UTS 'Poorly Managed' Jewish Students' Complaints After Pro-Palestine Protest: Report
The University of Technology Sydney has been accused of mishandling complaints from Jewish students after a pro-Palestine protest on campus. An investigation by a higher education watchdog has made seven recommendations to the university, including apologizing to the students for 'poor handling of their complaints'.
A recent investigation by a higher education watchdog has found that the University of Technology Sydney mishandled complaints made by Jewish students after an on-campus protest. The National Student Ombudsman made seven recommendations to the university following the investigation.
Complaints and Investigation
The complaints from Jewish students came after a National Day of Action for Palestine protest at the university on March 26, 2025. The ombudsman said some complaints related to comments made by an external guest speaker, who the report said had "singled out a Jewish student counterprotester" and said "'Jews […] should feel uncomfortable, […] and that includes that fellow over there".
According to the report, the university received five complaints from students after the protest, who raised concerns that "attendees had singled out Jewish students, targeted them on the basis of their identity, and placed them at risk of physical harm".
University Response and Recommendations
The university said it had apologised to those students. "The university also accepts that our handling of individual complaints relating to the March 2025 protest was inadequate and the complainants should have received more timely updates about the external review," the university said in a statement.
The ombudsman recommended that the university apologises to the students for "poor handling of their complaints" and review its on-campus protest policy. The university said it would implement six out of the seven recommendations made by the ombudsman.
External Review and Aftermath
The report also investigated the external review launched by the university following the protest. The external review made an incorrect finding that the Australian Union of Jewish Students had not received proper approval to host an open table discussion about the October 7 Hamas terrorist attack.
The university said it should not have published the action plan without giving the Australian Union of Jewish Students the opportunity to review and respond to the claim first. "We have apologised to AUJS for this and removed the action plan from the website several months ago," the university said in a statement.
The Australian Union of Jewish Students said it welcomed the report, but it was "disappointing" that the planning document would not be reissued. "The claim remains in media coverage and in the minds of the students and staff who read it," the Australian Union of Jewish Students said in a statement.
The university said it had "strengthened how protests and events are managed on campus to better ensure the safety of our community and undertaken additional, substantial work to combat antisemitism".