New Student Ombudsman flags slugging unis to cover costs

Flagging the possibility of a levy on universities to fund the ombudsman service, Sarah Bendall warns her 65-strong staff would have the powers of a royal commission to compel universities to answer questions.

The new independent National Student Ombudsman will be led by Sarah Bendall, left, pictured with Jason Clare, in an image posted to social media on November 29, 2024. Picture: Facebook

Academically challenged students will be offered free “Uni Ready’’ training places next year, as a new Student Ombudsman starts work on safety and quality controls.

Universities can now apply to the federal Education Department for funding of $18,278 per place – a whopping increase to the $1286 they currently receive to get struggling students up to speed.

They will have to compete for funding, and then offer the Uni Ready courses to 8600 disadvantaged students next year.

The initiative will cost taxpayers $350m over the next four years, with a target to upskill 30,000 students who do not meet academic requirements for university entry.

The funding is based on a full-time study load, so universities that offer catch-up courses as short as four weeks will be able to split the funding between up to 12 different students.

Federal Education Minister Jason Clare said the training places would break down the “invisible barrier’’ for Australians from disadvantaged backgrounds to obtain a degree.

“These courses act as a bridge between school or work and uni, helping to ensure more Australians get a crack at uni and succeed when they get there,’’ he said.

The training launch coincides with the announcement of Australia’s first Student Ombudsman, high-flying lawyer Sarah Bendall, who started work this week as a First Assistant Ombudsman in the Office of the Commonwealth Ombudsman.

Ms Bendall is one of the nation’s most experienced mediators, having worked as chief dispute resolution officer at the Victorian Department of Justice and Community Safety, general counsel at Victoria Legal Aid, head of legal and dispute resolution at the Victorian Equal Opportunity and Human Rights Commission, and director of conduct and complaints at the Department of Health and Human Services.

She has also worked in investigations for the Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman.

Ms Bendall will start fielding complaints from students on ­February 1, covering issues from student safety, anti-Semitism, racism and the quality of university teaching.

Her office will employ 65 staff in every capital city, with backgrounds ranging from law to policing, investigations, dispute resolution and victim services.

Ms Bendall flagged the possibility of a levy on universities to fund the Ombudsman service, which will be fully funded by government for its first two years.

“My funding for the first two years is from government and we then will be working on a more enduring model of funding,’’ she said.

Asked if this would involve a levy on providers, Ms Bendall replied: “I’m not sure yet.’’

Ms Bendall said her staff would have the powers of a royal commission to compel universities to answer questions.

“We’ll have staff in the capital cities but I want to be sure that we can provide face-to-face services regionally, so we’ll work on a circuit that will enable us to get out to regions as well,’’ she said. “They won’t just be sitting in an office.’’

Ms Bendall said her office would not always give a university notice before visiting to investigate a serious complaint.

“We have really strong information-gathering powers similar to a royal commission, so we can compel people and universities to give us information and answers to questions,’’ she said.

“We’ve heard from students that they feel transparency has been a real issue within university complaints processes.

“We would give notice … but if we believe that doing so could put at risk information that we needed, then we may not – it depends on the circumstances.

“We’ll be looking at any issues that relate to the quality and safety of the student university ­experience.

“We encourage all students to contact us – no issue is too big or too small to at least pick up the phone or access via webchat to talk about the issue.’’

Ms Bendall said she could arrange mediation, group conferencing and alternative dispute resolution, and her office could also help students report assaults to police.

If universities fail to take swift action, the Student Ombudsman can ask the Education Minister to report the matter to federal ­parliament.