Both Jewish and Palestinian students and faculty find themselves at the forefront of entrenched racism within universities, as these institutions face criticism for their inadequate responses to campus hate.

A significant Australian Human Rights Commission report, unveiled on Tuesday, reveals that individuals hailing from Indigenous, Asian, Middle Eastern, African, Pasifika, Māori, and Muslim communities also endure high levels of racial discrimination.

“Racism at university transcends isolated events or personal actions; it is a systemic issue,” stated Race Discrimination Commissioner Giridharan Sivaraman.

“This pervasive racism affects numerous groups in profound ways across the educational sector.”

He noted that such discrimination harms individuals’ identities and self-worth, impacting their overall well-being and sense of security.

The Racism@Uni Study, which gathered data from over 76,000 students and staff across 42 universities in September, found that over 90% of Jewish and Palestinian respondents reported encountering racism linked to their religion or ethnicity.

More than eight in 10 respondents from Indigenous, Chinese, Middle Eastern and northeast Asian backgrounds reported racism.

However, only 6 per cent of people made a complaint about the racism they suffered, with trust in the university process low.

The study’s 47 recommendations included universities having a positive duty to stamp out racism, the creation of national and university-specific anti-racism plans and more reporting and transparency requirements.

Universities Australia labelled the findings deeply troubling, saying racism had no place at universities.

“No one should feel unsafe, diminished or excluded because of their culture, faith or background,” the peak body said in a statement.

“Universities accept our responsibility to confront racism wherever it occurs.

“We will continue listening, learning and acting together to ensure our universities live up to the standards our communities rightly expect.”

Noting institutions were bound to ensure academic freedom and freedom of speech, this could never be used to justify spreading harm or impacting another person’s rights, Universities Australia said.

Education Minister Jason Clare flagged major changes as the federal government considers the report’s recommendations.

“We’ll comb through it and respond in due course,” he told reporters in Brisbane.

“But one of (the recommendations) … is to raise that standard that universities need to comply with.

“We’ve already said that we will do that, and that work’s underway.”

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