• Section 1 - Summary
• Section 2 - Scope
• Section 3 - Policy Statement
• Part A - Equity and Social Inclusion
• Social Inclusion
• Equal Opportunity
• VU’s Commitments
• Part B - Accountabilities
• Responsibility
• Section 4 - Procedures
• Section 5 - HESF/ASQA/ESOS Alignment
• Section 6 - Definitions

Section 1 - Summary

(1) This Policy defines Victoria University’s (VU) commitment to equity, social inclusion and social justice for students, and to providing learning and support environments that are accessible, inclusive, respectful and free from unlawful discrimination, harassment and other forms of unlawful conduct.

Section 2 - Scope

(2) This Policy applies to

1. all students;
2. all staff;
3. Council members and members of Council committees; and
4. Any person engaged by VU to deliver or support student programs, services or activities.

Section 3 - Policy Statement

Part A - Equity and Social Inclusion

(3) VU is committed to promoting equal opportunity and preventing unlawful discrimination, harassment, sexual harassment, victimisation and vilification. This commitment is informed by and supports compliance with applicable Victorian and Commonwealth anti-discrimination, equal opportunity and human rights legislation.

(4) VU recognises that students may experience barriers to access, participation and success because of discrimination, disadvantage, trauma, disability, caring responsibilities, financial hardship, religious, spiritual, cultural or ceremonial obligations, pregnancy, parenting or breastfeeding requirements, or other personal circumstances.

(5) VU is committed to identifying and reducing these barriers through inclusive policies, practices, programs, services and reasonable adjustments, where practicable.

(6) This Policy supports VU’s obligations and commitments under the Victoria University Act 2010 (Vic), relevant equal opportunity and human rights legislation, the Higher Education Standards Framework, VU’s Strategic Plan, and other relevant VU policies and plans. Equity, Diversity and Social Justice.

(7) VU’s approach to student equity and social inclusion is guided by the following principles:

1. Fair access to educational opportunities, services and programs, including inclusive, culturally safe and, where reasonable and practicable, accessible learning and service environments that support students to participate, progress and succeed;
2. Respect for the human rights, dignity and diverse identities of students;
3. Student participation in decisions that affect student experience, where appropriate;
4. Recognition of systemic barriers, intersectionality and the ongoing impact of discrimination, racism,  trauma and disadvantage; and.
5. Trauma-informed, culturally responsive and person-centred approaches to student support and response.

Social Inclusion

(8) VU is committed to working with students, staff and communities to increase access, participation, belonging and success for under-represented and disadvantaged groups, including people from communities that have historically experienced exclusion from education.

(9)  VU is committed to advancing social inclusion through partnership with students, communities, industry and government. Consistent with its mission and history, VU places particular emphasis on improving educational access, participation and success for people and communities in Melbourne's western region, while supporting students from diverse and under-represented backgrounds wherever they study.

(10) VU supports inclusive curriculum design, teaching, assessment and service delivery through the principles of Universal Design, accessibility and reasonable adjustment, while recognising the inherent requirements of the course.

Equal Opportunity

(11) VU is committed to promoting equal opportunity and preventing unlawful discrimination, sexual harassment, victimisation and vilification. This includes conduct connected with any attribute protected by applicable Victorian or Commonwealth anti-discrimination, equal opportunity and human rights legislation.

(12) Protected attributes include those recognised under the Equal Opportunity Act 2010 (Vic), together with other characteristics protected under applicable Commonwealth and Victorian anti-discrimination, equal opportunity and human rights legislation. These may include, but are not limited to, age, disability, race, religious belief or activity, sex, sex characteristics, sexual orientation, gender identity, pregnancy, breastfeeding, parental or carer status, marital status, political belief or activity, industrial or employment activity, physical features, spent conviction, and personal association with a person who has a protected attribute.

VU’s Commitments

(13) To promote student equity and social inclusion, VU is committed to:

1. providing inclusive, accessible and culturally safe teaching, learning environments;
2. embedding universal design, inclusive teaching and inclusive service delivery;
3. identifying and reducing systemic barriers to student access, participation, belonging and success;
4. developing initiatives that improve access, participation and success for students who experience educational disadvantage, exclusion or under-representation, including initiatives aimed at reducing financial barriers to education;
5. affirming the unique status of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples as the First Peoples of Australia and recognise the ongoing impacts of colonisation, dispossession and systemic disadvantage on educational access, participation and success;
6. advancing equity for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students through culturally safe learning environments, community engagement, targeted support, and through the work of Moondani Balluk - Indigenous Academic Unit at VU;
7. promoting anti-racism and fostering teaching, learning and service environments that are free from racism, racial discrimination and racial harassment;
8. preventing, identifying and responding to racism, and to supporting students who experience racism through culturally safe and trauma-informed approaches;
9. recognising and welcoming students from diverse cultural, linguistic, ethnic, ancestral, religious and spiritual backgrounds, and supporting respectful engagement across diverse communities;
10. recognising and welcoming students of diverse genders, sexes and sexualities, and supporting students who affirm their gender;
11. providing reasonable adjustments, disability-related supports and accessible facilities, where required, to support students with disability or health conditions, and students who provide personal support as carers for people with disability or health conditions, to access and participate in study, assessment, placement and other university requirements on an equitable basis;
12. providing reasonable flexibility and practical support, where practicable, for students whose pregnancy, parenting responsibilities, breastfeeding requirements, or religious, spiritual, cultural or ceremonial obligations may affect their attendance, participation in study, assessment, placement or other university requirements;
13. creating a culture of safety, dignity and respect, and delivering prevention, education and response initiatives that address gender-based violence, sexual assault, sexual harassment and related harms, and supporting students through compassionate, person-centered and trauma-informed approaches;
14. providing reasonable accommodations, adjustments, facilities and support services, where practicable, to support participation and success for students whose religious, spiritual, cultural or ceremonial obligations, pregnancy, parenting responsibilities or breastfeeding requirements may affect their study requirements;
15. supporting access to appropriate wellbeing, spiritual, pastoral, and cultural support services, including chaplaincy services and, where practicable, facilities that enable religious, spiritual, cultural and ceremonial observance and practice;
16. providing accessible, fair and trauma-informed mechanisms for students to raise concerns or complaints relating to discrimination, harassment, victimisation and other harmful conduct, while prioritising student safety, wellbeing and procedural fairness.

Part B - Accountabilities

Responsibility

(14) All students and staff are expected to contribute to a safe, respectful and inclusive environment.

(15) All senior staff, academic and teaching staff, managers and supervisors are responsible for fostering safe, inclusive and trauma-informed student environments that promote wellbeing, reduce barriers to participation and respond appropriately to experiences of discrimination, harassment and harm.

Section 4 - Procedures

(16) Nil.

Section 5 - HESF/ASQA/ESOS Alignment

(17) HESF: Standards 2.2 Diversity and Inclusion; 2.3 Wellbeing and Safety; 6.1.4 Corporate Governance

(18) Outcome Standards for NVR Registered Training Organisations 2025: Standard 2.5 Diversity and Inclusion. Compliance Standards for NVR Registered Training Organisations and FPP Requirements 2025: Standard 20 Compliance with Laws.

(19) National Code of Practice for Providers of Education and Training to Overseas Students 2018 (Cth): Standard 6, Overseas Student Support Services.

Section 6 - Definitions

(20) Accessibility – Accessibility refers to the ability for everyone, regardless of disability or health condition, to access, use and benefit from everything within their environment. It is the degree to which a product, device, service, or environment is available to as many people as possible. The goal of accessibility is to create an inclusive society for people with health conditions or a disability – including mental illness, physical, mobility, visual, auditory or cognitive disability.

(21) Community: VU’s heartland is the west of Melbourne. Partnerships, collaborations and bridging between local governments, community groups, business, industry and all VU departments, Colleges, staff, students and visitors work to develop programs that respond to local needs for skills, knowledge and learning.

(22) Discrimination – Discrimination means treating someone unfairly or less favorably because of a characteristic such as their sex or race or age. Discrimination can also be setting a requirement that people with a particular characteristic (protected attribute) cannot meet and which is not reasonable.

(23) Diversity: Diversity involves recognising the value of individual differences in the educational setting and in the workplace. Diversity in this context includes, age, cultural background, disability, ethnicity, family responsibilities, gender, language, religious belief and sexual orientation. Diversity also refers to the other ways in which people are different, such as educational level, life experience, work experience, socio-economic background, personality and marital status.

(24) Equity: Equity relates to fair treatment. Our equity objective is to ensure that people from all groups in society have the opportunity to participate successfully in post-secondary education. This includes (but is not limited to) Aboriginal people, people with disabilities, women in areas of under-representation, people from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds and people from lower socio-economic and rural backgrounds.

(25) Gender Affirmation: A personal process where a trans or gender diverse person implements steps to live as their defined or affirmed gender identity, rather than the gender assigned to them at birth. Transition may involve social, medical/surgical and/or legal steps that affirm a person’s gender.

(26) Harassment: The act of systematic and/or continued unwanted and annoying actions of one party or a group, including threats and demands. Harassment includes actions such as stalking.

(27) Human Rights: Human rights are the basic entitlements that belong to all of us just because we are human beings. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights, adopted in 1948, forms the basis of these entitlements. The Victorian Charter of Human Rights and Responsibilities 2006 is a formal recognition of Human Rights and aims to protect people from injustice and to allow everyone to participate in and contribute to society.Our human rights entitlements include: Civil and political rights such as the right to life, liberty and freedom from torture and slavery, freedom of opinion, expression and religion; Economic and social rights such the right to health care, education, work, food and a reasonable standard of living; Environmental and cultural rights including the right to live in a clean environment protected from destruction and the right to cultural, political and economic development.

(28) Intersectionality: Intersectionality refers to the ways in which different aspects of a person’s identity can expose them to overlapping forms of discrimination and marginalisation. Aspects of a person's identity can include social characteristics such as Aboriginality, gender, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, ethnicity, colour, nationality, refugee or asylum seeker background, migration or visa status, language, religion, ability, age, mental health, socioeconomic status, housing status, geographic location, medical record, criminal record, etc. Attitudes, systems and structures in society and organisations can interact to create inequality and result in exclusion. These include: sexism, racism, homophobia, biphobia, transphobia, intersex discrimination, ableism, ageism, stigma. When these aspects or characteristics combine, these intersecting factors can increase the likelihood of exclusion, discrimination, violence, trauma and barriers to accessing support, participation and opportunity.

(29) Protected attribute: Protected Attribute means an attribute recognised under the Equal Opportunity Act 2010 (Vic) or another characteristic protected under applicable Commonwealth or Victorian anti-discrimination, equal opportunity or human rights legislation.

(30) Race: As defined in the Equal Opportunity Act 2010 (Vic), Race includes— (a) colour; (b) descent or ancestry; (c) nationality or national origin; (d) ethnicity or ethnic origin; (e) if two or more distinct races are collectively referred to as a race—(i) each of those distinct races;(ii) that collective race.

(31) Social Inclusion: Social inclusion refers to a program of measures to overcome social exclusion and promote social justice. Victoria University's social inclusion strategies work in partnership with the community and contribute towards reducing disadvantage, increasing the ability of people to participate in the life and work of the community and to have their voices heard.

(32) Social Justice: Social inclusion refers to a program of measures to overcome social exclusion and promote social justice. Victoria University's social inclusion strategies work in partnership with the community and contribute towards reducing disadvantage, increasing the ability of people to participate in the life and work of the community and to have their voices heard.

(33) Trauma-informed: A program, organization, or system that is trauma-informed realizes the widespread impact of trauma and understands potential paths for recovery, recognizes the signs and symptoms of trauma in clients, families, staff, and others involved with the system, responds by fully integrating knowledge about trauma into policies, procedures, and practices; and seeks to actively resist re-traumatisation.

(34) Universal Design: Means the design of products, environments, programmes and services to be usable by all people, to the greatest extent possible, without the need for adaptation or specialised design. “Universal design” includes assistive devices for particular groups of persons with disabilities where this is needed.