Our Structure

Executive Officers

President

The President sits on the University Council and other ANU Committees, with the aim of conveying student views. Together with the Vice President, the President is involved in representation of, and advocacy for undergraduate students. The President is also ANUSA’s official spokesperson and they must make every effort to inform members of issues relevant of their welfare and of decisions made or actions undertaken by the ANUSA on their behalf.

The Vice-President

The Vice President has a similar role to the President. They are involved in the coordination in the role of student appeals. Their focus is on internal education matters such as faculty policies and information services.

General Secretary

The General Secretary is responsible for the internal administration of ANUSA. They run and organise the meetings of ANUSA’s representative councils (SRC, JRC, CRC, AGM, OGM), looks after and interprets the constitution and other ANUSA documents. The General Secretary should be your contact about ANUSA, the one to answer your questions, or at least point you in the right direction.

Treasurer

The treasurer is responsible for the financial organization of ANUSA. They make sure that we all know how much money we have and that we are spending it in the right way, as approved by our members. They also ensure that the finances of ANUSA are professionally audited.

Social Officer

This is the fun job! Organising and overseeing O-Week, Bush Week, ANUSA BBQ’s and other social events. The Social Officer is also the first point of contact for clubs and societies (C&S) and sits on the C&S committee.

General Representatives

The primary role of General Representatives (Gen-Reps) is to act as a communication link between the student body and ANUSA with regard to the concerns and problems that ANUSA should be addressing. Gen-Reps have a broad and diverse range of duties, including be part of ANUSA’s accountability mechanisms (SRC and CRC) through to providing assistance and people power to the executive and the departments to carry out the day-to-day operation and activities of ANUSA. Then there is the fun stuff; working at BBQ’s, helping out in O-Week and Bushweek, promoting ANUSA and generally helping out. Gen-Reps also work on projects throughout the year, often through their work on Taskforces (for example this year we had; No-VSU, Welfare, Higher Education, Policy, Promotions).

College Representatives

College Representatives analyse academic issues of relevance to their faculty and formulate methods to ensure that the academic interests of students are protected. These academic issues are discussed at CRC meetings where each faculty representative delivers a report. They also sit on JRC in order to have their vote counted in regards to the review of ANUSA’s budgets. They sit on various faculty boards, including ‘Teaching and Learning’ Committees.

Although this is the Fac-reps primary role, they are encouraged to become involved in ANUSA more broadly by joining taskforces and helping to organise promotion and other ANUSA social events.

What are the Departments?

Women’s Officer

The Women’s Officer represents undergraduate women students on internal ANUSA councils, and in the University community through such groups as Unisafe, Equity and Diversity Unit, and Residential Halls and Colleges. She also represents women undergraduate students in the wider community, and has been in contact with, for example, the ACT Status of Women Office regarding safety on campus, and the ACT Minister for Women.

The Women’s Officer aims to represent all women undergraduate students, and has been in contact with many women’s groups, be they social, religious, or political, on campus. These include: ANU Muslim Association Women’s, Amnesty International [ANU and ACT], Women on Campus, ANU Vagina Monologues Committee, The Young Liberals and Left Labor ANU.

Sexuality Officer

Queer students face particular issues such as a higher suicide rate and higherlikelihood of being kicked out of home. The way in which the Sexuality Officeradvocates for queer students is by being a friendly face, a point of reference in thequeer community and someone who is well-informed and can point students in the direction of Crisis Centers, the AIDS Action Council, Sexual Health and Family Planning ACT, the Gay and Lesbian Liaison Officers within the AFP etc. Because of the specificity and sensitivity of issues faced by queer students, the Sexuality Department plays a vital role in advocating for these students.

Education Officer

The Education department is responsible for promoting student interests in education at both a national and campus level, and is concerned with how various policies could affect students studying at ANU. The Education Department is committed to promoting accessible and quality education at the ANU and across Australia. The Department promotes information about issues that affect all students in regard to access to quality education, and the quality of the education provided at both the ANU, and other higher education institutions across Australia. It runs numerous activities through out the year which include information stalls, video screenings and inviting guest speakers to forums to discuss education issues.

Environment Officer

The Environment Collective, which is responsible for running the Environment Department, offers information on all things green. Its aim is to promote issues related to the environment and its surroundings. It should be considered as the students’ link to understanding and being active in a greener side of university life. Essentially the Collective is active in local, national and international environmental campaigns and provides valuable resources to students.

International Students' Officer

The International Students’ Service of the ANU (‘ISSANU’) is the primary representative body of all undergraduate international students on campus. ISSANU’s objectives are:

• To represent and co-operate with the responsible authorities on all matters which pertain to the interests and welfare of international students;
• To facilitate cultural and information exchange between international students and the general student population;
• To assist in the welfare of international students;
• To provide facilities and services to further the above objectives; and
• To join as a contributing member and co-operate with any body or organisation in pursuance of the objectives of ISSANU.

ISSANU organises many social events throughout the year in order to pursue the above objectives. These include an ISSANU dinner and International Students Awareness Week (ISAW).

Disabilities Co-Officers

The Disabilities Department was created to ensure that the concerns and needs of disabled students are heard and represented by ANUSA to the university. They also run social events and help to raise awareness about disabled students and their needs. They often work in close association with the university’s Disability Support Unit.

Indigenous Officer

The Indigenous Officer represents the needs and concerns of Indigenous students at the ANU. The Indigenous Officer works in conjunction with the Jabal Indigenous Higher Education Centre to support the needs of the students. The Departments aim is to increase Indigenous Awareness on campus and to strengthen the Indigenous collective on campus by running a number of social events.

Woroni Editors

Woroni is the official student magazine of ANUSA. It operates independently and is accountable to the Joint Representative Council and the Ordinary General Meeting of ANUSA. Its editors are elected at the annual elections, and receive a commission from advertising obtained for the magazine. The function of Woroni is to provide students and staff of the ANU with information about the activities of ANUSA and about student-related matters (such as entertainment, academic issues, accommodation, services).

Staff

Administration and Reception

Tess assists with the administration side of ANUSA, runs the Second-hand bookshop, and should be your first point of call for any questions you have about ANUSA or the University more generally.

Welfare Officer

Any student encountering problems with their welfare payments, housing situation, or academic issues should visit Bronwyn. She also helps students with budgeting and financial counselling, applications for undergraduate loans, referral to services within the ANU and referral to other welfare services. Bronwyn can also be helpful with all sorts of other problems and has a lot of knowledge about university procedures.

Legal Officer

Don is available to assist students with any legal concerns. These commonly include tenancy problems, landlord/tenant disputes, intellectual property concerns; help with drafting letters or appeals and a wide variety of other concerns.

What are the Committees within ANUSA?

SRC

The Gen-Reps, along with the executive and the department officers, make up the SRC. This council exists to give effect to the objectives of ANUSA. They do this by meeting regularly to determine policy, direct the executive on how to give effect to this policy and the execution of ANUSA’s budget.

CRC

The College Representative Council is comprised of the President, the Vice-President, the General Secretary, the Education officer and two representatives from each of the faculties, including the Fine Arts students’ Association. This council is a forum for the discussion of students academic concerns and issues, and to give the executive direction on how to deal with the academic interest of students.

JRC

The Joint Representative Council of ANUSA is the combination of CRC, SRC, ISSANU, Woroni, and the Executive. This body exists to promote communication within ANUSA and to oversee the affairs of each area of ANUSA, including review of budgets.