Our commitment to a safe and inclusive community
Swinburne is committed to creating a learning and working environment where every person is safe, respected, and able to participate fully in university life. Gender-based violence – whether physical, sexual, psychological, or facilitated through power imbalances – has no place in our community.
This action plan outlines how we will prevent harm, support those affected, and uphold the National Higher Education Code to Prevent and Respond to Gender-based Violence (National Code).
Join us in building a culture where gender-based violence is never tolerated, and where safety, dignity, and respect are defining characteristics of the university experience.
“We will embody a culture that is inclusive and equitable, free from discrimination in all forms.”
Delivering a safe and respectful Swinburne
Swinburne’s approach recognises the seriousness and complexity of gender-based violence, and the responsibility of universities to lead with integrity, transparency and care.
Our actions are grounded in evidence, guided by lived experience, and driven by values of inclusion, innovation and social impact. The action plan is underpinned by our policy and procedure for staff and students.
Leading with responsibility
- Recognise that gender-based violence is a serious and pervasive issue across society.
- Acknowledge the role of universities to lead with integrity, transparency and care.
- Ground our commitment in evidence, guided by lived experience.
- Strengthen our work through values of inclusion, innovation and social impact.
- Build a culture where respect and equity are the norm.
Prevention and safe environments
- Prioritise safety and wellbeing across campuses, digital spaces and learning environments.
- Ensure environments uphold the Code’s expectations for safe, inclusive and respectful participation.
- Strengthen prevention and education, delivering evidence-based resources and support.
- Challenge harmful norms and promote gender equality to help prevent gender-based violence.
Capability and continuous improvement
- Build institutional capability across leaders, educators, professional staff and student-facing teams.
- Equip staff with the skills and confidence to uphold their responsibilities under the National Code.
- Deliver a comprehensive review of policies, procedures and support services.
- Ensure systems are streamlined, accessible and person-centred.
- Deliver the Action Plan through continuous engagement and collaboration with community.
- Work with those disproportionately impacted, people with lived experience and subject matter experts.
- Use data, evaluation and feedback to strengthen prevention and response systems over time.
- Share learnings with transnational education partners and commit to ongoing improvement.
Support and reporting
- Provide clear, accessible and trauma-informed reporting pathways.
- Ensure disclosures are met with compassion, confidentiality and timely support.
- Ensure processes are fair, transparent and procedurally sound.
- Align reporting and response processes with the National Code.
Meeting our regulatory obligations
Details of how Swinburne will meet our regulatory obligations are shared on this page. You can find out the actions Swinburne has planned and the support available to address Higher Education Gender-based Violence.
Planning, engagement and evidence
Swinburne’s Whole-of-Organisation Gender-based Violence Prevention and Response Plan (Action Plan) responds to the National Higher Education Code to Prevent and Respond to Gender-based Violence (National Code).
The Action Plan builds on our:
- Gender Equality Action Plan 2025-2030 (GEAP)
- Disabled Equity Action Plan 2025–2028 (DEAP)
- Science Australia Gender Equity Action Plan 2022–2025
- and the development of a Reconciliation and Truth-Telling Plan and Treaty
In April 2025, Swinburne established a Sexual Harm and Gender-based Violence Prevention and Response Taskforce to oversee the development, implementation and continuous improvement of the Action Plan.
An independent gap analysis was undertaken to assess existing policies, processes and systems against the National Code. This identified areas where governance, reporting pathways and institutional capability required strengthening to support a whole-of-organisation approach.
Swinburne also undertook an enterprise-wide risk assessment to identify key risks, triggers and potential impacts associated with gender-based violence. These findings informed the development of targeted actions and priorities within the Action Plan.
The Action Plan is informed by a range of data sources, including student and staff surveys, national datasets, and analysis of disclosures made to the university.
This evidence highlights a range of barriers to reporting and seeking support, including stigma, uncertainty about processes, and concerns about how disclosures may be managed. It also identifies differences in experience across the community, particularly for groups disproportionately affected by gender-based violence.
These insights have been used to identify priority areas for action, strengthen prevention and education initiatives, and improve support systems and reporting pathways.
Swinburne engaged staff and students in the development of the Action Plan through a structured and trauma-informed consultation process. Participation was voluntary, with a focus on ensuring safe and inclusive engagement for those contributing lived experience.
Consultation was undertaken in partnership with internal networks, student representatives and external subject matter experts. These sessions were designed to ensure a diversity of perspectives and to reflect the experiences of those disproportionately impacted by gender-based violence.
Key themes from engagement reinforced the need to strengthen trust in reporting processes, improve understanding of available support, and ensure responses are respectful, person-centred and effective.
Swinburne will continue to engage with staff, students and experts throughout the implementation of the Action Plan to support continuous improvement and ensure the approach remains responsive to the needs of the community.
Our approach
Preventing and responding to gender-based violence requires a whole-of-university approach.
This Action Plan brings together the environments where our staff and students live, learn, work and connect with industry and community into one coordinated framework for action.
Our approach is guided by the National Higher Education Code to Prevent and Respond to Gender-based Violence, which sets the standards all universities must meet.
It also draws on national and sector frameworks, including the National Plan to End Violence Against Women and Children and the Our Watch frameworks, which provide a roadmap for building safe, respectful and inclusive learning and working environments.
At a university level, this Action Plan aligns with existing strategies and initiatives, including Swinburne’s Gender Equality Action Plan, Disabled Equity Action Plan, and Reconciliation and Truth-Telling commitments.
Swinburne recognises that preventing gender-based violence requires addressing gender inequality and other forms of disadvantage, including racism, ableism, and other intersecting forms of discrimination.
Through our Diversity and Inclusion Framework and related action plans, Swinburne has implemented a range of initiatives to promote equality, inclusion and cultural safety across our community.
This includes the delivery of education and training on respectful relationships, consent and responding to harm, as well as university-wide initiatives such as Respect Week, which promote awareness, help-seeking and active bystander behaviours.
Mandatory student training on consent has been introduced to build understanding of appropriate behaviours and increase confidence in responding to gender-based violence and supporting others.
This Action Plan is intended to be a living document that will continue to evolve over time.
In 2026, Swinburne will prioritise strengthening systems, policies and processes to ensure they are safe, accessible and trauma-informed. This includes operationalising the Prevention of and Response to Gender-based Violence Policy and Procedure, improving reporting pathways and support services, and enhancing data capture and reporting capability.
The university will continue to develop and expand education and training to support both prevention and response, and to build a stronger culture of respect and equality across the community.
Over the period of the Action Plan, Swinburne will build on these foundations, using data, evaluation and community engagement to refine and strengthen its approach.
Whole-of-Organisation Gender-based Violence Prevention and Response Plan
Swinburne’s response plan sets out the actions we will take to prevent and respond to gender-based violence across the university.
The plan brings together governance, systems, education, support services and data capability into a coordinated, whole-of-organisation approach. Actions are aligned to the standards of the National Higher Education Code and will be delivered over the period 2026 to 2030.
Effective governance and a whole-organisation approach, prioritising safety and support, in the prevention of and response to gender-based violence
| Action | Responsibility | Timeline |
|---|---|---|
| 1.1 Review and amend as appropriate the Council Charter and Governance Framework to embed responsibility and accountability for compliance with the National Code. | Council Secretary | Q2 2026 |
1.2 Operationalise the Health, Safety and Wellbeing Committee of Council (established in Dec 2025). 1.2.1 Appointment of co-opted members with expertise in health, safety and wellbeing 1.2.2 Establish an annual work plan for the committee, ensuring compliance with the National Code (including 6-monthly reporting) 1.2.3 Update Council annual work plan to include a standing report from the Health, Safety and Wellbeing Committee Chair | Council (1.2.1) Council Secretary (1.2.2 and 1.2.3) | Q1 2026 |
1.3 Appoint a project manager to coordinate the implementation of the Action Plan, ensuring alignment with the engagement and consultation plan (appendix 1) and establish progress reporting* to the Behavioural Risk Assessment and Management Committee and Health, Safety and Wellbeing Committee of Council as a standing item. *linked to action 1.5 | Chief of Staff to the Vice Chancellor | Q1 2026 |
| 1.4 Update Behavioural Risk Assessment and Management Committee Terms of Reference to include monitoring of gender-based violence, risk trends and incidents and management oversight of the implementation of the Action Plan and review membership as appropriate. | Chief of Staff to the Vice Chancellor | Q1 2026 |
1.5 Embed a culture of equality 1.5.1 Develop the new University community-wide Gender Equality Action Plan 1.5.2 Develop and implement a Reconciliation and Truth Telling Plan and Treaty 1.5.3 Complete all actions within the 2025-2028 Disability Action Plan 1.5.4 Complete actions within the 2026 -2028 Swinburne Gender Equality Action Plan | Director, Talent, OD and Remuneration (1.5.1, 1.5.3 and 1.5.4) Director, Student Experience (1.5.1) Pro Vice Chancellor Indigenous Engagement (1.5.4) | Q3 2026 (1.5.1) Q4 2028 (1.5.2, 1.5.3 and 1.5.4) |
1.6 Establish a task force to review existing health safety and wellbeing and conduct, review, appeals and misconduct dashboard reports currently tabled to management and governance committees and develop a gender-based violence reporting framework to clearly document how, when and where data related to the prevention of and response to gender-based violence, including data on risks, incidents and trends will be reported on in compliance with the National Code. (note: interdependencies with actions 3.1, 4.2 and 6.1) | Director, Legal, Risk and Compliance | Q3 2026 |
| 1.7 Include all systems, policies and procedures relevant to the prevention of gender-based violence in the internal audit schedule. | Director, Audit and Risk Audit and Risk Committee | Q4 2026 |
Environments are safe, and systems continuously improve to prevent and respond to gender-based violence.
| Action | Responsibility | Timeline |
|---|---|---|
2.1 As part of the recruitment for new and re-appointment of existing (fixed term) staff, members of Council, Co-opted members of Council Committees and Residential Advisors, and the onboarding of elected staff and student representatives to Academic Senate and Council implement a declaration requirement for prospective employees and members of Council, Council Committees and Academic Senate and Residential Advisors in respect to whether they have been investigated for an allegation of Gender-based Violence, or determined to have engaged in conduct that constitutes Gender-based Violence during the course of their previous employment, or otherwise been the subject of a legal process concerning gender-based violence, and establish a procedure and process for responding to the declarations made. (note: interdependency with action 7.1) | Director, Talent, OD and Remuneration (staff) Council Secretary (members of the governing bodies, including elected representatives) Director, Student Experience (residential advisors) | Q1 2026 |
2.2 Review and update as required the policy, procedures and guides for managing conflicts of interest for staff, members of Council, Council Committees, Academic Senate and Residential Advisors to ensure compliance with the National Code. (note: interdependency with action 7.1) | Director, Legal, Risk and Compliance Council Secretary (members of the governing bodies) Director Workplace Relations (staff) Director, Student Experience (residential advisors) | Q1 2026 |
2.3 Ensure contractors, suppliers and our research and industry partners are aware of the need to comply with Swinburne’s Prevention of and Response to Gender-based Violence Policy by: 2.3.1 Reviewing and updating as required standard templates for engaging contractors and suppliers and entering into Memoranda of Understanding and Collaboration agreements to include compliance with Swinburne’s Prevention of and Response to Gender-based Violence Policy. 2.3.2 Communicating with current preferred suppliers. | General Counsel Associate Director, Procurement Business Partnering | Q3 2026 |
2.4 Develop, with a three-year review cycle, trauma-informed policy and procedures for preventing and responding to gender-based violence in collaboration with students, staff, persons who have experience of gender-based violence, groups disproportionately affected by gender-based violence and subject matter experts on gender-based violence. The policy will clearly refer to and address the four gendered drivers of violence:
The policy will also outline that Swinburne will respond to GBV incidents on and off-campus when either the respondent or the discloser is a student or a staff. | Director, Legal, Compliance and Integrity | Developed by Q1 2026 Reviewed by Q4 2029 |
| 2.5 Publish culturally sensitive translated versions of the Prevention of and Response to Gender-based Violence Policy and Prevention of and Response to Gender-based Violence Procedure in Standard Chinese, Hindi, Sinhala, Tamil and Vietnamese. | Director, Legal, Compliance and Integrity | Q2 2026 |
| 2.6 Enable google translation within the Universities ‘Policies and regulations’ webpages and its sub-pages. | Executive Director, Future Students and Marketing | Q2 2026 |
| 2.7 All regulations, policies, procedures and charters to undergo a gender impact assessment, review and update to ensure compliance with the National Code. | Director, Legal, Compliance and Integrity (regulations) and relevant policy owners (policies, procedures and charters) | Q4 2026 |
| 2.8 Draft appropriate protection clauses in accordance with standard 2.8 of the National Code for inclusion in Non-Disclosure Agreements that may be requested by the Discloser. | General Counsel | Q2 2026 |
| 2.9 Embed continuous improvement practices by reviewing and analysing available data sources, including the 2026 National Student Safety Survey, annual Student Wellbeing, Insights, and engagement survey (SWIN), annual student accommodation survey, feedback collected from service users and relevant dashboard reports (refer action 1.5), developing and implementing actions as appropriate in response to information and insights gathered. | Director, Student Experience | Q3 2026 (repeat annually, informed by new survey data) |
| 2.10 In collaboration with relevant networks, clubs and the Moondani Toombadool Centre, identify barriers to inclusivity and equality at Swinburne and develop and implement specific actions to close the gap in the staff and student experience of members of Swinburne’s community with lived of experience of disability and/or are of diverse sexual orientation and/or gender identity and/or identify as Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander. | Director, Talent, OD and Remuneration (staff) Director, Student Experience (students) | Q4 2026 (2.10.2 to be repeated annually, informed by new survey data) |
| 2.11 As part of Swinburne’s campus master-planning, develop design principles for the provision of safe spaces to guide future implementation of additional safe spaces at our Croydon and Wantirna campuses. | Director of Property, Space and Infrastructure Projects | Q4 2026 |
Build knowledge and capability to safely and effectively prevent and respond to gender-based violence
| Action | Responsibility | Timeline |
|---|---|---|
3.1 Establish a working group dedicated to education and training on the prevention of, and response to, gender-based violence. In collaboration with students, staff, persons who have experience of gender-based violence, groups disproportionately affected by gender-based violence and subject matter experts on gender-based violence and curriculum designers the working group will: 3.1.1 Comprehensively review the existing suite of staff and student health, safety and wellbeing and compliance related education and training materials, including the suite of factsheets, applying a trauma-informed gender-based violence lens. 3.1.2 Design and develop a tiered suite of evidence based, trauma-informed training and education programs to prevent and respond to gender-based violence within the Swinburne context, informed by our psychosocial risk priorities and analysis of disclosures (e.g. image abuse and online safety as an emerging trend). This should include practical guidance on the disclosure process and what to expect once a disclosure is made. Training will include content on the recognised drivers of violence, equipping participants to identify, challenge, and prevent attitudes, behaviours, and social norms that contribute to violence, as well as any specific factors relevant to Swinburn’s context. 3.1.3 Develop an evaluation framework to track learning outcomes and inform continuous improvement and further development of the education and training program to prevent and respond to gender-based violence. 3.1.4 Establish guidelines to identify for different cohorts of staff (e.g. all staff, people leaders, authorised officers and staff approved to respond to a discloser and investigate a disclosure or formal report) and students (e.g. students living on campus, student volunteers, elected representatives and Residential Advisors) are required to complete each tier within the gender-based violence education and training program that is mandatory or optional, and the cadence in which training is required to be updated. 3.1.5 Establish processes to monitor completion rates and enforce mandatory training requirements. (note: 3.2.3, 3.2.4 and 3.2.5 have interdependencies with actions 1.6 and 6.1) | Director, Health, Safety and Wellbeing (staff) Director Student Experience (students) Pro Vice Chancellor, Educational Innovation for (3.1.3) | Q4 2026 |
| 3.2 Embed the cadence with which preventing and responding to gender-based violence training and education must be undertaken by staff into the annual ‘your development plan. | Director, Talent, OD and Remuneration | Q1 2027 |
| 3.3 Integrate gender-based violence prevention and response information and practical guidance (refer 3.2.2 and 3.2.4) into the student orientation experience. | Director Student Experience | Q1 2027 |
| 3.4 Develop a skills and expertise matrix for those staff authorised to respond to a disclosure or formal report, undertake gender-based violence risk assessments and investigating general misconduct matters (refer action 4.2). The skills and expertise matrix must comply with standards 3 and 4 of the National Code. | Director, Health, Safety and Wellbeing | Q2 2026 |
3.5 Apply the skills and expertise matrix for those staff responsible for responding to a disclosure or formal report, undertaking gender-based violence risk-assessments and investigating general misconduct matters (refer actions 4.6 and 4.7) by: 3.5.1 Embedding the skills and expertise matrix into the recruitment process for those positions responsible for responding to a disclosure or formal report. 3.5.2 Assessing current staff profiles against the skills and expertise matrix and developing a workforce plan to address any gaps (note: requires actions 4.6 and 4.7 to be completed first). 3.5.3 Developing a procedure for those staff authorised to respond to a disclosure or formal report, undertake gender-based violence risk assessments and investigating general misconduct matters to engage external subject matter experts to assist with these responsibilities as appropriate, and in accordance with the skills and expertise matrix and workforce plan. 3.5.4 Reviewing, every three years:
| Director, Talent, OD and Remuneration | Q3 2026 (for 3.5.1, 3.5.2 and 3.5.3) Q3 2029 (for 3.5.4) |
Responses and support services are safe and person-centred
| Action | Responsibility | Timeline |
|---|---|---|
4.1 Embed trauma-informed student wellbeing support services (including student residences) by: 4.1.1 Undertaking a comprehensive trauma-informed review of existing student wellbeing support services and practices every three years. 4.1.2 Re-designing student wellbeing support services and practices in response to the review and in collaboration with students, staff, persons who have experience of gender-based violence, groups disproportionately affected by gender-based violence and subject matter experts on gender-based violence to ensure they are trauma-informed and person-centred. 4.1.3 Establishing processes to ensure priority access to interpreters and other external support as required. | Director, Student Experience | Q3 2026 and 2029 (for 4.1.1) Q4 2026 and 2029 (for 4.1.2) |
4.2 Implement a case management system (IT application and business processes) to support person-centred, trauma-informed, safe and timely responses to all disclosures or formal reports made (e.g. different staff are assigned to support the discloser and respondent and are involved in investigating the disclosure or formal report, confidentiality and privacy are assured in accordance with the National Code and relevant legislation, risk assessments are completed within 2 business days, tracking of how long investigations into disclosures and formal reports have been for etc.) and enables consistent (de-identified) reporting on all disclosures and formal reports in accordance with the gender-based violence reporting framework. (note: interdependencies with actions 1.6 and 6.1) | Director, Health, Safety and Wellbeing (staff) Director Student Experience (students) | Q4 2026 |
| 4.3 Review and update as required procedures for managing disclosures and supporting the discloser to ensure their safety and enable them to continue their duties and/or studies in a safe working and learning environment as per Standard 4 of the National Code, applying learnings from 4.1.1 and in collaboration with students, staff, persons who have experience of gender-based violence, groups disproportionately affected by gender-based violence and subject matter experts on gender-based violence to ensure they are trauma-informed and person-centred. | Director Workplace Relations Director, Student Experience | Q3 2026 Q2 2029 |
| 4.4 Review and update as required special consideration processes to ensure they enable a person-centred and trauma-informed approach that minimises the retelling of events and supports the continuation of studies as part of a support plan, applying learnings from 4.1.1 and in accordance with the collaboration and engagement plan (Appendix 1). | Director, Student Administration | Q3 2026 |
4.5 Develop a communications strategy to support the ongoing consultation and engagement in the continued development of the Action Plan and Outcomes Framework, the implementation of the Action Plan and awareness campaigns to ensure staff and students are aware of:
| Director, Communication and Media | Q3 2026 (with implementation ongoing) |
4.6 Develop and maintain a register of staff and external subject matter experts approved to:
| Director, Legal, Compliance and Integrity | Q3 2026 |
| 4.7 Review and revise as appropriate the current allocation of Authorised Officers for investigating general misconduct matters (note this is a dependency for action 3.5.2). | Director, Legal, Compliance and Integrity | Q4 2026 |
Gender-based violence responses are safe and timely
| Action | Responsibility | Timeline |
|---|---|---|
| 5.1 Maintain the enterprise-wide gender-based violence risk register to monitor and proactively manage the effectiveness of the controls and the risk rating to inform the continued development of the Action Plan (refer action 6.4). | Director, Audit and Risk | Q1 2026 (repeat annually) |
5.2 Review and update as appropriate the process for undertaking risk assessments once a disclosure or formal report is made, ensuring the risk assessment is:
| Director, Health, Safety and Wellbeing (staff) Director Student Experience (students) | Q1 2026 |
5.3 Establish additional disclosure channels and supporting resources* to ensure that anyone (whether staff, student or a third party) knows how to make a disclosure or formal report in-person, by email, phone, online and anonymously and are enabled to provide sufficient information to enable the disclosure to be investigated. *Resources to address identified barriers to investigating disclosures, these include (but are not limited to): concerns regarding confidentiality of information provided and insufficient information being provided. | Director, Legal, Compliance and Integrity | Q1 2026 |
| 5.4 Develop and implement updated and new business processes, guidelines and standard templates to operationalise the Prevention of and Response to Gender-based Violence Procedure and in compliance with Standard 5 of the National Code. | Director Workplace Relations (staff) Director Student Experience (students) | Q1 2026 |
Use evidence to approach, measure change and contribute to the national evidence base
| Action | Responsibility | Timeline |
|---|---|---|
6.1 Establish a working group to develop a gender-based violence data collection framework to: 6.1.1 Document where and how the source data required to comply with the National Code reporting requirements is currently stored establishing process to ensure appropriate access, in accordance with relevant legislation and with our Data Governance Framework. 6.1.2 Identify any data gaps in complying with the reporting requirements of the National Code. 6.1.3 Develop and implement an action plan in response to the data gap analysis to ensure compliance with the reporting requirements of the National Code. 6.1.4 Ensure access to identifiable data is controlled and establish the process for sharing de-identifiable and aggregate data in accordance with relevant legislation and with our Data Governance Framework. (note: interdependencies with actions 1.6 and 4.2) | Chief Data Analytics Officer | Q1 2026 (timeline for implementing data action plan to be determined once scope of works known) |
| 6.2 Implement additional demographic questions into the Student Wellbeing, Insights, and eNgagement (SWIN) survey to enable more detailed analysis to support the continued improvement of support services that meet the needs of different cohorts. | Director, Student Experience | Q2 2026 |
| 6.3 Leverage our increased data capture and analysis and improved awareness and understanding of gender-based violence, its drivers and the barriers to preventing and responding to gender-based violence to regularly review and continuously improve the Outcomes Framework and Action Plan, in collaboration with students, staff, persons who have experience of gender-based violence, groups disproportionately affected by gender-based violence and subject matter experts on gender-based violence to ensure they are trauma-informed and person-centred. | Chief of Staff (until project manager appointed) | Q3 2026 Q3 2030 |
| 6.4 Leverage the learnings and outcomes from the 2026-2030 Action Plan, available data and insights (from internal and external sources) to develop the 2031-2035 Action Plan in collaboration with students, staff, persons who have experience of gender-based violence, groups disproportionately affected by gender-based violence and subject matter experts on gender-based violence to ensure they are trauma-informed and person-centred. | Chief of Staff | Q2 2027 Q2 2030 |
Student accommodation is safe for all students and staff (where relevant)
| Action | Responsibility | Timeline |
|---|---|---|
7.1 Establish processes to ensure that Residential Advisors (RA) are required to comply with Swinburne regulations, policies, procedures and charters in the application of their RA duties. (Note: interdependencies with actions 2.1 and 2.2). | Director, Student Experience | Q1 2026 |
| 7.2 Develop and implement a survey specifically for those students living in Swinburne Student Accommodation to provide insights into their student accommodation experience, including safety and increase our understanding and awareness of student accommodation specific risks and barriers to prevent and respond to gender-based violence risks within the Swinburne context. | Director, Student Experience | Developed by Q1 2026 Implemented in Q2 2026 (and annually thereafter) |
| 7.3 Implement continuous improvement practices for the provision of student accommodation, informed by analysis of the student accommodation survey results. | Director, Student Experience | Q4 2027 (and annually thereafter) |
Outcomes framework
Swinburne’s outcomes framework has been developed based on current data capture and reporting capacity and anticipated future data capture and reporting capability.
The outcomes framework will be further developed as our data capture and reporting capability matures through the implementation of specific actions within the Action Plan (refer action 6.3). Where data is currently available, unless otherwise noted, 2025 data will be used as the baseline.
Effective governance and a whole-of-organisation approach, prioritising safety and support, in the prevention of and response to gender-based violence
| Sub outcomes | Indicators | Measures (of impact or progress) |
|---|---|---|
| Leadership are accountable for gender-based violence risks | Gender-based violence risks are monitored and pro-actively managed |
|
| Zero tolerance for gender-based violence |
(baseline data 2021 NSSS Swinburne specific results) |
|
| Swinburne has an inclusive and equitable culture | Students and staff who are disproportionately impacted by gender-based violence feel included and are treated equitably |
|
Environments are safe, and systems continuously improve to prevent and respond to gender-based violence
| Sub outcomes | Indicators | Measures (of impact or progress) |
|---|---|---|
| Continuous improvement informed by data, organisational learnings and lived experience | De-identified data is captured, analysed and applied in the development of:
|
|
Build knowledge and capability to safely and effectively prevent and respond to gender-based violence
| Sub outcomes | Indicators | Measures (of impact or progress) |
|---|---|---|
| Increased awareness and understanding of what constitutes gender-based violence and the factors that contribute to gender-based violence | Pro-active engagement with Respect Week |
|
| Delivery of Prevention and Response education and training programs |
| |
Our staff and students have the capability to identify and respond to gender-based violence | Prevention and Response education and training programs are effective at increasing knowledge, understanding and confidence to identify and respond to gender-based violence |
(to be developed as part of action 3.1) |
| Students understand how to access support and make a disclosure | Increased knowledge on where to get support and make a disclosure |
(baseline data for all measures 2021 NSSS Swinburne specific results) |
Responses and support services are safe and person-centred
| Sub outcomes | Indicators | Measures (of impact or progress) |
|---|---|---|
| Individuals making a disclosure or supporting someone to make a disclosure feel safe and supported throughout the process. | Increased knowledge of trauma-informed, person-centred and culturally sensitive approaches |
(to be developed as part of action 3.1) |
| Increased trust and confidence in making a disclosure |
(baseline data 2021 NSSS Swinburne specific results) |
Gender-based violence responses are safe and timely
| Sub outcomes | Indicators | Measures (of impact or progress) |
|---|---|---|
| Students and Staff can access the right support at the right time | Actions to ensure the safety of disclosers are taken without delay |
(data capture dependent on action 4.2)
(data capture dependent on action 4.2) |
| Disclosures and Formal Reports are responded to efficiently |
(data capture dependent on action 4.2) |
Evidence is used to approach, measure change and contribute to the national evidence-based
| Sub outcomes | Indicators | Measures (of impact or progress) |
|---|---|---|
| Outcomes are reported and available to others | Increased participation in the NSSS |
(baseline data 2021 NSSS Swinburne specific results) |
| Publication of an annual progress report |
|
Student accommodation is safe for all students and staff
| Sub outcomes | Indicators | Measures (of impact or progress) |
|---|---|---|
| Swinburne Student Residences have a safe and inclusive culture | Students living on campus are safe |
(data capture dependent on action 7.2)
(data capture dependent on action 4.2) |
| Students living on campus have a sense of community |
(data capture dependent on action 7.2)
(data capture dependent on action 7.2) | |
| Students living on campus are aware of available support services and know how to access them |
(data capture dependent on action 7.2) | |
| Understanding of gender-based violence | Staff working in Swinburne accommodation are appropriately trained in preventing and responding to gender-based violence |
(to be developed as part of action 3.1) |
| Students living on campus understand the drivers of gender-based violence |
(to be developed as part of action 3.1) |
Support is here if you need
If you notice any topics or content is affecting you, support is here if you need it:
Swinburne EAP (SONDER app)
SONDER offers confidential support, wellbeing resources, safety check-ins, and short-term counselling options for staff. The Sonder app is available to download via your app store.
1800RESPECT
Available 24/7
1800RESPECT is the national domestic, family and sexual violence counselling, information and support services.
Lifeline
Available 24/7
National charity providing crisis support and suicide prevention services.
- Call 13 11 14
- Lifeline website
13YARN
Available 24/7
Crisis support for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people who are feeling overwhelmed or having difficulty coping.
- Call 13 92 76
- 13YARN website
Safe Steps
Available 24/7
Safe Steps is a confidential and supportive family violence response line for Victoria.
Victoria Sexual Assault Crisis Line
Available after-hours
Eastern Centre Against Sexual Assault (ECASA)
Available during business hours and 24/7 for recent incidents
- Call +61 3 9870 7310
- Email: ecasa@easternhealth.org.au
- ECASA website
Men’s Referral Service
Advice for men who use violence.
Available 24/7
Kids Helpline
Counselling service for Australian children and young people aged between five and 25 years.
Available 24/7
InTouch Multicultural Centre Against Family Violence
InTouch is a specialist family violence service that works with multicultural women, their families, and their communities.
Available during business hours
Rainbow Door
Rainbow Door is a free specialist LGBTIQ+ helpline providing information, support, and referral to all LGBTIQ+ Victorians, their friends and family.
Available during business hours
Download the response plan
