Submit to protect academic freedom

The Free Speech Union has fought hard for years to restore academic freedom on our campuses. This might seem like an abstract concern to some. But if you’re concerned about the ideological capture of major professions like healthcare, education, law – or even architecture – this matters. Because all these professions share one thing in common – university training.

Submissions to the Education and Training Amendment Bill (No 2) 2025 close on Thursday, 12th June, and the FSU’s Inter-University Council on Academic Freedom will submit their thoughts on the Bill’s strengths and how it can still be improved to ensure it achieves what it set out to do.

But we need your voice, too.

You can make your own submission quickly and easily here.

Here are some prompts to help!

Points to commend:

• It introduces specific duties for university councils to protect and promote academic freedom and freedom of expression
• It prevents universities from denying invited speakers because of the speakers' ideas and opinions
• It requires universities to report annually on the state of academic freedom on their campuses

Adjustments to suggest:

• Free speech statements should not be required to include features that universities might use to close down debate, like requiring opinions to be expressed “in a respectful manner”
• University policies should include a provision to commit to institutional neutrality
• Annual reports should be released publicly

Now’s the time to have your say to reignite a culture of open discourse in our institutions. Because if great debate can’t take place on university campuses, where can it happen?

Any questions? Contact us at [email protected].