Sexual misconduct

Behaviour that is intimidating, abusive, disrespectful, or threatening, including sexual harassment, assault, rape or violence, is not acceptable within our community, whether on campus, in our workplaces, online or offshore. If you experience sexual misconduct, we can provide support and help you report the incident if you want to.

Reporting sexual misconduct

If you have experienced sexual misconduct, your personal safety and recovery is our first priority. The decision about whether or not to report sexual misconduct is up to you. However, we would encourage you to report so we can support you and act to prevent further recurrences.

On this page, you can find information about your reporting options and the support available to you. Your college or campus also has student support teams and counsellors who you can contact directly to get support. If you decide to submit a report, you can submit either anonymously, or, with your name and contact details.

When you use the below form to report sexual misconduct, you will be asked to provide information about the location of the incident so that we can find the right support personnel to work with you, assess your needs, and take appropriate actions.

You will also be asked whether you want to raise a ‘disclosure’ or ‘formal report’. This is to assist us in understanding the severity of your concern and what action you may be seeking from us. We will always seek to support victims’ safety and recovery, and investigate all formal reports of sexual misconduct.

Make a report

What is sexual misconduct?

Sexual misconduct is any sexual act or behaviour that a person does not consent to. This includes sexual harassment, which is unwelcome conduct of a sexual nature towards another person that could reasonably be expected to make that other person feel offended, embarrassed, humiliated or intimidated.

Sexual misconduct includes, but is not limited to, the following behaviours:

comments about a person’s gender, sex life or physical build and/or appearance
comments of a sexual nature
staring or leering at a person in a sexual manner
unwanted touching such as brushing up against a person, kissing, fondling or hugging
indecent exposure or ‘flashing’
sexual gestures or imitating a sexual act
unwanted requests for sex, sexual propositions or repeated unwanted requests for dates
making promises or threats in return for sexual favours
comments, insults or jokes of a sexually suggestive or explicit nature, or that are sexist
deliberately misgendering someone, including using incorrect pronouns to belittle them
offensive telephone calls, text messages or sexually explicit communications on social media platforms
sending jokes or graphics of a sexual nature by email, internet, mobile phone or other electronic carriage service
inappropriate advances on social networking sites, sending sexually explicit website content/links, accessing sexually explicit internet websites in the presence of others without consent, and/or distributing
distributing sexually explicit images or videos of individuals without their consent (commonly referred to as ‘revenge porn’)
displays of offensive photographs, reading matter or objects
sexually explicit/offensive pictures, screen savers or posters
unwelcome questioning about a person’s private life
insults or taunts of a sexual nature
pursuing or flirting with another person persistently without the other person’s willing participation
flirting with someone at an inappropriate time (eg in a team meeting) is considered sexual harassment, even when these advances would have been welcome in a different setting. Actions such as this can harm a person’s professional reputation and expose them to further harassment from others
comment on a person’s dress, sexuality or gender in a derogatory or objectifying manner or a manner that makes them uncomfortable
stalking, sexual violence/assault or rape (which are also criminal offences).

All forms of sexual misconduct and harassment are always unacceptable and will not be tolerated.

Consent

Importantly, all sexual activity must be underpinned by affirmative consent between the participants involved in the activity.

Sexual consent is a free, voluntary and informed agreement between people to participate in a sexual act. This agreement is only present when these people mutually and genuinely feel they want to engage in that sexual act and actively make sure their partner does as well.

What will happen to my report after it has been lodged?

Your report will be reviewed in the strictest confidence by people who are part of our dedicated sexual harassment and assault response teams. A member of our team will receive your report and identify appropriate people to provide your support and/or oversee an investigation into your concerns.

Where you choose to provide your name during a report, we will contact you to discuss how we can ensure your safety, confirm you have appropriate support available, and determine what further actions you would like to see, such as an investigation into another person’s behaviour.

If you choose to raise a report anonymously, there may be limited actions we can take in response, but we will review all disclosures to consider:

feedback to an employee, student, contractor, client or other person regarding their behaviour
education processes and further training
in the case of significant or multiple anonymous reports, further investigation or action.

Importantly, sexual misconduct is never too minor to be dealt with. We will consider any disclosures raised with us for further action. Our aim is to ensure everyone’s safety and wellbeing. Any person at Navitas who is found guilty of serious harassment may be subject to having their employment terminated, or expelled or excluded from Navitas campuses or facilities, regardless of role.

What if someone I know has experienced sexual misconduct?

You are always able to report an instance of sexual misconduct on behalf of another person. You can raise this report anonymously or with your name and contact details, and provide us with an insight into how we could make any people involved as safe as possible.

If you are comfortable, you can also provide support by:

being a good listener and letting them know that you believe them
letting them express how they feel and respecting the words they use in reference to the incident
letting them know that the incident was not their fault
respecting their decisions
directing them to support services that are available both within and external to us and our industry partners.

What are we doing to prevent sexual misconduct?

We are rolling out a global policy, applicable across our campuses and workplaces, in a whole-of-organisation effort to unequivocally condemn and prohibit all instances of sexual misconduct. Our policy and campus supports include:

establishing a consistent understanding of sexual misconduct, sexual harassment, and associated terms
prohibiting sexual misconduct and harassment by all members of the Navitas community, including employees, students, contractors, host employers and visitors
providing induction and training processes to educate our community on sexual misconduct
providing evidence-based and trauma-informed support services to students and employees who have experienced sexual misconduct
setting out processes for reporting, responding to and investigating reports of sexual misconduct, and applying disciplinary action in the event of adverse findings
supporting reports to the police or relevant law enforcement agency and regulatory body where required
encouraging safe and active bystander intervention, and communicating contact information for support services available to persons who are experiencing or have experienced sexual misconduct or harassment.