Education Minister Jason Clare says Australians should expect to hear “pretty horrific evidence” when universities are dragged before the Royal Commission on Anti-Semitism and Social Cohesion this week.
The high-profile probe, which launched in the wake of a terror attack at Bondi Beach in December, will open its fourth block of hearings in Melbourne on Monday.
Jewish students and academics at Australian universities are expected to provide testimonies about their lived experience of anti-Semitism, while universities will explain what they’re doing to impact it.
The Commission will also hear reports, surveys and studies on the prevalence of anti-Semitism at universities and other educational institutions.
“I think you’re going to hear some pretty horrific evidence tomorrow and over the next few days, in particular from Jewish students about the abuse that they suffered, the intimidation and the harassment that they experienced at universities. And that’s just not on,” Mr Clare told Sky News on Sunday.
Mr Clare said “universities were caught flat footed” by the rise in anti-Semitism and admitted there was still “a lot more to do”.
“Some of them have made important improvements over the course of the last few years, but not enough.
“We said last year that we would change the law to mandate or require universities to take certain steps in relation to anti-Semitism to make sure that they’ve got plans and policies and complaint systems for when people make a complaint to make sure that it’s fixed.
“That’s for students and for staff, and that becomes the law tomorrow.”
Mr Clare added that the government also needed to give the regulator of universities “more teeth, more powers” and bigger fines when they failed to act.
Among those expected to give evidence in the next block are Sydney University, Melbourne University, Monash University and the Australian National University.
Australia’s special envoy to combat anti-Semitism Jillan Segal had made recommendations in a dedicated plan last year to stamp out the issue in universities.
Under the plan there would be a report-card system for the university sector, and staff, students and visitors who promoted hate speech would be held accountable, by withholding or terminating funding.
She also recommended Holocaust and antisemitism age-appropriate education would be embedded in schools across the country – including in the Catholic and independent school systems – to teach “about the history, harms and modern forms of anti-Semitism”.
A senate inquiry into the issue on campuses after several protests about the Gaza war had prompted Australia’s 39 universities to endorse a new definition of anti-Semitism in 2025.
The session examining education institutions comes after Commissioner Virginia Bell heard from social media platforms and traditional news organisations in the third block of testimonies.
The Royal Commission’s full report will be handed down no later than December 14, 2026, which marks the first anniversary of the attack.
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