There has been a stark increase in the sexual harassment of university staff, with a third saying they had experienced it at work.
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The figures from the National Tertiary Education Union marked a lift of more than 50 per cent since the last survey.
Almost one in three respondents (29 per cent) reported personal experiences of sexual harassment, compared to 19 per cent in 2018.
Half of the more than 2000 respondents said they knew someone who had been sexually harassed in their workplace, up from 36 per cent.
Perpetrators were largely said to be co-workers (41 per cent) followed by managers (34 per cent) and students (29 per cent).
Women reported higher levels of sexual assault in the workplace, with 38 per cent saying they had personal experience.
Despite the prevalence, only 13 per cent made a formal complaint and almost half did not complain at all.
More than half said they were encouraged to drop complaints and 44 per cent said they faced negative consequences from the employer.
Union president Alison Barnes said the results were alarming and shocking.
Dr Barnes said the numbers revealed systemic issues rather than a spate of isolated incidents.
"The higher education sector has clearly not made progress," she said.
"Higher education staff are being subjected to shocking levels of harassment and discrimination."
The union wants regulatory changes that include transparent annual reporting by universities and tertiary educators.
Universities Australia chief executive Catriona Jackson said all staff and students should feel "utterly supported" when reporting sexual harassment to either their institution or police.
Programs, policies and training were in place to encourage reporting and to support people coming forward, she said.
"Harassment is never acceptable, everyone deserves to feel safe and supported at work," she told AAP in a statement.
"Our members take a zero-tolerance approach to all instances of unacceptable workplace behaviour."
The university sector was slammed by all sides of politics after a parliamentary inquiry found it failed to adequately respond to sexual assaults with victim-survivors saying the follow-up process could be worse than the rape.
The inquiry recommended a task force oversee the sector, saying it had lost faith in universities being able to fix the problem without independent oversight.
Education Minister Jason Clare is considering the recommendations.
An independent student ombudsman to preside over safety and launch its own investigations has been floated to the nation's education ministers.
Mr Clare said any response, such as an ombudsman, needed to be permanent.
Education ministers will meet in November to discuss the proposal.
1800 RESPECT (1800 737 732)
National Sexual Abuse and Redress Support Service 1800 211 028
Lifeline 13 11 14
Fullstop Australia 1800 385 578
Australian Associated Press
