The 2024 University of Wollongong undergraduate student election winners claim a rise in turnout at the recent election.
In 2006, the Howard Government passed a policy into federal law that made student union memberships voluntary. Before this policy was implemented, university students could be required to pay an annual fee of up to $500 to their institution’s student union.
The controversial Howard-era policy resulted in reduced numbers of student union members. In 2008, the Sydney Morning Herald reported up to a 95 per cent reduction in the size of student unions nationally and that the University of Wollongong (UOW) student union, the Wollongong Undergraduate Student Association (WUSA), had dropped from 10,000 to 1,000 members; today, WUSA doesn’t even track the number of members it has.
Fast-forward to August 2024, the current Labor Government has introduced legislation to update the Student Services and Amenities Fee (SSAF).
SSAF is a federal policy passed in 2011 that allows universities to charge their students an annual fee for items that enhance the campus experience. In 2024, the fee is capped at $351 per student, and may be added to eligible students’ Higher Education Loan Program (HELP) debt.
Labor’s change, if passed, will require institutions to allocate a minimum of 40 per cent of SSAF revenue to student-led organisations like unions.
The legislation coincides with record-low national trade union membership levels. According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) data, young Australians aged 15 – 19 make up only two per cent of union members and 20 – 24-year-olds make up just five per cent.
Soured ABS Data released August 2022
Newly founded student group Yeehaw claimed victory last week in the annual UOW undergraduate student union election. After weeks of campaigning on campus grounds and online, the group revealed the outcome ahead of the University’s official declaration this Friday.
The announcement is based on initial ballot counts provided by the University’s election office, which aren’t publicly available. The election office said candidates are given five academic days to lodge an appeal based on the initial count. Results are then finalised and declared.
Yeehaw celebrated the count with a post on Instagram that thanked their supporters, campaigners, and candidates.
View this post on Instagram
Yeehaw said the group has won nine of the 20 positions on the council.
Yeehaw campaigned on issues centred around free period products, class participation requirements, the campus medical clinic, carpool parking zones, free campus food, and the Israel-Palestine conflict.
The group hopes to apply pressure, as UOW delegates at the National Union of Students (NSU) in 2025, so that regional universities receive the same recognition as their metropolitan counterparts.
Yeehaw’s candidate for WUSA General Secretary and presumptive incumbent Caitlin Veigel said the group supports the Government’s proposed reform to SSAF.
“Student money belongs in student’s hands,” Ms Veigel said.
“[Voluntary student unionism] took the power away from student unions across the country.
“We welcome 40 per cent but it should be 100 per cent,” she said.
The Government’s proposed reform is based on recommendations from the Australian Universities Accord, a 12-month review of Australia’s tertiary education system. In December last year, the Accord delivered 47 recommendations and performance targets to the Government aimed at improving the sector.
The reform to SSAF is one of many outlined by the Government in this year’s Federal Budget. Labor hopes the proposed changes will help more Australians take advantage of higher education.
Yeehaw said voter turnout had surged at this year’s WUSA election. The group’s President Hanzel-Jude Pador told UOWTV that Yeehaw is excited to hit the ground running.
Despite this possible surge in voter turnout, some students feel they need clarification about proposed policies and promises from candidates and how likely they are to come to form.
UOW Undergraduate Lily Sepetauc is one student who didn’t feel engaged in the WUSA elections.
“I’ve walked past a few people handing out flyers but none of them have spoken to me so I’ve just gone past,” Ms Sepetauc said.
UOW Undergraduate Elliot Molkentin offered a similar sentiment.
“I’m thinking a lot more about uni work and stuff like that,” Mr Molkentin said.
“If I get given a pamphlet, I’ll look at it but won’t think about much else.”
On the other hand, some students highly value the opportunity to choose representation.
UOW Undergraduate Lilly Coombes told UOWTV that student voices are paramount.
“I believe it’s important to vote… to support your values,” Ms Coombes said.
“The only way to see change is to vote in representatives that hold [similar] values.”
Independent candidates and other groups, The Alternative, Left Action, and Renew, competed against Yeehaw in the election. Candidates from each group agreed that a strong student council has value.
Renew candidate Callum Glasgow said he is concerned about students’ challenges.
“Awful things are happening outside of campus at the moment, but also a lot of things have gone wrong at campus over the last year,” Mr Glasgow said.
“It’s a shame that so many people haven’t heard about WUSA; they are there to be your voice.
“It’s very important that students look at the policies and pick their voice.”
The Alternative candidate Abbey Dawson said the union needs to focus on students.
“Student elections, especially the WUSA & NUS election, no longer focus on campus issues,” Ms Dawson said.
“Instead, students see candidates campaigning on issues that they often believe to be State or Federal making it all seem like a joke.”
Left Action candidate Megan Guy said the student union is supposed to be the body that advocates for students.
“We want to fight… for good quality education, for students, and good conditions for staff as well,” Ms Guy said.
Megan Guy and others at UOW Student General Meeting in September, sourced @uowpalestinesociety on Instagram
The new WUSA council will meet in December, but Yeehaw and other victorious candidates have already begun lobbying UOW students and staff. A top priority is the potential 2025 budget cuts and discontinuance of some teaching areas; a WUSA organised, mixed student-staff forum was held yesterday.
In a media release published yesterday morning, the University revealed a $35 million revenue drop this year. UOW Interim Vice-Chancellor and President Professor John Dewar said the institution had taken steps to stabilise this year’s budget but had no long-term solutions.
“We will be… identifying areas where we can no longer justify maintaining our current levels of staffing,” Professor Dewar said.
“We are undertaking work to assess any potential impact on students.
“We must make tough choices now to set the University up for a brighter future.”
Representative unions have expressed that they have students’ best interests at heart. Yeehaw believes they can bring back essential services and further improve student wellbeing. They’re hopeful the Government’s SSAF reform will pass and aim to make the most of their time in office.
But will students engage more with WUSA in the years to come? That remains to be seen.
Article co-authored by UOWTV journalists Jett Eagleson & Isaiah Vidler.