Why do Australian and American university campuses need safety intelligence platforms integrated into their campus safety policies?
Australia is known as 'the lucky country', a melting pot of ethnicities welcoming students who love learning with the relaxed 'no worries' culture. Learning from leading edge academia in a country with kilometres of open spaces, beautiful beaches and fresh air has an international appeal. For decades, Australian universities cultivated a reputation that attracted students from the four corners of the globe who come to study, then stay on after studies and add to our culture of innovation and multiculturalism.
Under the sheen of casual simplicity, Australian universities have a difficult challenge. Our reputation is under serious strain. A pattern of gender-based violence, inadequate institutional responses, and a culture of silence has emerged and a exposed a duty of care failure that some universities have been slow - and in some cases unwilling - to confront.
A 2021 National Student Safety Survey conducted across 38 universities with 43,819 respondents found that one in six students had been sexually harassed and one in twenty sexually assaulted since starting university. A 2024 review of how Australian universities respond to campus sexual violence found that strong policies on paper were rarely matched by action students could actually feel.
In February 2025, Australia did something no other country has done. The government gave university students a national watchdog with the investigative powers of a Royal Commission. The new National Student Ombudsman now takes complaints about student safety, gender-based violence, and the way institutions respond to them.
"Not enough has been done to address sexual violence in our universities and for too long students haven't been heard. We're changing that." - Jason Clare, The Minister for Education (2025)
For university leaders, the ground has shifted. A new National Higher Education Code makes responses to gender-based violence enforceable, and institutions are now required to implement the Ombudsman's recommendations. Reputation, enrolment -- especially among international and residential students -- and parent confidence increasingly hinge on a question a policy document can't answer.
Has this new code helped students actually feel safe moving through campus, late at night, between classes, or walking to the train station?
The problem is that most safety systems activate after an incident is reported. The harder gap is the everyday one -- the moments of vulnerability that never become a formal report, and never show up in the data until it's too late. That's why we at WanderSafe are committed to making Australian campuses safer.
As a mother of a an Australian university student, I want to know that they can move across campus, socialise with their peers, and make it safely home every night. I want my child to move confidently, and know what and how to take action if they witness an incident or themselves experience a threat.
Gender based violence affects the most vulnerable of students, regardless of gender, especially those who may not be able to communicate or feel safe to report a situation that may impact their status at the school, their visa, or the social stigmas around being a 'victim'. The National Higher Education Code does have the footings of reducing the statistics of shame on uni campuses.
What does the National Higher Education Code state that is mandating change?
The National Higher Education Code to Prevent and Respond to Gender-based Violence sets seven legally enforceable standards, and commenced in 1 January 2026.
There are four provisions matter most for the everyday safety gap:
Duty of care extends beyond campus buildings. Providers must act "regardless of where, or the context in which, the gender-based violence occurs" -- reaching the commute, the walk home and the late-night corridor, not just the lecture hall. If it occurs on campus real estate, it's a university issue.
Prevention is now mandated, not optional (Standard 1). Every provider needs a whole-of-organisation plan, led by the Vice-Chancellor, to prevent gender-based violence -- not merely respond after a report is filed. (If you are a parent, ask yourself, do you know where these standards are published, what they state, how they are enforced, or how students, staff and academia are educated on the guidelines on your child's campus?)
Student accommodation is in scope (Standard 7) -- including residences the university does not own or operate, putting residential and international students squarely within the obligation. (This sets the perimeter of responsibility where students congregate and socialise in the scope of responsibility of the university. The quad, the pub, at parties, and social gathering spots that would include where alcohol is being consumed. Do you know who and how these are monitored? Is your child aware of what to do if they witness or are involved in an incident classified as 'GBV'?)
Data must drive the response (Standards 5 & 6). Providers must use data to inform prevention and measure change, and finalise formal reports within 45 business days. Reporting after the fact does in fact clarify if activities occur, but could more be done pro-actively to reduce the 1 in 6 factor? What happens after the fact to the victim and the perpetrator?)
The change in policy ideally will drive the statistics around campus-based GBV down, but how do you know if your child's campus is compliant?
We're introducing a world-class ecosystem, WanderSafe Campus, that addresses the need to equip students and faculty with proven technology developed by parents and professional safety experts. The award-winning WanderSafe Beacon device with deterrent features to make a potential threat rethink their behaviour when a moment can change an outcome. The WanderSafe Safety application and JENI, the campus safety concierge ensures your child knows the safest route to get from A to B, based on real time safety scores, and a means to trigger an SOS protocol that signals campus security officers, and you, if they feel threatened quickly and be accurately located within seconds. We've developed a console and framework, WanderSafe Assist, for campus security offices to monitor and action an SOS call, or push notifications when something unexpected is occurring that could have immediate implications for students within range.
Our goal is to ensure that Australian students are protected and confident, and to assist Vice-Chancellor's with the goal of compliance for optimal outcomes. 1 in 6 has to change, and our safety intelligence platform, the WanderSafe app, the WanderSafe Beacon, and our WanderSafe Campus console are here to change the game.
In Safety and Service;
Stephenie Rodriguez Founder
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