The Austudy Five was the

epithet An epithet (, ), also byname, is a descriptive term (word or phrase) known for accompanying or occurring in place of a name and having entered common usage. It has various shades of meaning when applied to seemingly real or fictitious people, di ...

given to a group of five activists arrested in 1992 at a National Union of Students (NUS) national demonstration in

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/ Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a me ...

, Australia. NUS had called the demonstration around the Keating government's proposed abolition of Austudy as a student grant to be replaced by a student loan. There were reportedly around 3,000 protesters who broke through police lines advancing on the steps of the

Victorian Parliament The Parliament of Victoria is the bicameral legislature of the Australian state of Victoria (Australia), Victoria that follows a Westminster System, Westminster-derived parliamentary system. It consists of the Monarchy in Australia, King, repres ...

. Demonstrators surrounded a police van after some demonstrators had been arrested, forcing the

Victoria Police Victoria Police is the primary law enforcement agency of the Australian state of Victoria. It was formed in 1853 and currently operates under the ''Victoria Police Act 2013''. , Victoria Police had over 22,300 staff, comprising over 16,700 ...

to release them. Three weeks later, police arrested the five activists in dawn raids, who were at the time, all from the

International Socialist Organisation Solidarity is a Trotskyist organisation in Australia. The group is a member of the International Socialist Tendency and has branches in Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane and Perth. The organisation was formed in 2008 from a merger between groups e ...

(ISO). They were charged with unlawful assembly, obstruction and illegal rescue; by which they would be held responsible for the actions of the entire demonstration. The Labor Left president of NUS at the time unsuccessfully moved to have the ISO expelled from NUS. Political activist Tim Anderson described the case as "the most important political frame-up of the decade". The case and campaign to defend the five continued for two years before it was finally dismissed in 1994."Victory for the Austudy Five"
''Green Left Weekly'', Issue 158, 7 September 1994. Accessed: 13 July 2009.

The Austudy Five arrestees

* Jill Sparrow * Jeff Sparrow * Jonathon Sherlock * Marcus Banks * Mick Armstrong

References

Activists from Melbourne Australian Trotskyists {{Australia-hist-stub