Australian Human Rights Commission Respect at Uni Interim Report December 2024 Palestinian, Muslim and Arab communities, including the following initiatives to support the grant objectives: • community consultations to inform anti-racism content and initiatives to support community-driven solutions • a social media campaign to promote existing relevant anti-racism content • the creation of new anti-racism campaign content. This work complements the National Anti-Racism Strategy and Framework. It will align with a human rights-based approach, centring anti-racism and the perspectives of all affected communities. The initial phase of the project involved engaging with peak bodies, representative organisations, community groups and other stakeholders to understand the key issues affecting communities. Consultations are ongoing and have included 55 stakeholders from Arab, Jewish, Muslim and Palestinian communities, various independent organisations, academic research groups, government offices and media organisations. 2.4 University Initiatives Australia's university sector comprises 42 institutions, including six dual-sector universities that integrate higher education with vocational education and training (VET). Around 1.4 million students attend Australian universities. 20 International student numbers fluctuate but in 2024, around 467,000 international students were enrolled. Universities are major employers, with over 130,000 academic and professional roles. 21 Funded by the Australian Government and student contributions, universities are also one of the largest exports for Australia, worth $36.4 billion to the Australian economy in 2023. 22 Universities must ensure safety while also promoting diversity and inclusion, ensuring that these efforts are aligned with their commitments to academic freedom and freedom of speech. Historically, many universities have addressed racism within the framework of broader diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives or Reconciliation Plans. Recently some institutions have begun to implement standalone anti-racism policies. Campus protests have increasingly brought attention to the need to address racism within universities. The adequacy and effectiveness of these measures are critical areas of focus for this Study, with initial insights provided in Part 3. 27