(We emailed this submission on the 17th of September, with 380 signatories at the time. Please feel free to keep circulating the open letter to academic colleagues, we will keep the form up and running and keep collecting more signatures to the framework.)

Dear Colleagues,

The Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency (TEQSA) is currently consulting on a draft Statement of Regulatory Expectations regarding how higher education providers adopt a definition of antisemitism. The window for consultation is short, the submission deadline is on the 17th of September 2026.

We are calling on TEQSA to reject both the IHRA and the Universities Australia (UA) definitions of antisemitism and adopt instead a clear, enforceable, evidence-based standard that protects staff and students from racism without inhibiting legitimate academic inquiry. 

If you agree, we invite you to add your name below.

This letter is supported by a comprehensive submission prepared by Scholars for Academic Freedom and Due Process (SAFDP), a group of Australian academics and scholars advocating for clear, enforceable, evidence-based definitions of racism in higher education policy. We urge you to read it. 

The submission evaluates the IHRA and UA definitions which TEQSA currently encourages universities to adopt. It concludes that both definitions fail TEQSA’s own criteria for being legally compatible and operationally usable.

Specifically, the submission highlights that:

• Both the IHRA and UA definitions are demonstrably imprecise, lacking the clarity required for disciplinary enforcement, a fact acknowledged in recent Australian court proceedings and independent reviews.

• These definitions pose a severe risk to academic freedom by conflating the critique of a state or political ideology with racial animus, thereby chilling legitimate scholarship, teaching, and expression.

• Standard 6.4.1 — the new Threshold Standard requiring every university to define and respond to racism, including antisemitism, by 1 January 2027 — should protect the safety and rights of people within university communities, rather than shielding foreign states from political or historical criticism.

Instead of these flawed models, the submission proposes a precise, evidence-based "dehumanisation framework". This alternative provides a single, consistent standard that protects all individuals from racism — including, but not limited to, First Nations racism, antisemitism, Islamophobia, and anti-Palestinian racism — without undermining free speech or the academic rigour necessary for comparative studies.

We believe this approach reflects the fundamental principles of higher education: equal protection from racism, universalism in inquiry, and the safeguarding of due process.

Read the full submission here: SAFDP TEQSA Submission 

A broad, cross-disciplinary body of signatories tells TEQSA that concern about these definitions is not confined to any single community, discipline, or political position — which is precisely the kind of evidence TEQSA's own consultation process is designed to weigh.

The consultation closes on 17 September 2026. 

This letter collects signatures from academic staff specifically. We warmly encourage students, alumni, and professional staff — each with their own standing and perspective on this question — to adapt this template and lodge their own submission and signature list with TEQSA, in their own voice.

Add your signature of support below before the consultation closes. Then help us reach others — share this letter with colleagues who value academic freedom, clear regulatory standards, and consistent, robust anti-racism policies. 

Sincerely,

Scholars for Academic Freedom and Due Process

_________________________________________

Lead Signatories in Support (alphabetically):

1. Professor Mohamad Abdalla, Education, Adelaide University

2. Professor Simon Adams, Human Rights, Murdoch University

3. Professor Thalia Anthony, Law, University of Technology Sydney

4. Professor Edward Aspinall, Coral Bell School of Asia Pacific Affairs, Australian National University 

5. Professor Katie Atwell, Political Science & International Relations, University of Western Australia

6. Professor Barbara Baird, Emeritus Professor, Women's & Gender Studies, Flinders University

7. Professor Tony Birch, Culture & Communication, University of Melbourne

8. Professor Matthias Boer, Hawkesbury Institute for the Environment, Western Sydney University 

9. Professor Linda Briskman, Margaret Whitlam Chair of Social Work, Western Sydney University

10. Associate Professor Martin Brueckner, Sustainability, Murdoch University

11. Professor Anthony Burke, Environmental Politics & International Relations, University of New South Wales

12. Associate Professor Priya Chacko, International Politics, Adelaide University

13. Associate Professor Anna Copeland, Law, Murdoch University

14. Professor Christopher Cunneen, Criminology, University of Technology Sydney

15. Associate Professor Ned Curthoys, English & Creative Writing, University of Western Australia

16. Professor Sharyn Davies, Director of Herb Feith Indonesia Engagement Centre, Monash University

17. Associate Professor Julia Dehm, Law, La Trobe University

18. Associate Professor Sara Dehm, Law, University of Technology Sydney

19. Associate Professor Ben Etherington, Humanities & Communication Arts, Western Sydney University

20. Professor Sujatha Fernandes, Sociology, University of Sydney

21. Associate Professor Lucy Fiske, Social & Political Sciences, University of Technology Sydney

22. Professor Farida Fozdar, Dean - Global Futures, Curtin University 

23. Associate Professor Maria Giannacopoulos, Criminology, University of New South Wales

24. Professor Ghassan Hage, Anthropology & Social Theory, University of Sydney

25. Associate Professor Tauel Harper, Communication & Media Studies, Murdoch University

26. Professor Susan Harris Rimmer, Law, Griffiths University

27. Professor Paul James, Emeritus Professor, Globalisation & Cultural Diversity, Western Sydney University

28. Professor Kanishka Jayasuriya, Political Science, Murdoch University

29. Professor Sarah Joseph, Human Rights & Law, Griffiths University

30. Professor Lynne Keevers, Social Work, University of Canberra

31. Professor Jane Kenway, Emeritus Professor Education & Culture, Monash University

32. Associate Professor Mary Anne Kenny, Law, Murdoch University

33. Associate Professor Catherine Kevin, Human Sciences & Culture, Flinders University 

34. Professor Karima Laachir, Research School of Social Sciences, Australian National University  

35. Professor Anthony J. Langlois, Applied Ethics, Faculty of Business & Law, Curtin University

36. Professor Alana Lentin, Professor Cultural & Social Analysis, Western Sydney University

37. Professor Teresa Libesman, Law, University of Technology Sydney

38. Professor Sango Mahanty, Crawford School of Public Policy, Australian National University

39. Professor Sarah MacLean, Social Work & Social Policy, La Trobe 

40. Professor Steve Mickler, Emeritus Professor, Media, Creative Arts & Social Inquiry, Curtin University

41. Professor Carolyn Noble, Emeritus Professor, Social Work, ACAP & Victoria University

42. Professor Melanie O'Brien, International Law, University of Western Australia

43. Professor Dee O'Connor, Child & Community Development, Murdoch University

44. Professor Baden Offord AO, Emeritus Professor Cultural Studies & Human Rights, Curtin University

45. Professor Suvendrini Perera, John Curtin Distinguished Emeritus Professor, Media, Creative Arts & Social Inquiry, Curtin University

46. Associate Professor Annie Pohlman, Indonesian Studies, University of Queensland

47. Professor Scott Poynting, Adjunct Professor, School of Justice, Queensland University of Technology

48. Professor Stuart Rees, Emeritus Professor AM, Founder of Sydney Peace Foundation

49. Honorary Associate Professor David Reeve, Arts, Design & Architecture, University of New South Wales

50. Associate Professor Marco Rizzi, Law, University of Western Australia

51. Professor Krishna Sen, Emeritus Professor, FAHA, Social Sciences, University of Western Australia

52. Professor Juan Francisco Salazar Sutil, Culture and Society, Western Sydney University

53. Associate Professor Zora Simic, History & Gender Studies, University of New South Wales

54. Associate Professor Peter Slezak, Honorary Associate Philosophy, University of New South Wales

55. Associate Professor Anne Surma, English & Creative Writing, Murdoch University

56. Associate Professor Maria Tanyag, Coral Bell School of Asia Pacific Affairs, Australian National University 

57. Associate Professor Lubica Ucnik, Emerita, Philosophy, Murdoch University

58. Associate Professor Anthea Vogl, Law, University of Technology Sydney

59. Associate Professor Carol Warren, Asian Studies, Murdoch University

60. Professor James Warren, Emeritus Professor of History, Murdoch University 

61. Associate Professor Jessica Whyte, Philosophy, University of New South Wales

62. Associate Professor Yirga Gelaw Woldeyes, Director of the Curtin University Centre for Human Rights Education

63. Associate Professor Matthew Zagor, Law, Australian National University

See the rest of the list of signatories here.

419 signatories in total (63 lead, 356 general). Updated regularly.