By Maya Auld
With voter apathy at an all time high, it is no surprise that a lot of students aren’t sure what ANUSA actually does, or what positions they are meant to be voting for.
The ANU Students’ Association or ‘ANUSA’ is the representative body for all students at ANU. According to the ANUSA webpage, “if you’re an ANU student then you’re automatically a member of ANUSA”.
While ANUSA used to be a union for undergraduate students only, 2023 has seen its electorate expand to encompass postgraduate students and their interests. This follows the collapse of the postgraduate union-PARSA- last year.
The ANUSA representatives are an elected few of the approximately 20,000 students studying at ANU. Anyone who is a student at ANU is eligible to be a part of the ANUSA executive.
The representatives are elected by both undergraduate and postgraduate students, and take place each year in Semester two. This year’s elections will be taking place in week eight of Term four.
There are seven Executive Officers, seven Department Officers and a Parents and Carers’ Officer, 14 General Representatives, three Academic representatives and 28 college representatives. Further information can be found here.
There are several positions that can be voted on by ANU students, which are outlined below.
President: The President sits on the University Council, which is the peak decision-making body of the University. The role of President is to ensure undergraduate student voices are heard in these forums, as well as to advocate in the interest of students. The President is additionally responsible for communicating ANUSA activity and University changes to students and is ANUSA’s official spokesperson. The current ANUSA President is Ben Yates.
Vice President: The role of Vice President is very similar to the President. They are primarily involved in organising and coordinating student appeals with the main focus on internal education matters. They also manage the BKSS in the DI Riddell Student Centre.
Treasurer: The role of Treasurer holds the responsibility of the financial aspects of ANUSA. The treasurer works in conjunction with ANUSA’s Financial Controller to track the associations spending to ensure money is being spent appropriately as approved by the members. The Treasurer also ensures the finances of ANUSA are professionally audited on an ongoing basis.
General Secretary: The General Secretary is responsible for the internal administration of ANUSA, which includes the internal governance of ANUSA. Their role also consists of organising and holding meetings for the student body’s representative councils (SRC, CRC, AGM, OGM). Additionally, they are accountable for interpreting the Constitution as well as other ANUSA documents.
Clubs Officer: The Clubs Officer oversees and organises O-Week, Bush Week, the end-of-year clubs balll and ANUSA’s social program.
Welfare Officer: The Welfare Officer is primarily responsible for the advocacy and service provision to improve the welfare of students. This role oversees issues related to the wellbeing and material conditions of students which include housing, food and financial security, as well access to services.
Education Officer: The Education Officer primarily works with the Higher Education Policy of the Association and is responsible for organising tertiary education campaigns (often in conjunction with the National Union of Students). Additionally, they are responsible for preparing submissions to relevant Government bodies on subjects related to housing, youth allowance, and HECS. NUS often organise protests regarding budget and subject cuts.
General Representatives: Each year, fourteen General Representatives (Gen Reps) are elected. Gen Reps are tasked with implementing the many projects undertaken outside of Executive portfolios. Working in groups and reporting to the Student Representative Council, Gen Reps ensure ANUSA makes visible improvements to campus life. Additionally, they act as the communication link between the student body and ANUSA, as well as hold the primary means of keeping executives accountable.
The positions of all of the below Department Officers such as Women’s Officer, Queer* Officer, Indigenous Officer, BIPOC Officer, Disabilities Officer and International Students’ Officer will all be elected internally by their departments and are not open to nominations in the 2023 elections.
Department Officers: The seven Department Officers oversee managing policy and advocacy of several key areas important to ANU. They represent marginalised groups across the ANU student body.
- Disabilities: Anyone who identifies as having a disability and/or accessibility needs can join ANU Disabilities, the disabilities collective.
- BIPOC (formerly Ethnocultural): The BIPOC Department is an autonomous, non-political group of people, with the primary goal of advocating for ethno-culturally and linguistically diverse.
- International: The International Students Department represents and advocates for all international students in conjunction with the ANUSA Executive.
- Indigenous: The Indigenous Department is a student run group which arranges activities and events for Indigenous students and the broader ANUSA community throughout the year. The Department aims to promote Indigenous success on campus and strengthen the Indigenous on campus by running several networking events.
- Queer*: The Queer* Department is an autonomous group for students who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, asexual, transgender, intersex, and questioning.
- Women*: Members of the Association who self-identify as a women or woman-aligned, experienced gender oppression from being perceived as a women or are transgendered may vote or nominate. Their two primary objectives are to advocate for members, and to facilitate a welcoming, supportive, and comfortable community for all members.
The following positions will be conducted internally:
- Environment: The Collective of any ANU student who wants to engage with environmental and social justice on and off campus.
- Parents and Carers: The Parents and Carers Officer oversees policy and advocacy for students who are parents or carers. They organise a Parents and Carers Committee, and related events.
Further information about the election can be found here.
When can I vote?
The 2023 ANUSA General Election will be held during Week 8, Semester 2. The election runs from 9am Mon 25 September to 12pm Thu 28 September. More information about the election can be found here
Graphics by Will Novak
*This article has been amended to include that the position list from the “Your Representatives’ Page may be dated. It also included amendments to the dates and times of the voting and various position descriptions.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Know something we don’t know? Email [email protected] or use our anonymous tip submission.
If you have an issue with this article, or a correction to make, you can contact us at [email protected], submit a formal dispute, or angry react the Facebook post.
Want to get involved? You can write articles, photograph, livestream or do web support. We’re also looking for someone to yell “extra!” outside Davey Lodge at 1AM. Apply today!
