Protest rules
GSA consulted the graduate student community at the University of Melbourne (UoM) to gather their feedback on the introduction of new University rules relating to protests on University premises. These new University rules were issued on the 3rd of March 2025, under the Vice-Chancellor Regulation. GSA also used this opportunity to gather graduate student feedback about the University’s updated wireless terms of use. GSA collected graduate student feedback through an in-person consultation and a survey. This report is reflective of the responses of the 164 graduate students who completed the survey, as well as the views expressed during the discussions that occurred at the in-person consultation.
The graduate students GSA consulted with were overwhelmingly in disagreement with the University’s new protest rule changes. When survey respondents were asked if they broadly agree or disagree with the University’s protest rule changes:
- 78.7% of respondents stated that they disagreed with the new rules,
- 14.6% of respondents stated that they agreed with the new rules and,
- 6.7% of respondents stated that they were unsure or felt otherwise.
Overwhelming disagreement with the introduction of the protest rule changes was largely due to graduate student concerns regarding safety, student rights, including freedom of speech, the right to protest and the right to privacy, as well as the student experience more broadly.
Recommendations
While GSA acknowledges that the University’s protest rule changes were intended to balance the rights of all members of the University community, the emerging concerns and disagreement from graduate students indicate that the new rules are failing to achieve this outcome. GSA therefore recommends that the University:
- Rescind the newly implemented protest rule changes.
- Rescind the newly updated wireless terms of use.
- Conduct in-depth and transparent consultations and co-design practices when designing policies and directions that impact students
- Promote and protect the rights of all students to freedom of speech, to protest and to privacy when designing and implementing University rules.
- Meaningfully consider student protest demands and actively listen to the issues students raise through protest activity.
Click the button below to read the PDF version of the report, or access the Word document here.
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