IPA submission to the University of Tasmania’s Draft University Behaviour Policy and Procedure

This submission responds to the University of Tasmania’s Draft University Behaviour Policy and Procedure. This submission raises concern that the proposed policy seriously threatens freedom of expression and infringes legal rights.

The University of Tasmania is currently one of Australia’s highest ranked universities on freedom of speech in the IPA’s Free Speech on Campus Audit 2017. The University is one of few universities with a commendable standalone policy that explicitly protects intellectual freedom. The Draft University Behaviour Policy and Procedure, however, includes a number of provisions that seriously and meaningfully endanger freedom of speech. For this reason, if the University of Tasmania adopts this policy as drafted the institution would be downgraded from an ‘Amber’ ranking to a ‘Red’ ranking in the Free Speech on Campus Audit.

To read the full submission, click here.