Australian Human Rights Commission Respect at Uni Interim Report December 2024 Commissioner’s Foreword Universities play a critical role in Australian life. They provide opportunity and options for further learning, research and obtaining necessary academic qualifications for numerous important professions. They are bastions of great intellectual thought, debate, research and idea generation. They are gateways to opportunity that can either address inequality or exacerbate it. However, structural racism has been legitimised by Australia's colonial history and remains embedded in our society. It is pervasive across our institutions -whether it be workplaces, places of education, or indeed the structures that are intended to serve us. Universities are institutions that fit all those categories, and as such are clearly affected by racism. Universities are not inoculated from racism by the intellectual endeavour that takes place within them. In the last year there have been reports of significant increases in antisemitism, Islamophobia, anti-Palestinian and anti-Arab racism in Australian universities. Our initial consultations have shown that each of those experiences is unique and not to be conflated one with the other. But they are all forms of racism, shouldn’t be tolerated and require a comprehensive response. The Australian Human Rights Commission has released, or been part of research, over the last two decades that has examined racism in universities towards Muslim people, international students, students of Asian origin and others. Running parallel to our current study have been parliamentary inquiries into antisemitism on campuses. There has been a huge response from Jewish students and staff highlighting the nature and scale of the problem. Our study will build on the work undertaken by these inquiries. The experience of First Nations students and staff is a particular concern. As highlighted in the Universities Accord, the participation rates and experiences of First Nations students lag behind the rest of the population. That is sadly unsurprising when we consider that First Nations people have been enduring racism for longer than anyone else on this continent. Our initial consultations have revealed deep rooted structural problems that continue to affect First Nations students and staff. 7