Reporting anonymously

The University of Sydney aims to create a safe environment where integrity and wellbeing come first.

If you've seen or experienced something you feel is wrong, unsafe, or unethical, speaking up helps us protect our community.

Make an anonymous complaint

Protecting your privacy

If you make a complaint, we handle your information confidentially and in line with our policies and privacy laws, using it only for managing and resolving the complaint. We won't disclose your identity, the identity of those involved in the complaint, the fact that a complaint has been made, or any report or outcome of the complaint, except to those directly involved with handling the complaint.

However, there are circumstances in which the University may need to disclose this information to others in order to manage the complaint appropriately. For example, we may need to obtain a response from those involved in the complaint, to prepare a report or letter as part of the resolution of the complaint, to obtain assistance from legal or other advisers on a confidential basis, to ensure the safety and wellbeing of someone involved in the complaint, or to fulfil legal reporting requirements.

If the University considers that information shared in a disclosure, a complaint, or during a meeting with staff presents a significant risk to the health or safety of a student or another person or persons, we will need to take steps to manage the potential risk. This means that the University may need to act with or without your consent.

Read our privacy statement

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Making an anonymous complaint

We treat all concerns and complaints confidentially. This means that we'll only disclose your identity or the details of your complaint to those people who need to be involved in investigating and resolving it.

You can choose to make an anonymous complaint, though we may be limited on what action we can take. Here's what you should know before making an anonymous complaint, if you want the University to take action:

  • There needs to be enough evidence to examine the issue fairly without knowing your identity, or without needing to follow up with you. 
 
  • Subject to the requirements of legislation and to the Reporting Wrongdoing Policy 2023, the University will not act on anonymous complaints unless: 
    • The complaint relates to a University policy or procedure generally and not an individual respondent or respondents;
    • It is not necessary for the respondent to know who you are in order to properly respond to the complaint; or
    • You have supporting documents or other evidence that allow us to fairly assess the allegation without revealing your identity.
Make a complaint

Making a disclosure

If your concern involves gender-based violence, sexual misconduct, sexual harm or domestic violence, you should contact the Safer Communities Office, who provide support and can assist you to make a disclosure if you choose to do so.

A disclosure is a confidential report where you share information about your experience in order to seek advice, safety measures or further assistance, without entering into the complaints process.

We handle your information confidentially, in accordance with our policies and privacy laws. However, there are circumstances in which the University may need to share this information—for instance, when it is necessary to protect the health and safety of others in our community, or to comply with legal and regulatory requirements. This means that the University may need to act with or without your consent.

If you make a disclosure, you can still choose to make a complaint to the University about the same incident at a later time.

Make a disclosure
Contact Safer Communities

Other reporting options

Return to the Feedback, concerns and complaints page or select from the options below: