A permanent, independent body to oversee student safety on university campuses would be better than a taskforce, the federal education minister says.
Jason Clare was responding to a parliamentary inquiry that found the way the university sector handled sexual assault complaints was woefully inadequate and that it couldn't be trusted with reform without independent oversight.
It recommended a taskforce over a working group.
Federal, state and territory ministers are working on ensuring students are safe and institutions are held accountable, Mr Clare said.
"When I think taskforce, I think about something which is temporary rather than permanent," he told reporters in Canberra on Monday.
"One of the ideas being considered here is for something permanent and something that is independent of government."
Such a body would act in a similar manner to a standalone ombudsman that would be responsible for investigating complaints and holding universities to account.
"There's a bit of work to do before a proposal like that comes before me and other education ministers formally but it was floated as an idea at the education ministers meeting," Mr Clare said.
Education ministers will meet again at the end of November in the hope of agreeing to an action plan that may include an ombudsman.
The federal government is also preparing to respond to the recommendations of a Senate inquiry that looked at sexual consent laws, student safety and the handling of sexual assault complaints.
But Universities Australia chief executive Catriona Jackson said the sector wasn't waiting for the government's response to the report and had already put in place hundreds of initiatives.
Universities are implementing education initiatives but can't go it alone with sexual assault being a society-wide problem, she said.
