Today the Australian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) released its Racism@Uni Study.
The Study, which surveyed approximately 76,000 students and staff across Australia, reinforces the urgent responsibility we all share as a sector - and individual institutions - to ensure our campuses are safe, inclusive and respectful places to learn, work and thrive.
Monash rejects all forms of racism including racial discrimination, harassment and vilification. As a University, we will work through the Study with our communities and review our anti-racism statement and policies alongside the findings and 47 recommendations outlined in the Racism@Uni Study.
In line with our ongoing commitment to accountability and transparency, Monash will soon publish the University's inaugural 2025 Annual Report: Disclosures of Racism and Institutional Response which outlines our institutional responses to reported incidents of racism. We will continue to work to encourage reporting within our communities and put in place initiatives that prevent racism.
We have taken a number of important and sustained steps to address racism and foster social cohesion within our community, including a program of initiatives recently backed by an additional $2 million and designed to strengthen inclusion and address racism such as:
- Our commitment to eliminating racism and discrimination, as outlined in our Monash Anti-Racism Statement;
- Affirming institutional support for the Uluru Statement from the Heart by embedding commitments to Voice, Treaty and Truth within Impact 2030 and the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Framework 2019-2030;
- Continuing to advance Indigenous leadership, research and advocacy through the William Cooper Institute;
- Facilitating trusted channels for staff and students to raise concerns and report racism on campus through our Safer Community Unit;
- Launched innovative research into antisemitism and Islamophobia through the Campus Cohesion Project, including a survey of nearly 4,000 students from across Australian campuses;
- The Brave Conversations Project, workshops have equipped over 1,000 academics at Monash and beyond to support classrooms where dialogue and disagreement are constructive pathways to learning;
- Driving rapid, applied research through the Monash Initiative for Rapid Research into Antisemitism (MIRRA).
We recognise there is still significant work ahead, and we are committed to building on this foundation with responsibility, openness and meaningful action.The Racism@Uni Study can be found here.
Monash students and staff can contact the Safer Community Unit to disclose an incident of interpersonal racism, including racial discrimination, harassment or vilification.
Background
Monash's participation in the Racism@Uni Study
In support of the Racism@Uni Study, in September 2025 Monash invited all staff and students to participate in the Racism@Uni survey. The survey asked staff and students at participating universities about experiences and impacts of interpersonal and institutional racism, with the Australian Human Rights Commission using this information to develop recommendations to the government and university sector.
We acknowledge and extend our gratitude to everyone across Australia who contributed to the Racism@Uni Study, including Monash staff and students, which has provided an essential foundation from which we can all work together to confront racism honestly and constructively.
