Foreign interference guidelines for universities imminent, MPs told

Higher education leaders and the Morrison government are set to finalise controversial guidelines to curb foreign interference on campus by the end of the month.

Universities Australia chief executive Catriona Jackson.

Higher education leaders and the Morrison government are set to finalise guidelines to curb foreign interference on campus by the end of September as Universities Australia chief Catriona Jackson calls on students bullied by overseas agents to come forward.

The overhaul of foreign interference regulations – partially sparked by growing government concerns at the role of the Chinese government on Australian campuses – has divided the university sector.

The joint parliamentary committee into foreign affairs, defence and trade was told on Monday that draft guidelines calling on university staff to reveal any links to overseas political parties over a 10-year period would likely not make the final regulations.

The new guidelines will be informed by a Human Rights Watch report, released in June, which detailed allegations of Chinese authorities trying to recruit students to spy for them on Australian campuses and other students being bullied for anti-China protests.

Ms Jackson said on Monday that students should feel safe and supported by universities if they were being politically intimidated. “One of the major problems was that students were not coming forward; we urge students to come forward. There are robust policies in place to protect students when this sort of thing happens,” she told the committee. “However, we’re not pretending this is not complicated. This is very bound up in geopolitical tensions, which really are matters for government to deal with.”

Reports of the draft guidelines say university students and staff will be taught on how to notice and respond to acts of foreign interference on campus.