The federal parliament’s intelligence and security committee has called for more transparency on universities’ Confucius Institutes. 

At least 12 Australian universities host Confucius Institutes, which teach courses on Chinese culture and language that tend not to be part of formal degrees, as well as holding public events and talks on political, social and economic issues. 

The institutes are coming under increasing scrutiny as Australia-China relations deteriorate, and they have faced suspicion of being linked to the Chinese Communist Party’s propaganda effort. 

In a recent report, the powerful Parliamentary Joint Committee on Intelligence and Security (PJCIS) called for the contracts underpinning Confucius Institutes to ensure staff appointments remain under universities’ control, and to include academic freedom clauses.

It recommends that Chinese government talent recruitment programs prohibit government department employees from participating.

The PJCIS heard evidence from Human Rights Watch about students and academics being harassed by pro-Beijing groups on campuses, and recommended the federal government find ways to assist universities “in diversifying international student populations”.

It called on the University Foreign Interference Taskforce to provide “as a matter of urgency... clear guidance to universities on implementing penalties for foreign interference activities on campus, including reporting on fellow students to foreign governments”. 

Universities Australia Chief Executive Catriona Jackson says the sector is “very alive to the risks of foreign interference” and are actively partnered with the government and security agencies.

The Group of Eight says its member universities have already implemented many of the report’s recommendations.