The Australian National University’s acting provost, Prof Joan Leach, appeared before the royal commission into antisemitism and social cohesion on Thursday to deny that the university had “lost control” of its campus to a pro-Palestine encampment. This comes despite an internal safety review finding that the encampment posed a “high” psychosocial risk.

The students set up camp in April 2024 in solidarity with Palestinians amid the Israel-Gaza war, targeting the university’s links to weapons manufacturers. The workplace review, finalized in October 2024, found both direct and residual psychosocial risks were high. Leach noted, “There is now a procedure so security knows what to do should a protest like an encampment feature.”

When asked if the ANU had “essentially lost control,” Leach demurred, saying she wouldn’t “characterise it in that way,” but acknowledged concerns about risks to students and staff. She said security services “were quite active in interacting with the encampment” and encouraged students who wanted to leave to do so.

The encampment ended after a dispute about electricity and light in the evenings, just after the university announced it would not invest in controversial weapons manufacturers. Leach also addressed investigations into an alleged Nazi salute at a student association meeting in May 2024, attended by about 500 people. The investigation found no misconduct, concluding that the alleged salute was not a Nazi salute and that a moustache gesture was “commonly made” by the student to cover a facial feature they were uncomfortable with.