Academic Freedom & Civil Liberties
In Australia - as elsewhere in the world - universities have become a target for surveillance, censorship and ideological enforcement. In the last few years, there have been a range of inquires, new legislation and regulations, and management policy changes aimed at restricting campus protest, increasing oversight, and curtailing the academic freedom and other civil liberties of staff and students in Australian higher education.
UQ has a long and proud history of protest. Staff and students here have always understood the broader civic role of higher education institutions to protect and defend freedom of speech. They understand efforts to undermine academic freedom and free speech on campuses also undermine wider democratic freedoms and harm a society’s ability to understand, scrutinise, and critically question those who exercise power.
Write to the VC, urging her to reject the Universities Australia definition of antisemitism (July 2026)
TheJewish Council of Australia is calling for students, staff members and graduates from Australian universities to write to their VCs, telling them that you do not want your university to endorse the IHRA definition, the Universities Australia definition, or any definition that conflates antisemitism with criticism of Israel.
Why do this?
Last week, the Federal Government confirmed that it is requiring universities to adopt definitions of antisemitism, Islamophobia, and racism against First Nations peoples, with a regulator empowered to enforce compliance and issue fines.
These new regulations do not mandate a particular definition. Which definition of antisemitism universities choose matters enormously. We therefore have a crucial window to influence this decision.
Your NTEU branch has written to Debbie Terry, asking her to reject these definitions and to make good on the promise (made years ago now!) that staff and students would have an opportunity to have input on the definition of antisemitism at UQ. (Read our letter <HERE> along with the submission that the UQ Branch made to the DEI policy changes HERE.)
We are encouraging all staff, students and alumni to also write to Debbie, and reiterate this call. Debbie’s email is: vc@uq.edu.au
Here is some suggested text. If you wish, you can BCC-in the Jewish Council, their email is jewishcouncil@jewishcouncil.com.au
Interested in finding out more?
Read the Statement to Protect Protest and Dissent at Australian Universities (16 July 2026), which sets out the measures by university managements across Australia to restrict protest and related instances of political speech. The statement was formulated by a broad coalition of civil society groups, including the Human Rights Law Centre, Amnesty International Australia, the NTEU, the National Union of Students, and the Australian Democracy Network (amongst many others).
You can show your support for the proposed measures to protect protest on campuses by signing the form via this site.
Past events:
Public forum: Ideas under fire: Academic freedom and the criminalisation of protest on campus
Was held 12pm, Friday 27 March 2026, in Rm. 14: 116 (Sir Llew Edwards building), or join us online.
Want more?
Read our February 2026 Submission to theJustice, Integrity and Community Safety Committee, Queensland Parliament, regarding the Fighting Antisemitism and Keeping Guns Out of the Hands of Terrorists and Criminals Amendment Bill 2026.
Read our April 2025 Submission to the People’s Inquiry into Campus Free Speech on Palestine.