The University of the Sunshine Coast today welcomes the introduction of a new national code to further empower safety across Australian campus communities. 

The Australian Government Senate today passed the National Higher Education Code to Prevent and Respond to Gender-Based Violence. 

UniSC Vice-Chancellor and President, Professor Helen Bartlett, said it marked an important milestone in Australian higher education by setting and mandating clear standards of accountability. 

“We are committed to fostering safe, respectful, and inclusive campuses by going beyond compliance to actively build a culture of respect and safety,” Professor Bartlett said. 

“This means we are, and have been for some time, addressing the drivers of gender-based violence, including gendered power imbalances, gendered social norms, and bias through primary prevention, strong support pathways, and transparent reporting.”

She said the code would enable the establishment of a new gender-based violence prevention taskforce at UniSC. 

“This taskforce will adopt a whole-of-university, trauma-informed, evidence-based approach, aligned with the code,” Professor Bartlett said. 

“We are also engaging specialist leaders in psychosocial risk, case management, and legislative compliance, to deliver tailored training for key staff and senior leaders, and to embed gender competency in our draft curriculum design framework.” 

UniSC is engaged in a continuous improvement process to develop, implement, report and evaluate initiatives to address sexual harm.  

“I am immensely proud of the dedication and hard work demonstrated by our staff, students, and our broader communities to ensure that everyone at UniSC can live, work, and study in safety and with respect,” Professor Bartlett said. 

“Their meaningful impact spans research and advocacy, dedicated support, comprehensive training, collaborating with local and national organisations, and community engagement through awareness campaigns on this issue.”  

The National Code builds on previous legislative frameworks like the Sex Discrimination Act 1984 and the Respect@Work report (2020), reinforcing a proactive approach to creating safe, inclusive environments.  

A key component is the Positive Duty, which obligates institutions to prevent discrimination and harassment, rather than simply responding to complaints. 

Key priorities of the National Higher Education Code to Prevent and Respond to Gender-Based Violence include: 

• Strengthening staff and student disclosure pathways to ensure supportive, trauma-informed responses 
• Embedding gender competency into curriculum design 
• Aligning policies and guidelines 
• Extending targeted awareness campaigns 
• Completing an institutional self-assessment to identify systemic risks and enablers