University of Sydney staff and students would be banned from holding banners on campus without prior permission and staff would be unable to send political emails unless recipients had expressed prior interest under a string of draft policies introduced before the academic year.
In 2024, the sandstone institution introduced a “draconian” protest crackdown that required three days’ notice for demonstrations and explicit permission for megaphones to be used on campus.
The Campus Access Policy also restricted the displaying of banners, posters and stickers to noticeboards and places “designated by the university for that purpose”, using only “non-permanent and easily removable methods” such as Blu-Tack or tape.
Individuals who attached a banner to university land without prior permission risked a misconduct notice.
Revisions to five other policies, sent to staff last week, have gone further, requiring anyone who “displayed” a banner, defined as “placing or holding materials in a location where they can be seen”, to receive prior permission or risk breaching university policies.
Staff would also be prohibited from sending bulk emails to colleagues on political subjects, unless they had “expressed interest” on receiving communications on that topic.
The university confirmed three of the draft policy revisions emerged as a result of its external Hodgkinson review into its policies and processes, commissioned after the disbanding of the university’s long-running pro-Palestine encampment and handed down in November.
Those revisions include prohibiting students from addressing the beginning of lectures and classes on “any subject matter”, sanctioning university organisations which incorrectly displayed posters and prohibiting attaching banners to footbridges.
Bruce Hodgkinson SC’s recommendation to introduce a controversial new “civility rule”, requiring speakers to “make the meaning of contested words and phrases clear to the audience”, was still under consideration, Guardian Australia understands.
Staff have until 13 February to make a submission on the proposed policy revisions.
A Senate inquiry into antisemitism on university campuses received dozens of submissions expressing concern over the university’s leadership during the encampments, prompting calls for the vice-chancellor’s resignation from some Jewish groups and the Coalition.
In an end-of-year message to staff, the vice-chancellor, Mark Scott, said he was pleased the encampment was resolved peacefully, while stating that “we must acknowledge critics of our efforts”.
“Clearly we have had much to reflect on, learning from experiences across the year,” he wrote.
A senior lecturer in history at the University of Sydney David Brophy said “university administrators are experimenting with limitations on activism and speech that exceed restrictions imposed by Australian law”.
“Anyone advocating for a law requiring permission to stand in a public space holding up a banner would rightly be condemned as the worst kind of authoritarian.
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“It’s astonishing to me that the University of Sydney is proposing just such a requirement. This erosion of freedoms will chill all forms of political life on campus, and flow through to wider society.”
The president of the Students’ Representative Council, Angus Fisher, said he would make a submission urging the university to “deeply consider the implementation of these limiting policies”.
“If we consider the University of Sydney’s long activist history that people such as our current prime minister took part in, these draft policies would only further limit the continuation of this activist tradition,” he said.
“It is disappointing that university management is even considering this.”
A spokesperson for the University of Sydney said it was “working hard” to balance the community’s right to freedom of speech and to safety and wellbeing during “deeply challenging times”.
“Our Senate fellows have resolved to accept the recommendations of the [Hodgkinson] report in principle, and we’re now consulting with and seeking feedback from our community as we strive to make our campuses safe and welcoming for all.”
In an email sent to staff on 16 January, the acting vice-chancellor, Prof Annamarie Jagose, said the university had received a “range of views” from staff on its Campus Access Policy, “many critical and some supportive”.
“It is important that we uphold our cherished values around free speech and academic freedom while also welcoming and supporting every member of our community on our campuses and online,” she wrote.
“The ways in which we communicate with each other are central to this objective and we continue to review and update our policies accordingly.”
The Greens deputy leader and spokesperson for higher education, Senator Mehreen Faruqi, said the proposed revisions were “even worse” than “draconian measures” implemented last year.
