The National Union of Students (NUS) is the peak representative body for Australian higher education students. A student union is eligible for membership by its classification as a legitimate student representative body at any Australian post-secondary training provider. The NUS typically organises NUS National Conference (NatCon), NUS Education Conference (EdCon), and the Presidents' Summit each year in addition to other smaller conferences.

History

Formation NUS in its current form came into being in 1987 after the collapse of its predecessor, the Australian Union of Students (AUS), in 1984. The AUS was first known from 1937 to 1971 as the National Union of Australian University Students (NUAUS), before allowing membership of colleges of higher education in 1971, which necessitated a name change.

Membership fees In 2003, NUS membership fees became indexed to consumer price index (CPI) removing some of the strain on the union's finances. In 2004, the NUS charged $5 per equivalent full time study loads (EFTSL) of students represented by each member organisation. This raised small fears that many small and regional campus organisations might disaffiliate due to increases in affiliation fees.

In 2023, affiliation fees were set at $2.00 per EFTSL and in 2024 the National Executive of the NUS set affiliation fees at $2.11 per EFTSL.

Voluntary student unionism The introduction of voluntary student unionism (VSU) by the Howard government led to student union membership plummeting by up to 95%. Following associated reductions in funding for services provided by many student unions, the NUS called for alternative options to be explored to restore funding and ensure students would remain able to access student union services. In a written submission responding to a discussion paper on the impact of VSU, the NUS raised concerns that reliance on direct funding from the federal government or universities would impact the ability of student representatives to effectively advocate for students.

In 2024, the NUS's official policy, set by National Conference in December 2023, was to campaign for a 50% minimum share of Student Services and Amenities Fees (SSAF) for student unions. In May of 2024, it was announced that government would be mandating that student unions receive 40% of SSAF, coming close to meeting the NUS's demands.

Accreditation of universities In 2016, Australian National University Students' Association voted against accrediting with NUS, citing problems with the conduct of factional delegates at the National Conference. The Adelaide University Union (AUU) voted to cease their SRC from authorising payments of Accreditation to NUS in their March Meeting. The AUU's SRC later condemned the move and restated its affiliation, and intention to pay accreditation fees autonomously. The Wollongong Undergraduate Students' Association also held a referendum during 2016 to end their affiliation with the NUS; the affiliation was later restored.

In 2017, the Australian National University Students' Association voted to accredit with NUS once again. Also in 2017, the Tasmanian University Union voted to end its affiliation with the NUS. The Tasmanian University Student Association re-accredited in 2023. The University of Queensland Union also re-accredited to the NUS in 2023.

Governance

NUS' national structure is formalised into both a National Executive and State Branches. The National Executive is the primary decision-making body of the NUS, voted in by delegates from each member student union at the National Conference.

National Executive The responsibilities of the National executive, as described within the NUS constitution, include; setting the budget for the NUS; regularly monitoring of the finances of NUS; employing staff on behalf of NUS; authorising the publication of material on behalf of NUS; and implementing and interpreting the policy of the NUS. The National Executive may also delegate its powers as it considers appropriate. The members of National Executive are: The National President (chair, casting vote only), The National officers (voting), 12 General Executive Members (voting), and The State Presidents (voting).

National Officers of the NUS do not carry a vote at the National Conference of NUS and members of National Executive may not hold more than 1 voting position on National Executive at the same time.

National Officers The National Officers of NUS are elected annually at the National Conference, with their terms commencing in January.

A motion to abolish the National Environment Officer position was passed at the 2016 National Conference. This change came into effect in 2017; however, the role was re-established at the 2025 National Conference.

A motion to create the National Vocational Education Officer position was passed at the 2021 National Conference. This change came into effect at the 2022 National Conference.

The paid national officers of the NUS are:

National President, National General Secretary/National Deputy President, National Education Officer, National Welfare Officer, National Women's Officer (who must be a woman), Two National Queer/LGBTQIA+ Officers (one of whom must be woman-identifying), Paid national officers are paid an hourly wage equal to the Australian Federal minimum wage with the National President and National General Secretary paid 1 full-time equivalent (FTE) wage and other paid officers are paid a minimum of 0.5 FTE. In 2024, the honorarium of the National Education Officer, National Welfare Officer, and National Women's Officer was set at 0.75 FTE by the National Executive of the NUS. In the same meeting, the honorarium for the National Queer Office was set at 1.0 FTE to be split between the two officers.

The unpaid national officers of the NUS are: National Small and Regional Campuses Officer (who must be a student currently enrolled at a small and/or regional NUS member campus), National First Nations Officer (who must identify as a student from an Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander background), National Ethnocultural Officer (who must identify as a student from a culturally or linguistically diverse background), National International Students Officer (who must be currently enrolled as an international student), National Disability Officer (who must identify as a student with a disability), National Vocational Education Officer, National Environment Officer.

State Branches

The state branches of the NUS include; New South Wales, Victoria, South Australia, Tasmania, the Australian Capital Territory, and Western Australia.

The members of State Executive are: The State President (chair), The State Education Vice President, and The President (or equivalent officer) from each accredited campus. +As of 2026, State Executive positions are;NUS 2025 Returning Officer Report. Name PositionBranchLeila ClarkePresidentAustralian Capital TerritoryFlynn GoerlitzEducation Vice-PresidentAustralian Capital TerritoryNeeve NaglePresidentNew South WalesCaitlin VeigelEducation Vice-PresidentNew South WalesGana AhmedPresidentQueenslandMichael UrsinusEducation Vice-PresidentQueenslandYeshaiah VaronaPresidentSouth AustraliaLiam SouthernEducation Vice-PresidentSouth AustraliaJack Oates PryorPresidentTasmaniaMolly DoonEducation Vice-PresidentTasmaniaTharun BalasubramanianPresidentVictoriaJames McVicarEducation Vice-PresidentVictoriaRama SugiarthaPresidentWestern AustraliaBasirutalin Ellaha Hadiya NaeemiEducation Vice-PresidentWestern Australia

State Officers The State Branch Officers of NUS are elected annually at the National Conference, with their terms commencing in January. State and Territories officers are only elected if there are accredited campus from that State/Territory. The State Branch positions other than President and Education Vice President were abolished after the 2015 National Conference, coming into effect at the conclusion of the 2016 term of office.

Departments There are 11 departments of the NUS, each overseen by the relevant National Officer with a limited degree of autonomy. These departments coordinate discussions with the relevant local officers at each university's student union, host specific conferences for their issues, and used to include the state branch officers (until those roles were removed in 2016).

These departments are:

Education Office Welfare Office Women's Office Queer Office Disabilities Office First Nations Office Ethnocultural Office International Students Office Small & Regional Campuses Office Vocational Education/TAFE Office Environment Office

National Conference National Conference (also referred to as NatCon), is the NUS's annual general meeting (AGM). The NUS must hold National Conference within 5 months of the end of its financial year, with the conference beginning on the second Monday in December. The conference sees delegates from all accredited campuses gather to vote on policy that decides the direction of the union for the next year. The election of national and state officers, as well as campus representatives, occurs during the week of National Conference. Member organisations and associate organisations are able to appoint observers to National Conference.

NatCon has at times been criticised for the perceived lack of transparency, owing in part to the fact that filming is typically banned for the entirety of the conference. Proponents of the ban on filming have argued that this ban is to protect the privacy of attendees and enable them to engage more freely in debate, not to prevent transparency.

Factions Historically, the NUS has been dominated by members of Young Labor, with every President being a member since the creation of the NUS in 1987.

Many NUS delegates are members of a faction, which are groups of students operating with a shared political platform. Some delegates alternatively choose to be independent from any factions and these students are typically referred to as small-i independents. Typically, each faction has a pre-conference caucus where they decide their positions on policy.

The main factions are

Student Unity (Unity): typically associated with Labor Right and typically the faction with the highest number of delegates. This faction is known to bind votes. As a result of a long-standing sweetheart deal with NLS, the National General Secretary has been a member of Unity every year except one. National Labor Students (NLS) typically associated with Labor Left . This faction is known to bind votes. As a result of the aforementioned sweetheart deal with Unity, the National President has been a member of NLS every year since the formation of the NUS. Since 2024, NLS lost their WA and QLD branches as well as majority of their NSW branch. Socialist Alternative (SAlt, SA, Trots): are a Marxist faction that have recently held the second largest count of delegates. This faction is known to bind votes. Australian Liberal Students' Federation (Liberals, Libs): typically associated with the Liberal party. Generally, Liberal-controlled universities disaffiliate from the NUS, leading to them generally having little power. In 2017, they gave their votes to Unity. Grassroots Independents (Grindies): typically associated with the Greens. This party is not known to bind votes. Forge: Following the a 2024 National Labor Students split, the Western Australia caucus of NLS left the faction, shortly followed by the Queensland caucus of NLS. Members of the Queensland and part of the WA NLS caucus shortly reformed as a faction known as Forge. New South Wales Labor Students (NSWLS): On 16 February 2025, 11 NSW members of NLS were purged due to direct breach of the national constitution. These members, alongside those sympathetic to the purged, reconstituted themselves as NSWLS the following day. The remaining NSW members that did not join NSWLS remain in NLS.