A precedent to protect all

UTAS the first to be held to account

A COMPLAINT by Penny Plaschke to the peak university regulatory body has set a precedent for all other students, says the director of End Rape On Campus Australia.

After many months of back and forth with University of Tasmania staff, Mrs Plaschke filed an official written complaint about Nicolaas Bester in October 2016. This was followed by a complaint to the Tasmanian Ombudsman and then Federal Education Minister Simon Birmingham.

In September 2017, EROC lodged a complaint to the Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency on Mrs Plaschke’s behalf, claiming the university had breached or failed to adhere to a number of standards — including failing to provide a safe environment and denying her equal right to an education.

A TEQSA spokesman said it had investigated the extent to which UTAS had complied with the relevant student wellbeing and safety standards in relation to the Bester matter.

The spokesman said the authority did not comment on the outcome of its investigations, but there were no formal regulatory sanctions imposed on the university.

“The University of Tasmania took action in response to TEQSA’s investigation and has satisfied TEQSA that it is compliant with the relevant student wellbeing and safety standards, and that the issues have been adequately addressed,” the spokesman told the Mercury.

Some of the changes made by UTAS included the introduction of a “safe community and conduct unit” and changes to the complaints process to try to resolve matters via early intervention.

EROC director Nina Funnell said the TEQSA complaint had been a landmark moment.

“Penny set a precedent in that she was the first individual student to ever file a federal complaint to hold her university to account,” she said. “As a result of her actions, seven other universities have come under federal investigation by TEQSA for this mishandling of sexual assault matters.”

The Mercury understands two of those universities are the University of Queensland and the University of Newcastle. Mrs Plaschke said this was the start of changing the management of offenders on university campuses.

“Unless systems of management change in dealing with perpetrators of sexual crimes, then perpetrators remain empowered, victims remain diminished and the risk of further abuse is not reduced,” she said.