She had been sexually assaulted and she needed help.

This is the story of just one survivor at the Australian National University. But, a year on from the landmark report into sexual violence that sent shockwaves through Australian universities, student associations and advocates warn many still face barriers to reporting.

On August 1, 2017, the ANU's vice-chancellor Brian Schmidt became the first university head in Australia to apologise for sexual violence on campus. He was visibly shaken. A survey of more than 30,000 students by the Australian Human Rights Commission had just named the ANU as among the worst institutions for sexual assault in the country, with 116 students reporting being assaulted in 2016, 52 of them while on campus.

That was double the national rate which saw one in ten female students report sexual assault and about half say they were sexually harassed in the previous two years.

Sex discrimination commissioner Kate Jenkins says that, while students had long been calling for action on the problem, releasing data in the #MeToo era was a game-changer.

"All universities took part, some more willingly than others, but universities like clear, verifiable evidence and this gave them no place to turn," she told Fairfax Media.

"In my experience since, they haven't [avoided] responsibility."

The latest audit by the commission, released on Wednesday, found almost all universities reported they had begun work on the nine recommendations set down by the report.

But leading victims' advocate Sharna Bremner of End Rape on Campus Australia said ticking boxes was not the same as creating lasting change.

"We've seen some positive outcomes but it's been incredibly slow, students are more frustrated now than they were a year ago," she said, echoing sentiments from Canberra student associations.

"After August 1, people thought things would be different ... we're still getting students saying their reports are being ignored by universities, we even had a university admit they decided not to investigate an assault."

Ms Jenkins said she remained hopeful, as momentum on the issue continued to build, but agreed it was no time to become complacent.

"It is absolutely desperate, we are desperate for action."

She noted just 29 of Australia's 39 universities had committed to reviewing their residential halls, long known for horror stories of hazing and binge-drinking. Institutions with high numbers of students living on campus, such as the ANU, tended to report higher rates of violence, Ms Jenkins said.

A year on from the survey, Canberra universities have rolled out training in both consent and assault disclosures for students and staff, and counselling and security services have been beefed up across campuses

The University of Canberra, which had slightly lower rates of sexual violence than the national average, is still waiting on the final report of a university-wide review, headed by Ms Jenkin's own predecessor at the commission, Elizabeth Broderick.

That review is now behind schedule but will include residential halls, which are the subject of a separate and ongoing audit at the ANU. A spokesman said the University of Canberra had already committed to implementing recommendations from the Broderick report, due back next month.

At the ANU, pro-vice-chancellor Richard Baker said reforms were mostly on track, including the recent creation of a dedicated 'Respectful Relationships Unit' to oversee policy and education.

About 500 students and staff have now gone through online disclosure training and another 300 have taken part in face-to-face sessions, he said.

But in a report released Wednesday, the ANU's two student associations have slammed Chancellory for delivering "surveys not services" and focussing its efforts on the appearance of reform.

Students welcomed the addition of sexual misconduct under the university's discipline rule, but said enforcement remained vague and informal complaints were sometimes withheld from formal investigations.

"This raises severe concerns that [university] offices, where students are directed to seek support and information concerning their options, are functioning to protect predators who have a clear and documented history of concerning behaviour," students said.

Professor Baker acknowledges the university still has a long way to go. Putting up posters is not the same as changing culture. But while spear-heading the ANU response has been challenging, confronting work, he has heard good things too, from students proud of the university's strong strance against victim-blaming.

Peak body Universities Australia has joined students in for calling online reporting tools, but the ANU has so far resisted the idea, citing concerns anonymous reporting would leave people without the right connections to support, even if it does open up more avenues for disclosure.

Professor Baker said the ANU was speaking with the ACT government about ways it could work with Crime Stoppers. He will sit down with UNSW this month to discuss the university's own widely-praised online reporting portal.

At the University of Canberra, survivors can already report incidents online but are limited to just 300 characters to detail their assault. A disclaimer warns incidents related to injuries must be reported within 12 hours.

"That's wildly unacceptable," Ms Bremner says. "It's basically the length of a tweet. A lot of university reporting portals are...pretty grim...but it's so important we get it right."

The University of Canberra plans to overhaul its reporting processes in the coming months.

On Wednesday, Universities Australia released new guidelines banning romantic relationships between academics and students they are directly supervising.

Chief executive Catriona Jackson said the principles, which were backed by student associations and designed alongside the national teritary union, acknowledged the power supervisors have over their students.

"A sexual or romantic relationship that develops in that context also raises questions about capacity for consent and academic integrity," she said.

As reforms continue, Ms Jenkins said the real test for universities would be the next national survey, due to kick off in September 2019.

"I'm hoping to see some improvement then....but we don't expect anyone to pat themselves on the back quite yet."

If you or someone you know is impacted by sexual assault or family violence, call the Canberra Rape Crisis Centre on 02 6247 2525. Nationally, call 1800RESPECT on 1800 737 732. In an emergency contact 000.