Sharna Bremner is establishing an Australian branch of the US "End Rape on Campus" advocacy group.  The group has launched dozens of legal actions against universities in America, alleging they have broken the law by the way they handled sexual assault complaints. There are now more than 190 American colleges and universities under investigation.

Ms Bremner said Australian universities imposed greater sanctions on students for plagiarism than for sexual assault. She warned that if universities didn't change soon, they could end up facing legal action like their US counterparts.

"It's going to get to the point where somebody files a discrimination complaint or actually sues a university," Ms Bremner said. "The way I see it, sexual assault and harassment on campus is hindering somebody's right to an education."

However Universities Australia chair Barney Glover said Australian universities were taking a proactive approach with the $1 million Respect. Now. Always campaign to stamp out sexual violence on campus.

"Senior leaders in Australian universities have committed to keep improving campus cultures and policies," Professor Glover said.

"Universities here are addressing sexual harassment in quite a different way to how these issues appear to have been handled in the US; Australian universities have come together and embarked on a comprehensive program of work across the sector to prevent and address sexual assault and harassment."

Ms Bremner studied overseas with the founders of End Rape on Campus, Annie E. Clark and Andrea Pino. They featured in The Hunting Ground, documentary which highlighted sexual assault on American university campuses.

Ms Bremner works in support services for Americans who study in Australia, and said many instances of sexual assault and harassment had been reported to her.

"The more the years went on, the more we noticed the responses [from Australian universities] were the same as we were seeing in the US," Ms Bremner said. "They largely ranged from deliberate indifference to total and utter cover-up."

New Sexual Discrimination Commissioner Kate Jenkins told Fairfax Media she was "deeply concerned" by reports of inadequate responses from universities.

"All people attending university have the right to study, live and work in a safe and supportive environment," Ms Jenkins said. "Universities must protect and promote the rights of students to be free from abuse, assault and harassment."

On behalf of Universities Australia, the Australian Human Rights Commission is conducting a survey of students on sexual assault and harassment. It will examine the effectiveness of universities' responses and identify systemic issues in institutional responses to complaints.

Ms Bremner said the failure of universities to properly act on reports of sexual assault and harassment served to retraumatise victims and impinged on their education. She said reports of campus sexual violence spiked during orientation week and when university games were on.

End Rape on Campus will make sure students are aware of their rights, listing the relevant policies of all 39 universities on its website. "We're going to help students recognise they do have rights, what happened to them was not their fault, and they're not alone," Ms Bremner said.