Islamophobia, racism and the experience of First Nations people. This is the first time an independent study into racism of this scale has been done at Australian universities, with over 760,000 staff and students taking part.
To give some context into the background of the study, Race Discrimination Commissioner, Giridharan Sivaraman’s foreword holds a few items of note:
- Experiences of racism are ‘increasingly being brought to the fore by communities across the country’.
- The report is ‘being delivered in the immediate aftermath of the most violent attack of antisemitism on our shores’.
- Many universities were established as ‘colonial institutions’ with almost half established ‘before the abolition of the White Australia policy‘.
- First people’s ‘systems of being, knowing and doing are still largely devalued and excluded from curricula, and discrimination is embedded in First Peoples’ university experiences’.
The objectives of the study were to not only investigate the prevalence of racism and discrimination in universities but understand the impact on communities and develop recommendations for inclusive cultures for all. The study comprised of four main elements: a national online survey, focus groups of students and staff, a policy audit, and literature review conducted by the UTS Centre for Social Justice & Inclusion and Jumbunna Institute for Indigenous Education and Research.
The focus groups included 57 sessions (group and individual) with participants including: First Peoples, African, Asian Jewish, Middle Eastern, Muslim, Palestinian, and Pasifika people and international students. The groups also explored intersectional experiences of women, people who are LGBTQIA+, people with disabilities and those were were ‘first-in-family’ to attend university.
Types of racism explored in the report
Interpersonal racism – this is defined as ‘racism that occurs in everyday interactions between individuals or groups’. The report breaks this down further into direct racism (where someone personally experienced racism), indirect racism (where racism was directed at others from the same group the person identifies with but not at themselves personally) and bystander racism (where they witnessed racist behaviour directed at anyone else regardless of if they identify in the same group).
Broader levels of racism. The report explores systemic racism (when norms/laws/policies/practices create inequitable outcomes), institutional racism (where racism is normalised within an organisation) and structural racism (racism that is deep within the structures of society).
Key findings
Here are some of the key findings from the report:
- 14.9% of respondents reported experiencing direct interpersonal racism at university.
- 69.9% reported experiencing indirect racism.
- 1 in 5 academic staff reported experiencing direct racism.
- 3 in 4 international students reported experiencing indirect racism at university.
- More than 2 in 5 respondents who experienced direct racism said it impacted negatively on their studies.
- Only 11 universities in the study were found to have advanced anti-racism policies and strategies, 30 had limited polices and strategies, and two had no evidence of anti-racism policies and strategies.
- Only 6% of respondents who experienced direct racism reported it to their university.
- 68.9% of domestic students, 62.3% of international students and 80% of academic staff who reported direct racism were dissatisfied with how their complaint was dealt with.
- Specific groups experienced significantly higher levels of direct and indirect racism or discrimination at university including: First Peoples (81%), African respondents (78.3%) and African diaspora (79.25), Asian respondents (78.1%), Jewish respondents (89.1%), Māori respondetns (73.3%), Middle Eastern respondents (80.6%), Muslim respondents (76.3%), Palestinian respondents (90.2%) and Pasifika respondents (75.8%).
Next steps
Chapter 1 – Eliminating racism in universities outlines the crucial changes needed at a systemic level with recommended actions for Government and universities to work towards five central outcomes. These outcomes are:
- Establishing a sector wide framework – a national anti-racism in universities framework for all universities that is aligned with the National Anti-Racism Framework.
- Building racism-free environments – all staff and students should be able to participate in campus life feeling safe, confident and included and where racism is recognised as a psychological safety risk with prevention measures in place.
- Taking accountability – University complaints systems must be trusted, accessible and effective with independent oversight.
- Updating the curriculum – An inclusive teaching curriculum that includes perspectives from underrepresented groups such as First Peoples and non-Western perspectives.
- Diversifying the workforce – Universities should have diverse leadership that is representative of Australian society and the student population, and university working environments need to be inclusive and equitable.
Reference
- Australian Human Rights Commission (2026) ‘Respect at Uni: Study into antisemitism, Islamophobia, racism and the experience of First Nations people.’ Available at: https://humanrights.gov.au/media/documents-files-PDFs/strategic-communications/Racism-at-Uni-Report_update-2-170226-PM.pdf (Accessed 17th February 2026)
