Charles Sturt University (CSU) will partner with other universities across Australia in a ground-breaking national student survey on sexual assault and harassment.

The survey is an important part of the Australian university sector's Respect. Now. Always.campaign to ensure students and staff are safe from sexual assault and sexual harassment.

CSU Vice-Chancellor, Professor Andrew Vann said CSU would participate in the survey as part of its longstanding efforts to keep improving policies and support services to keep students safe.

"We must keep improving our responses and drawing on best practice – so our students know that their university is doing even more to ensure a culture of respect and safety."

Professor Vann said the confidential survey would begin at CSU in September 2016 and a representative sample of students from the university will be selected to participate.

"All students selected will be asked to complete the survey – even if they have not experienced these behaviours – to ensure we get a clear picture of prevalence of sexual assault and harassment in our student community."

All the information provided by students is strictly confidential and will not be provided to CSU. The survey is being run by the independent Australian Human Rights Commission with assistance from Roy Morgan Research. Responses will be de-identified to protect student privacy.

Any university student who has not been selected to participate in the survey sample but who would like to share their experience can do so confidentially via the Australian Human Rights Commission website.

These online submissions will also inform further improvements in university policies.

The survey data will be analysed and reported by the Australian Human Rights Commission.

The survey has been developed with input from experts including the Australian Human Rights Centre at the University of NSW, the Australian Bureau of Statistics, Roy Morgan Research, and the Australian Human Rights Commission. It is primarily funded by Universities Australia. Seed funding for the survey was provided by The Hunting Ground Australia Project. The survey is supported by the National Union of Students and the National Tertiary Education Union.

For students and staff members at CSU, a website has been developed to provide them with resources, information, the opportunity to get involved in the campaign, advice for how to help, and how to report and access support services www.csu.edu.au/respect.

CSU has highly skilled people who can support those affected by sexual assault and harassment. Students and staff are encouraged to report incidents to police first, and they will be given full and swift support from the University. CSU has several support mechanisms to ensure our community is a safe and respectful place to learn.

Support at CSU includes:

• Campus security in contact 24/7 for emergencies and safety escorts
• Students can get support from our student counsellors
• Staff can get help from the Employee Assistance Program

Support outside CSU includes:

• Contact 1800 RESPECT for 24-hour support
• Contact NSW Rape Crisis Centre for 24-hour crisis counselling