Complete the Racism@Uni survey

Complete the Racism@Uni survey

RMIT, alongside other Australian universities, is participating in a national study led by the Australian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) on behalf of the Australian Government Department of Education.

This important study invites both staff and students to take part in a survey exploring the prevalence, nature, and impact of racism within Australian universities. 

RMIT is committed to creating a safe, respectful, and inclusive environment for all members of our community.

Vice-Chancellor, Professor Alec Cameron, said: “RMIT supports this national study as a meaningful step toward understanding the prevalence of racism in tertiary education. 

"At RMIT, we stand firmly against racism of any kind, because every member of our community has a right to learn, interact and participate fully in university life, with a clear sense that they are welcome, they are safe, and they belong.

“I encourage you to take part. Every effort in the right direction, towards a genuinely respectful and inclusive environment, deserves our support," he said.

About the survey

The survey has been developed by a panel of experts in racism prevention, research, and lived experience. It has been carefully designed to be trauma-informed, culturally safe, and respectful.

Students based at RMIT Australia including domestic and international onshore in TAFE, Higher Education and Research programs who are over the age of 18 are eligible to complete the survey.

The survey will be sent directly via email to staff and students in the week commencing 18 August. It will take approximately 15 minutes to complete and will remain open for four weeks, with a completion deadline of 23 September.

Participation is voluntary, and all responses will be de-identified. On completion, participants can choose to enter a draw to win one of fifty $50 gift vouchers.

The findings will inform a national report with recommendations, to be delivered by the AHRC to the Australian Government.Shape

We encourage all staff and students to contribute to this vital initiative to help drive positive change.

How to find and complete the survey

To complete the survey, please check your RMIT student email inbox next week and search for the subject line: “Racism@Uni – opportunity to participate in this important national survey”.

Participants don’t have to complete the survey in one attempt. Instead, you’ll be able to save your answers and resume where you left off. 

Update 18 August

Earlier versions of this communication indicated the survey would be deployed the week commencing 11 August. However, due to factors outside RMIT's control the Australian Human Rights Comissions Racism@Uni survey will be deployed in the week commencing 18 August. Please refer to your student inbox to find and complete the survey, once deployed.

Support services

We understand that discussions about racism, culture and faith can be challenging and may affect members of our community.

External survey support
RMIT student wellbeing support
  • RMIT Safer Community
    • Trained advisors who can support staff and students with experiences of violence, concerning, inappropriate, unwanted, or threatening behaviour including threats or hate speech, discrimination. 
  • RMIT Counselling and Psychological Services 
    • Free, confidential and professional short-term counselling for students experiencing mental health issues including anxiety, depression and stress. 
  • RMIT Chaplaincy support: 03 9925 2317, chaplaincy@rmit.edu.au 
    • Trained multi-faith spiritual advisers who provide support to students and staff of all faiths and provide guidance to those who identify as secular.  
  • Ngarara Willim Centre 
    • The Ngarara Willim team offers ongoing guidance with study, living and cultural needs. 
  • RUSU Compass
    • Student friendly, welfare drop-in spaces where students can seek guidance without booking an appointment.
External wellbeing support

Frequently asked questions

Expand all sections

You can choose which link to complete. The survey instrument will allow participants to complete both the general modules and the staff and student modules.

You can either choose to complete the survey twice using the unique link sent to each email address or choose to complete the survey from your main institution, or the institution where you spend the most time.

Potential participants are asked about their age, and if they report being under the age of 18 the survey will terminate (with a pop-up notification indicating that participants must be 18 or over to complete the survey).

The survey will also terminate if the participant indicates that they are not a current student or staff member at their university (with a pop-up notification indicating that participants must be a current student or staff member at their university).

Participants can resume the survey anytime while the overall survey is still open. They will be able to click back on their unique link and resume where they left off. They will not need to start again from the beginning. Once their survey response has been submitted, they will not be able to re-access the survey. Each link is unique, and the survey can only be completed once per link.

Given the sensitive and important nature of this study, the Australian Human Rights Commission committed to a rigorous and culturally respectful ethics process. The survey was submitted to Bellberry Human Research Ethics Committee (HREC). Bellberry is a National Health and Medical Research Council certified Human Research Ethics Committee. Following this initial application, Bellberry recommended the project also seek approval from the Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies (AIATSIS) Research Ethics Committee, to assess the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander components, as per the National Statement on Ethical Conduct in Human Research (2023) Chapter 4.7.

The ethical aspects of this research have been approved by the Bellberry Limited Human Research Ethics Committee (2025/03414) and the Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies (AIATSIS) Research Ethics Committee (REC-0541 Howard-Wagner).

The survey will be available in English. It won’t be translated into any other languages. 

In addition to inviting all university staff and students to participate in the survey, the Australian Human Rights Commission is actively engaging with communities underrepresented in the university sector to encourage staff and student participation. This includes extended outreach through the study’s Advisory Committee and broader networks. 

All data management and collection activities will be undertaken in accordance with the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth). The research team has developed a Data Management Plan, which complies with the National Statement on Ethical Conduct in Human Research (2023) 3.1.45 and 3.1.56.

Participation in the survey is anonymous, and no identifying information will be shared with universities or the research team. Information about privacy and confidentiality is clearly outlined for participants in the Participant Information Sheet, on the survey website, and on the survey landing page.

The POLIS research team will only receive de-identified data and will not have access to participants’ names, email addresses, or any contact information. If a respondent provides any personally identifiable information in an open-text response this data will be removed and destroyed. The data will be de-identified and confidentialised. 

In all reporting and publications, data will be presented in a way that ensures individuals cannot be identified. The results of statistical analysis will also be reviewed prior to publication to ensure that there is no risk of identifying an individual through a set of unique personal characteristics.

04 August 2025

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