Resolved complaint (48) about sex discrimination in education

About the complaint

The complainant is a male student at the respondent university. He said the university withdrew an offer of a residential scholarship that required him to perform student service related duties following reports of sexual impropriety and inappropriate social media postings. The complainant claimed he was not told the details of the allegations against him or offered an opportunity to respond to the allegations. He alleged the university would have responded differently to the allegations if the accused was a female student.

The university said a small number of students disclosed concerns about the complainant’s behaviour before the university made a formal offer of a scholarship.  The university said it made discreet inquiries of the disclosers and was satisfied that the disclosures were made in good faith and informed the complainant of the substance of the disclosures. There was no formal complaint investigation process because the disclosers did not wish to lodge formal complaints. The disclosers wished to remain anonymous and did not wish to participate in a restorative conversation with the complainant. The university said it decided not to offer the complainant the scholarship as it was concerned that he lacked the necessary maturity and leadership qualities to hold a position of responsibility at that time. The university noted it subsequently provided significant support opportunities to the complainant.

The complaint was resolved with an agreement that the university pay the complainant $10,000 in compensation, provide him with an apology for deficiencies in the scholarship process and clarify, when communicating scholarship offers, that scholarships are not awarded until execution of a formal document. The university also confirmed that the incident did not result in a negative service indicator on the complainant’s academic record.

Guidance on the use of these summaries

This is a summary of a selected complaint that has been resolved through our conciliation process. It's designed to help people better understand how complaints might be resolved and what outcomes are possible.

These summaries are for general guidance only and are not legal advice. If you need advice about your situation, you should seek independent legal support.

Please note:

• all complaints are de-identified
• complaints are resolved on a 'without admission of liability' basis
• some content may include confronting or offensive language.