27 November 2024

Dear students, 

Last night the University of Sydney Senate met to consider the Hodgkinson External Review report, commissioned by the Senate to review our policies and procedures following the end of the encampment on our campus in July this year. Senate Fellows resolved to accept the recommendations of the report in principle, and asked the University Executive for a blueprint for consultation and delivery.

Mr Hodgkinson AM SC is a preeminent Senior Counsel who is widely recognised as one of Australia’s leading barristers specialising in work health and safety across various industry sectors.

Mr Hodgkinson acknowledged the challenges the University faces in balancing our unwavering commitment to freedom of speech with the need to create a campus that is safe and welcoming to all. The report recognises the complexity of our environment and our continually evolving regulatory landscape, noting in particular our expanded work health and safety obligations.

The Review received 51 written submissions from organisations and individuals and numerous meetings were held, including with Jillian Segal AO, the federally appointed Special Envoy to Combat Antisemitism, and Aftab Malik, the federally appointed Special Envoy to Combat Islamophobia. All submissions made to the Federal Senate Inquiry into antisemitism that mentioned the University of Sydney were also considered as part of the Review.

The report notes the significant steps the University has already taken to successfully address many of the issues raised in submissions to the Review, including making camping on campus an unacceptable activity and prohibiting protests in buildings through the introduction of the Campus Access Policy, reviewing our policies, procedures, and complaints processes, and increasing campus security. 

On behalf of the Senate, I want to thank Mr Hodgkinson as well as former Chancellor Belinda Hutchinson and those who made submissions and took time to meet with Mr Hodgkinson.

The University of Sydney is not immune to the challenges of rising levels of racism, intolerance, and polarisation facing broader society. As Vice-Chancellor Professor Mark Scott has said, this makes it more important than ever that we foster a safe environment where diverse views can be explored through civil debate. Mr Hodgkinson’s report provides us with expert guidance on how to achieve that goal and we will be seeking the views of our community on its implementation. While the task ahead is significant and complex, the University Senate, the Vice-Chancellor, and the University Executive are united in our focus on creating a safe and welcoming campus for all.

We will continue to keep you updated on this important work as we progress.

Kind regards, 
David Thodey 

David Thodey AO 
Chancellor

The report identifies that while the University does not tolerate racism, harassment, and threatening or intimidatory speech or behaviour, the actions taken by the University in response to complaints about these matters aren’t made public. To create greater transparency and confidence in the complaints process, the report recommends the University publish a regular complaints report, along with a second report detailing the range of penalties imposed for breaches of University policy. The University of Sydney Annual Report on Sexual Misconduct, now in its second year, presents a potential model for this type of deidentified reporting.

The report found the University’s policies and procedures are not well understood and are hard to access. Mr Hodgkinson acknowledges work is underway to simplify the number and language of University policies and ensure they are easy to find for all members of our community. The report recommends this work continue as a priority.

The report recommends the University establish a single Complaints Office to simplify the complaints process for users.

Mr Hodgkinson acknowledges that academic freedom and freedom of speech are fundamental to the University and that these rights are limited by the law. While freedom of speech does not permit the use of hate speech or vilification, the report notes that difficulties arise when different parties have divergent views on the legitimate use of words or phrases because the intended meaning of the speaker has not been made clear.

The report proposes that the University implement a new civility rule that requires any speaker using University facilities to make the meaning of contested words and phrases clear to the audience.

The report states that changing work health and safety laws, including 2024 changes to include psychosocial hazards and risk in the Work Health and Safety Regulations (2011), require changes to our long-standing traditions of political activism on campus. Practices such as sit-ins and protests in buildings and classrooms are out of step with contemporary work health and safety standards and our obligations to maintain psychosocial safety on campus. The report recommends the University maintains the settings introduced in the Campus Access Policy prohibiting protests in buildings and making camping on campus an unacceptable activity.

To ensure learning spaces are safe and welcoming for all students, the report recommends students be prohibited from making announcements before the commencement of classes. Announcements may be made at the conclusion of class with the permission of the lecturer or tutor when students are free to leave the space if they choose.

The report makes a number of recommendations that organisations must be held accountable by the University for their actions and that the University can withhold funds for organisations found to be in breach of University policy.

The full report and its 15 recommendations are available on our website.

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