A statutory instrument made on 17 June 2026 now fixes the next two implementation dates for the Higher Education (Freedom of Speech) Act 2023 in England. According to the commencement order published on legislation.gov.uk, the Office for Students complaints scheme begins on 1 September 2026, while the next stage of provider regulation is scheduled for 1 April 2027. That sequencing matches the Department for Education’s April 2026 statement to Parliament, which set out a phased approach after the Government’s 2025 reset of the wider Act. (questions-statements.parliament.uk)
From 1 September 2026, section 8 of the 2023 Act is only partly commenced. The key point is that the new OfS route does not open for complaints about students’ unions, and it does not open for complaints brought by people in their capacity as students or as members only because they are students. Ministers had already signalled that outcome, stating that the new scheme would cover staff, external speakers and non-student members, while students would remain outside this part of the rollout. (questions-statements.parliament.uk)
Read alongside Schedule 6A to the Higher Education and Research Act 2017, the practical effect is that the OfS route is being opened for current and former staff, current and former non-student members, applicants for academic posts, and people who were invited to speak. The statutory scheme is designed for cases where a person says they suffered adverse consequences because a registered provider or constituent institution acted, or failed to act, in breach of its free speech duties. The Act’s explanatory notes say the scheme can lead to determinations and recommendations, including compensation or steps such as reinstatement. (legislation.gov.uk)
The exclusion of students from the new statutory OfS complaints route is one of the main operational points in this instrument. In the Government’s written statement of 20 April 2026, Bridget Phillipson said students were not being brought into the scheme because they already had access to the Office of the Independent Adjudicator, which can consider free speech issues alongside wider student complaints. OfS guidance also continues to direct complainants first to institutional procedures, while allowing students, staff and others to raise regulatory notifications with the regulator about possible breaches of registration conditions. (questions-statements.parliament.uk)
The second date, 1 April 2027, matters more for provider regulation. On that date, section 6 is commenced so that the OfS must build freedom of speech requirements into initial and ongoing registration conditions for English higher education providers. The Act’s explanatory notes say those conditions cover governance documents, management and governance arrangements, and ongoing compliance with the core duties in sections A1 to A3. The commencement instrument, however, leaves out section 8A(3), the provision that would require certain providers to keep the OfS informed about their students’ unions. (questions-statements.parliament.uk)
For universities and colleges, the immediate compliance issue is sequencing rather than substance alone. The main provider duties introduced from 1 August 2025 already require registered providers to secure lawful free speech, maintain a code of practice, and promote the importance of free speech and academic freedom, while the OfS has already published guidance on what reasonably practicable steps may look like. The next phase adds an individual complaints route from September 2026 for the groups now brought into scope, followed by formal registration conditions from April 2027. (questions-statements.parliament.uk)
The Office for Students has said it is working towards final complaints scheme rules in summer 2026 and expects to consult on new free speech conditions of registration later in the year. For providers, that means the period before the 2026 autumn term should be used to review complaint handling, speaker-event decision records, employment processes and governance documentation against the narrower scheme now being switched on. For staff, applicants and visiting speakers, the significance is more direct: a statutory route to the regulator is now attached to a firm commencement date. (officeforstudents.org.uk)