ECAJ guide to sub­mit­ting on the Sen­ate inquiry into the bill to estab­lish a judi­cial inquiry.

The Sen­ate is tak­ing sub­mis­sions on its inquiry into Julian Lesser’s bill to estab­lish a judi­cial inquiry into anti­semitism at Aus­tralian uni­ver­si­ties. Sub­mis­sions close on 23 August 2024.

We encour­age uni­ver­si­ty staff and stu­dents to make a sub­mis­sion so the Sen­ate is aware of the anti­semitism they’re expe­ri­enc­ing and the rea­sons why a judi­cial inquiry is need­ed.

What your submission should include

Your sub­mis­sion should explain the anti­semitism you’re expe­ri­enc­ing and why a judi­cial inquiry is need­ed.

Describing antisemitism on campus

Describe in detail anti­semitism you’ve expe­ri­enced on cam­pus:

• Detail of what hap­pened.
• Whether you report­ed it to the uni­ver­si­ty or else­where – or why you did­n’t report it.
• What the out­come was if you report­ed it.

Why a judicial enquiry is needed

The ECAJ has argued that a judi­cial inquiry is need­ed because it would be able to:

• Com­pel wit­ness­es to appear and doc­u­ments to be pro­duced.
• Take sworn rather than anec­do­tal evi­dence.
• Con­trol hos­tile wit­ness­es who try to grand­stand for polit­i­cal pur­pos­es in the same way as in a court­room.
• Guar­an­tee anonymi­ty to wit­ness­es if they seek it.

How to make a submission

You can make your sub­mis­sion by 23 August by:

• Upload it on the inquiry page
• Post it to:
  Com­mit­tee Sec­re­tary
  Sen­ate Legal and Con­sti­tu­tion­al Affairs Com­mit­tee
  PO Box 6100
  Par­lia­ment House
  Can­ber­ra ACT 260
• Email it to: legcon.sen@aph.gov.au

Confidentiality

Note that sub­mis­sions are usu­al­ly pub­lished on the inquiry’s web­page but you can ask that your name is with­held or your entire sub­mis­sion is con­fi­den­tial.

See also

• Sen­ate Com­mis­sion of Inquiry into Anti­semitism at Aus­tralian Uni­ver­si­ties Bill 2024
• Julian Less­er MP’s bill: Com­mis­sion of Inquiry into Anti­semitism at Aus­tralian Uni­ver­si­ties Bill 2024
• ECAJ backs Julian Leeser’s bill to estab­lish a judi­cial inquiry into anti­semitism on cam­pus­es