The new system will not be open to students, who will be able to continue to raise concerns with their university and then to an independent adjudicator.
A stronger law on freedom of speech on England’s campuses came into force in August 2025, but the complaints system element has been delayed.
The Labour government has removed an initial proposal which would have allowed individuals to take legal action against universities in the civil courts.
The lack of a complaints system has left academics having to pursue other routes, such as employment tribunals.
The government will set out further details on the new complaints system later on Monday.
Initially, the OfS will be able to review how an incident has been handled, tell universities to change their processes around freedom of speech and direct universities to pay compensation to individuals affected.
Significant fines, including from 2% of a university’s income, could mean penalties run into millions for some.
While income varies, a medium-to-large-sized university’s annual income can start at around £500 million and rise into the billions for the most high profile institutions.
This raises the possibility of fines significantly higher than the £585,000 issued to the University of Sussex in March 2025 – mainly over a transgender and non-binary inclusion policy which the regulator said had a “chilling effect” on freedom of speech.
Sussex strongly disputed the claim it had not upheld freedom of speech and launched a challenge of the fine in the High Court, in a case involving some quite obscure arguments about the regulator’s powers. The judgement in that case is expected within the next few weeks.
The Free Speech Union (FSU) said nearly one in 10 of the 5,700-plus cases it had fought over the past six years involved universities “failing to protect free speech”.
Under these new provisions, the OfS would in theory have the power to remove the right to provide university level education, although that is likely to remain a threat rather than a reality.
The body which lobbies for the sector, Universities UK (UUK), said it was important the new powers were used “fairly, transparently and proportionately”.
Professor Malcolm Press, Vice Chancellor of Manchester Metropolitan University, urged a cautious approach. He said “protecting free speech while preventing harassment, hate speech, and radicalisation are complex tasks involving finely balanced decisions”.