Announcement date
17 October 2025
Link to announcement
https://www.legislation.gov.au/F2025L01251/asmade/text
Problem being addressed
Gender-based violence (GBV) is a systemic and persistent issue in the higher education sector. GBV is prevalent but underreported, and has significant impacts on the health, wellbeing, educational attainment, and career progression for students and staff. Higher education providers’ responses to GBV are failing to keep students and staff safe. Previous efforts to address GBV within the higher education sector have been fragmented and under-resourced, and the current regulatory framework lacks the accountability required to drive meaningful change.
Proposal
The Impact Analysis (IA) considers three policy options:
- Option 1: maintaining the status quo
- Option 2: voluntary National Code
- Option 3: introducing a mandatory National Code through legislation.
The preferred option is Option 3 to introduce a mandatory National Code through legislation.
The estimated total net benefits of the National Code over a ten-year period are $2.3 billion, with an average annual net benefit of $355.8 million. The estimated total costs of the National Code over a ten-year period are $1.2 billion, with an average annual regulatory burden of $173.2 million. These costs include staff training, system upgrades, data collection, and compliance activities across higher education providers, students, staff, volunteers, and government. The estimated total benefits of the National Code over a ten-year period are $3.5 billion, with an average annual benefit of $533.7 million if all the benefits are realised. This was measured against three economy wide benefit streams – prevention of GBV, improved responses to disclosures and formal reports, and enhanced safety within higher education environments.
The IA notes it is difficult to estimate specific timeframes in which the benefits of preventing and responding to GBV will occur, and preventing just 1.2% of physical and sexual assault cases on campus (approximately 414 cases annually across 211 providers) would be sufficient to offset the National Code’s implementation costs.
Assessed Impact Analysis outcome
Good practice
Assessment comments
The IA addresses the seven IA questions and follows an appropriate policy development process commensurate with the significance of the problem and magnitude of the proposed intervention. In particular, the IA has a particularly strong problem definition and consultation sections. To achieve an ‘exemplary’ rating as per the Guide, the IA would have benefited from a more detailed evaluation plan.
Regulatory burden
The Department of Education estimates the preferred option will increase average regulatory costs by $173.2 million per year, over ten years.