States and territories are pushing for a national approach to university regulation, including the process for offering early entry placements to prospective students and the response to sexual assault allegations.
Education ministers have released a draft action plan aiming to keep students safe at tertiary institutions and streamline complaints processes.
Federal Education Minister Jason Clare said student safety needed to be universities' utmost priority.
A national student ombudsman that would be able to handle sexual assault complaints and launch investigations is being considered after a damning Senate report chastised the sector for failing to tackle the issue.
"Wherever sexual violence and harassment is, we have to confront it," Mr Clare said in a speech to the Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency's (TEQSA) annual conference on Thursday.
"Universities aren't just places where people work and study, they are places where people live."
TEQSA was also named in the report which excoriated the sector, with senators saying they didn't trust universities or the regulator to fix problems without independent oversight.
The team working towards a new universities' accord - whose report is due to be handed to the government in December - says urgent action is needed to address sexual assaults.
Mr Clare said a draft plan released on Wednesday started to address some of the issues, including by flagging powers for the ombudsman that would allow them to help resolve disputes.
The powers include simultaneously investigating a complaint if the university isn't proceeding with urgency, providing recommendations to institution heads and helping students receive compensation.
The ministers agree more consultation is needed as they work together to find a consensus model.
The founding director of End Rape on Campus Sharna Bremner said while she would like things to have moved faster, she understood there were processes to be followed.
The changes were a once-in-a-generation opportunity to address the problem, she said.
"Students have been waiting for a very long time and we're happy to wait a little longer if it means getting it right," she told AAP.
"Hopefully we can finally get something that can support students and hold universities accountable."
The university sector is broadly supportive of the ombudsman addressing sexual assault allegations but has raised concerns about proposed powers giving the independent body the ability to help students have their fees refunded.
Universities Australia chief executive Catriona Jackson said extending the ombudsman to include HECS would overlap with existing regulatory bodies.
Streamlining the way universities hand out early entry placements to prospective students is also being examined.
The current system had received mixed reviews and ministers had asked for a national approach, Mr Clare said.
Some teachers had told him it led to students taking their foot off the pedal and some universities were concerned about others poaching their best and brightest.
Laws to ensure the approval of Australian Research Council grants by an independent board instead of the minister will be introduced to parliament next week.
