#1 The Forthcoming Gender-Based Violence (GBV) Code in Higher Education: What you need to know and do

Laura Burge
Mar 17
4 min read

Australia’s new proposed National Code to Prevent and Respond to Gender-Based Violence in Higher Education is on its way. For many, this is long overdue. For others, it will feel daunting, layered on top of already complex and under-resourced portfolios. But make no mistake, this code signals a significant shift from goodwill to governance and from optional to expected. Whilst the final version is yet to be confirmed, compliance is likely to remain a requirement by 1 Jan 2026, so the time to prepare is now.  

Understanding the Code's purpose

The Code establishes a whole-of-organisation framework, requiring institutions to proactively prevent and respond to GBV. It's designed to ensure that safety and support are not peripheral considerations but integral to governance, systems, and culture. This approach aligns with the broader National Plan to End Violence against Women and Children 2022–2032, aiming to eliminate GBV within a generation.

The seven standards at a glance

The Code outlines seven interrelated standards:

Accountable Leadership and Governance: Institutions must demonstrate leadership commitment and establish clear governance structures to address GBV.
Safe Environments and Systems: Creating physical and virtual spaces and systems that are safe and inclusive for all members of the university community.
Knowledge and Capability: Building the skills and understanding necessary among staff and students to prevent and respond to GBV effectively.
Safety and Support: Providing accessible, trauma-informed support services for those affected by GBV.
Safe Processes: Establishing clear, fair, and confidential procedures for reporting and responding to incidents.
Data, Evidence, and Impact: Collecting and analysing data to inform continuous improvement in GBV prevention and response.
Safe Student Accommodation: Ensuring that student living environments are safe and that accommodation providers are engaged in GBV prevention efforts.

Why a Code is needed

Recent and historical data underscore the urgency with the most recent National Student Safety Survey in 2021 revealing that 1 in 20 students had been sexually assaulted since starting university, and 1 in 6 had been sexually harassed. These figures highlight systemic issues that the Code aims to address through structured, institution-wide reforms. The Code represents a significant step toward creating safer, more inclusive higher education environments. By embracing its standards, institutions can move beyond reactive measures and foster a culture of respect and accountability.

In the coming weeks, we'll delve deeper into each standard, providing practical guidance and insights to support your institution's journey. Each of these reflections will speak to the work that needs to be done by the ‘decision-makers’ and practitioners on the ground.

What you need to know

As a starting point, this first article provides a high-level overview of what you need to know now.

For Decision-Makers: The people leading the work 

This includes Vice-Chancellors, Deans, COOs, DVCs, Heads of Colleges, and CEOs or General Managers of accommodation providers. 

This is not optional: The Code is being developed as a national standard, with expectations around compliance, public reporting, and external review. Governance and risk teams should be engaged early.

It has whole-of-institution implications: Leaders must ensure clear accountability and adequate resourcing, one underfunded or under resourced unit cannot carry this alone.

Data is both a tool and a test: The Code includes obligations around data collection, transparency, and tracking of GBV reports and outcomes. You need robust and confidential systems to gather, store and analyse this information and to act on it.

Your institution's reputation and social license are at stake: Beyond compliance, this is about community trust. How leadership speaks about and acts on GBV will define culture both within and beyond the organisation. Authentic engagement, visible commitment and tangible actions and outcomes are key.

Prioritise prevention and culture change, not just response: This includes reviewing leadership behaviours and expectations, funding primary prevention programs (not just awareness campaigns) and embedding respectful relationships content throughout the curriculum and student life. Universities spend lots of time and money educating students about plagiarism, but there’s equally important justification to ensure we educate and hold students’ accountable for their conduct when it comes to gender-based violence.

Support your staff: Practitioners in this space are often working with trauma, burnout, and limited authority. Give them backing with budget, senior buy-in, and strategic clarity.

For Practitioners: The people doing the work 

These are the advisors, educators, case managers, DEI or HR professionals, student life, services and conduct teams, and compliance staff already deeply invested in safer and more respectful campus cultures. 

Start with an honest stocktake: Map your current programs, support services, conduct processes, data systems, referral pathways, and training. Where are the gaps? What’s ad hoc vs. embedded?

Review alignment with Code expectations: Use the draft Code’s standards as a checklist. Do you have clear reporting pathways for students and staff? Are disclosures handled with trauma-informed, victim-survivor-centred approaches? Are training and education consistent, mandatory, and role-appropriate?

Build cross-functional working groups: If one doesn’t already exist, pull together a GBV response working group or committee, including Student Services, HR, Security, Communications, Residential Life, DEI, and Legal/Compliance to meet as needed to progress and affirm work being undertaken.  
Elevate the role of students: Student voice can’t be tokenistic. Establish mechanisms for genuine co-design and engagement, especially with student reps from a diverse range of backgrounds, experiences and perspectives.

Document, document, document: It’s my personal mantra in everything I do, but the Code will also require evidence of action and impact, not just intention. Capture case studies, feedback loops, and continuous improvement. Be open and transparent about what has and hasn’t worked, and what’s next.

Start engaging accommodation providers now: If you rely on purpose-built student accommodation (PBSA), work collaboratively. Expectations under the Code extend to these settings, and at the very least, institutions may be held accountable for the environments they enable.

Some final thoughts relevant to all:  

Focus on intersectionality: LGBTIQA+, international, First Nations, and students with disability experience violence differently. Your strategies must reflect that.
Use what already exists: There are plenty of frameworks, research, data and examples of good practice across the sector which offer helpful starting points. 
Explore opportunities to work in partnership: Not all universities will be starting from the same baseline or with the same resources. Collaborate with others who may be in a similar position to learn from each other and seek help from those ahead of the game.
Don't wait: Even without final wording, many core features are predictable: prevention, response, training, data, leadership, reporting.