Vic unis the second most complained about nationally, with 37 reports lodged to Ombudsman

A tertiary student complaints service has been flooded with hundreds of grievance reports before the first semester of the year commenced, with Victorian unis attracting the second highest number of reports.

A complaints service for tertiary students has been flooded with hundreds of grievance reports in just the first three weeks of operating.

A complaints service for tertiary students has been flooded with hundreds of grievance reports in just the first three weeks of operating, with Victorian institutions attracting the second highest number of submissions.

More than 220 complaints about Australian tertiary institutions were made to the new National Student Ombudsman (NSO) before the university season officially kicked off for the year, data obtained by the Herald Sun has revealed.

Almost a fifth of complaints lodged were about institutions based in Victoria, with the NSO receiving 37 reports since launching on February 1.

New South Wales institutions received more than double the number of complaints made in Victoria, with 85 reports received, while 26 reports were made about Queensland universities, 20 in South Australia and 15 in the ACT.

The NSO received 37 complaints about Victorian universities since launching on February 1.

Another 10 complaints were lodged against Western Australian institutions, six in Tasmania and one in the Northern Territory, with a further 23 complaints made nationally in relation to non-university higher education providers.

National Student Ombudsman Iain Anderson said complaints covered a broad range of issues, with the most common grievances relating to course administration including fee disputes, course transfers and withdrawals, credit application and recognition of prior learning.

“The next most common complaint issues included matters related to wellbeing and safety (such as) discrimination on basis of race or disability, or involving sexual violence, bullying and/or harassment,” he said.

“(This was) followed by issues regarding teaching provisions such as course design, learning resources and educational support, or appropriate staffing and the representation of courses for prospective students.”

The NSO was established after the Albanese government passed legislation to have an official independent body investigate student complaints and resolve disputes with universities last year.

It also forms part of the federal government’s Action Plan to address gender-based violence in higher education.

Students at four of Victoria’s major universities were among the least satisfied with their entire education experience in 2023, according to the latest Quality Indicators for Learning and Teaching (QILT) Student Experience Survey.

RMIT, La Trobe University, The University of Melbourne and Monash University all received overall educational experience positive ratings below 74 per cent by undergraduate students, putting them in the bottom 10 institutions in the country for student satisfaction.

Victoria University received the state’s highest positive rating in this category of 81.2 per cent, followed by Deakin University which had an overall rating of 81.1 per cent, putting them in the top 10 institutions nationally for student satisfaction.

Complaints covered a broad range of issues, with the most common grievances relating to course administration.

Mr Anderson encouraged students to familiarise themselves with the NSO as they head back to university for the first semester of the year from this week.

“The NSO is an escalated complaints service, and we aim to support improvements in the student experience,” he said.

“We are an independent, and free service for students to help resolve complaints about the actions of their higher education provider.

“We resolve complaints on the basis of what is fair, reasonable, and lawful, taking into consideration each student’s unique circumstances.

“Going back to uni should be an exciting time. All students deserve to have an experience that’s safe and enriching, exposes them to new ideas and challenges them in different ways.”

Originally published as Vic unis the second most complained about nationally, with 37 reports lodged to Ombudsman