Independent National Student Ombudsman (NSO) Opens
The National Student Ombudsman (NSO) commenced from 1 February 2025 to hear from students, investigate complaints and resolve disputes with universities.
Sarah Bendall will lead the new NSO function of the Commonwealth Ombudsman’s office.
The Ombudsman will be able to take complaints from students about a provider’s handling of various matters, for example gender-based violence, disability discrimination, or where a student is subjected to antisemitism, Islamophobia or other forms of racism on campus.
It will not handle complaints about issues such as academic judgement or employment matters.
The Ombudsman will allow higher education students to escalate complaints about the actions of their higher education provider.
The Ombudsman will:
- consider whether decisions and actions taken by higher education providers are unreasonable, unjust, oppressive, discriminatory, or otherwise wrong
- recommend a provider takes specific steps to resolve the complaint
- share information with relevant regulators for further compliance action if needed
- offer a restorative engagement process between the student and the provider where appropriate, and
- bring parties together to resolve complaints through an alternative resolution process.
The Ombudsman will also have strong investigative powers, similar to those of a Royal Commission, including:
- to require a university to provide information, documents or other records relevant to an investigation
- to enter premise of a university as part of an investigation, and
- to require an officer or employee of a university to attend and answer questions before the Ombudsman.
Complaints the NSO can consider
- Student safety and wellbeing, including gender-based violence, discrimination, racism, antisemitism and islamophobia
- Student enrolment, reasonable adjustments and exclusion
- Student applications for special consideration
- Providers changes to course structures
- Providers complaint and appeal procedures
- Providers failure to clearly explain their decisions.
Complaints the NSO will not consider
- Complaints related to a VET course
- Academic judgement, for example the grade you are awarded
- Complaints related to an individuals' employment with a higher education provider
- Complaints related to the appointment of a person to an office of a higher education provider
- Complaints related to education providers who are not Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency (TEQSA) registered
Further information on the National Student Ombudsman and how to lodge a complaint 