The Flinders University Student Association (FUSA) is a

student union A students' union or student union, is a student organization present in many colleges, universities, and high schools. In higher education, the students' union is often accorded its own building on the campus, dedicated to social, organizatio ...

Flinders University Flinders University, established as The Flinders University of South Australia is a public university, public research university based in Adelaide, South Australia, with a footprint extending across a number of locations in South Australia and ...

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a States and territories of Australia, state in the southern central part of Australia. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories by area, which in ...

. It provides free welfare services, academic advocacy, grants for clubs and societies, and funding for the

student newspaper A student publication is a media outlet such as a newspaper, magazine, television show, or radio station Graduate student journal, produced by students at an educational institution. These publications typically cover local and school-related new ...

Empire Times ''Empire Times'' (''ET'') is the student newspaper of Flinders University, in Adelaide, South Australia. It ceased publication in 2006 as a result of voluntary student unionism, but resumed in 2013 with the reintroduction of Tertiary education f ...

. It also organises an O'Week each semester, as well as various social events throughout the year. FUSA does not have a structurally separate student representative body, and is overseen directly be an elected

Student Council A student council (also known as a student union, associated student body or student parliament) is an administrative organization of students in different educational institutes ranging from elementary schools to universities and research or ...

whose members are responsible for providing

political representation Political representation is the activity of making citizens "present" in public policy-making processes when political actors act in the best interest of citizens according to Hanna Pitkin's ''Concept of Representation'' (1967). This definition ...

to students and governance of the association.

History

Between 1966 and 2006 the Student Association of Flinders University (SAFU) provided student representation on campus. When the

Howard government The Howard government refers to the Government of Australia, federal executive government of Australia led by Prime Minister John Howard between 11 March 1996 and 3 December 2007. It was made up of members of the Liberal Party of Australia, Li ...

introduced

voluntary student unionism Voluntary student unionism (VSU), as it is known in Australia, or voluntary student membership (VSM), as it is known in New Zealand, is a policy under which membership of – and payment of membership fees to – university student organisations ...

in 2005 the organisation lost the vast majority of its funding and soon collapsed. FlindersONE, a commercial company owned by the university, took over most of the services formerly provided by SAFU and a Student Representative Council (SRC) was created as a subcommittee of the FlindersONE board. After the Gillard government introduced the Student Services & Amenities Fee (SSAF) in 2011 representatives of the SRC began negotiations with university to create an independent student organisation. A funding agreement was reached with the university, and on 23 April 2012 the SRC voted to endorse the constitution of the Flinders University Student Association. Student representatives completed their terms and the first FUSA Student Council began on 1 January 2013.

Student Council

Notable former members of student council included Kate Ellis, and Amanda Rishworth.

2024 Student Council

In 2023 student elections, FIRE-UP had a landslide victory with Activate and Left Action only gaining one General Council member each. In 2024 student elections, FIRE-UP held their majority on student council, with General Council member and First Nation Students Officer as Independents and Fair Dinkums gaining Environment Officer after the withdrawal of the FIRE-UP candidate.

Campaigns and activism

FUSA has called for better public transport to the university from the

Government of South Australia The Government of South Australia, also referred to as the South Australian Government or the SA Government, is the executive branch of the state government, state of South Australia. It is modelled on the Westminster system, meaning that the h ...

, citing the high number of students driving to campus and the low number of car parks provided by the university. In 2015 FUSA and the National Tertiary Education Union organised an extended campaign against the Abbott government's plans to create a $4 million policy center at the university run by climate denier Bjorn Lomborg. The organisers claimed that the proposal was done with no consultation with staff and students, and threatened the academic reputation of the university. In 2015 plans for the centre were dropped by the

Turnbull government The Turnbull government was the federal executive government of Australia led by the 29th prime minister of Australia, Malcolm Turnbull, from 2015 to 2018. It succeeded the Abbott government, which brought the Coalition to power at the 2013 Au ...

References

External links