More than a third of University of Melbourne students surveyed by the UMSU (University of Melbourne Student Union) personally experienced racism in the previous year, a new report has found.

UMSU’s fifth Racism Report found 34.8 per cent of respondents personally experienced racism in the 12 months before the survey.

The survey which ran from May 14 to June 14 this year, drew 1072 responses.

The report found 43.6 per cent of people of colour experienced racism in that period, compared with 19.3 per cent of respondents who did not identify as people of colour. 

International students reported higher rates (40.9 per cent) than domestic students (29.6 per cent). 

According to the report, the figures exceed those in the Australian Human Rights Commission’s 2026 Respect at Uni report, which found 19 per cent of international students and 13 per cent of domestic students experienced direct racism over two years.

At the launch event of the report on Monday October 5, report co-author and UMSU People of Colour Officer, Anyang Wal said the results showed “not much progress in creating an anti-racist environment at University”.

Wal said the findings were “extremely shameful and really disappointing”. She said the university “absolutely” had a racism problem.

The most common experience was being treated differently to white peers, reported by 38.1 per cent of respondents in the survey. A further 24.6 per cent said they were ignored, sidelined or excluded during group work in that period.

Harm to emotional wellbeing was the most common effect described, cited in 78.6 per cent of responses, the report found.

UMSU President Lushy Chinganya said racism on campus included “microaggressions like mispronunciations of names or feeling excluded in classrooms”.

Chinganya said she wanted a “clearer way to report racism” from the University.

The report found 87.9 per cent of respondents who experienced racism did not report it to the University. Of the 25 respondents who did, 56 per cent received an insufficient outcome.

The report recommends a dedicated racism reporting portal that publishes outcome statistics every six months.

It also outlines UMSU’s Constructing an Anti-Racist Environment campaign, which calls for the renaming of the Baldwin Spencer Building and Agar Theatre, with both buildings named after historical figures associated with eugenicist ideas.

Maribyrnong Mayor Mohammed Semra also called out racism at the event. “We each have a responsibility,” Semra said. 

Semra urged students to “use [their] power to speak up”.

Image source: UMSU People of Colour