Your voice matters
Help us build a safer UNSW.
Complete the 2026 National Student Safety Survey by 12 October 2026.
The 2026 National Student Safety Survey (NSSS) will be open between
Monday, 14 September – Monday, 12 October 2026.
You have the right to feel supported, respected and included while studying at UNSW.
Your participation in the NSSS helps strengthen the prevention of sexual and gender-based violence.
The National Student Safety Survey (NSSS) goes out to all Australian university students. The survey helps universities understand how we can better prevent and respond to sexual harm and gender-based violence affecting students.
This is an opportunity for you to share your knowledge, perspective and experience. Participation is voluntary, anonymous and highly encouraged. You can choose what information you provide.
The University will not have access to your individual responses. In the final report to universities, answers will be de-identified to maintain your privacy.
This year, the NSSS is run by Roy Morgan on behalf of Universities Australia.
See also
What to expect
The NSSS contains direct questions about:
- Where you get information about sexual relationships and consent
- Your perspectives and experiences of gendered violence, including sexual assault and technology-facilitated harm
- Your awareness of support resources and reporting pathways at the University.
We encourage all students to take part. Every perspective helps and you don't need to have experienced sexual violence or harm.
Not all sexual violence or harm involves sex, and it doesn’t always happen within relationships. Every experience is different. You can choose what information you share about your experiences.
Survey format & layout
A link to complete the survey will be sent to your UNSW email from Monday, 14 September 2026. You can expect to:
Receive a mix of
Answer all questions for your submission to be analysed for the final survey report.
Complete the survey via a
Take around
If you need to access a paper copy of the survey, contact safetysurvey@roymorgan.com or call 1800 687 254 to request one.
Important note
The survey will ask you specific questions about your experiences. You can stop the survey at any time and re-open it when you're ready. You can also choose what questions you answer and select 'Prefer not to say' if you don't want to respond to certain questions.
If you want to talk to someone about the survey, your experiences or how you're feeling, there are a wide range of support resources to help you.
Disclosure: Under-18 participants
In NSW and ACT, there are legal requirements if students aged under 18 disclose experiences of sexual harm or abuse.
If you’re under 18 years old, and you disclose an experience of sexual harm or abuse, the survey provider will provide your disclosure and your email contact to the appropriate state-based organisation. These legal requirements are to protect young people.
In NSW, your response will be shared with the Department of Community and Justice (DCJ). They will assess whether additional steps are required to ensure that you are safe. This includes deciding if Police need to be involved or if they need additional information from the University.
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Mental health service
Call usCall the UNSW Psychology & Wellness team if you require specialist support. We are available 24/7.
02 9385 5418
Message usOur mental health specialists can be reached via text message outside of business hours on Monday–Friday, 5pm–9am and 24 hours on weekends.
0485 826 595
Book an appointmentBook an appointment with the UNSW Psychology & Wellness team for free, confidential counselling services.
Learn more
Other support services
- Student Support Advisors - Get help navigating issues impacting your studies and wellbeing.
- UNSW Health Service - Access medical care, including general practitioners (GPs) at UNSW.
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- Full Stop Australia - 1800 572 224 (available 24/7)
- Rainbow Sexual, Domestic and Family Violence Helpline - 1800 497 212
- 1800 RESPECT - 1800 737 732
- MensLine Australia - 1300 789 978
- Lifeline - 13 11 14
- 13YARN - 13 92 76
- WellMob
What's next?
Results from the survey are expected to be released in 2027. The findings will inform prevention efforts, strengthen support services and improve existing actions in the University sector, including our UNSW Gendered Violence Prevention and Response Plan activities.
- 2021-present
- 2024
- 2025
- 2026
- Looking ahead
- Annual SEXtember events are held on campus to educate students on the importance of consent, healthy relationships, safer sex and available support resources. SEXtember 2026 will launch in late September.
- Sexual health and consent workshops are incorporated in the orientation program of new under-18 international students, led by the Health Promotional Unit and the International Student Compliance team.
- The University developed strategy, activities and reporting for gendered violence prevention and response, which are made public in annual reports.
- UNSW implemented one of the first online reporting portals in Australia for students affected by gender-based violence, which supported anonymous reporting.
- The Safer Communities team was created in 2024 to coordinate UNSW’s prevention of, and response to, gender-based violence.
- Specialist staff roles were introduced to respond to reports within student and staff support teams.
- A new mandatory gender-based violence education program was introduced for students and staff, including bystander training.
- Safer Communities increased student representation by establishing the Student Reference Group to help shape University initiatives.
- Online reporting was streamlined, which improved UNSW’s capacity to report data.
- The Safer Communities team led UNSW’s response to the National Higher Education Code to Prevent and Respond to Gender-based Violence.
- The team brought together stakeholders across the University, including student accommodation partners, to develop new strategies, policies and approaches to risk management and assessment in student and staff settings.
- In close partnership with students and Arc – UNSW Student Life, UNSW developed and implemented the Gendered Violence Portal campaign to raise awareness of support available to students.
- UNSW launched the new Gender-based Violence (GBV) Prevention and Response Plan and Policy in 2026 to provide students and staff with safe, trauma-informed pathways to access support, report incidents and manage risks.
- The Safer Communities team worked across the University to ensure teams responsible for actions in our GBV Prevention and Response Plan start to track their progress.
- New training for responding to disclosures was developed and piloted for staff and student leaders.
- New training was also developed for staff who operate in student accommodation settings.
- Work has commenced to embed trauma-informed practice in key teams across UNSW.
- As part of our Progress for All mission, UNSW is dedicated to creating positive change for communities locally and globally.
- The University is continuing to improve on existing prevention and response frameworks related to gendered violence, including:
- Redeveloping education initiatives for students and staff, including responses to disclosures and bystander skills
- Implementing more comprehensive trauma-informed processes across UNSW teams and services
- Creating clear measures for program impact assessment, and evaluation.
- Safer Communities will be creating a campaign focused on technology-facilitated forms of gender-based violence in partnership with students and Arc – UNSW Student Life.
- The user experience of online reporting will be refined.
- The University will continue to complete the requirements of extensive data reporting for the National Code.
Findings from previous surveys
Read the findings from previous surveys to get a better understanding of how your participation can help create a larger impact at UNSW. This includes shaping university initiatives and support resources for students, such as establishing the Gendered Violence Portal.
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