The University of Queensland Union (UQ Union) is a student organisation established in 1911 to provide services, support and representation to students of the University of Queensland. The UQ Union oversees approximately $15 million in revenue each financial year.
Student services The UQU operates most of the campus's student eateries, cafes, bookshops in addition to the university bar and cinema. These facilities and services are concentrated at the Union Complex at the St Lucia campus.
The UQU organises the university's orientation week ("O-Week") activities, regular barbecues and free bands, as well as a range of larger events, such as Cultural Fiesta and, as of 2016, the annual Neon Party (previously the Toga Party from 2009–16). Recently the UQU introduced a club funding scheme that supports over 200 clubs and societies, including faculty, ethnic, and a variety of social groups; sporting groups, however, fall under the domain of UQ Sport. The UQU also provides a free legal service to university students. In addition, it also organises the weekly Wednesday markets at the St Lucia campus.
One of the other roles of the UQU is to see that minority groups on campus are adequately supported. To this extent, it provides Queer Spaces and Women's Spaces at St Lucia campus and Gatton campuses, and a Disabilities Collective Space at the St Lucia Campus. UQU has queer, women's, environment, disabilities and Indigenous collectives to represent their respective interests. UQU operates Queer, Women's, Environment, Disabilities, Indigenous, International Student, Postgraduate, and Student Rights departments to work with collectives and students directly on advocacy and wellbeing campaigns.
Clubs and societies The UQU oversees over 220 student run Clubs and Societies, with a combined membership across these clubs of approximately 36,000 students. Clubs fall under one of four broad categories based on where they derive their membership base. These categories include: Faculty/School; International Students; Colleges; and General Interest.
Clubs play a vital role on campus, with the majority of social events at UQ being run by these student groups. Student publications Semper Floreat (Latin: "May it always flourish") is the student newspaper of the University of Queensland. It has been published continuously by the University of Queensland Union (UQU) since 1932, when it began as a fortnightly newsletter of only a few pages, produced by one editor. It was previously published as Queensland University Magazine and Galmahra. The Student Union also published a Songbook for Commemoration celebrations, featuring songs celebrating the Faculties and Professors of the time. The Songbook went by a number of names, including Whack-Ho. By the 1960s songs were omitted from the publication, replaced by articles and cartoons reflecting student culture of the time. Executives Each year, the students of the University of Queensland optionally participate in electing a student executive to the UQ Union, these elections have been occurring since the inception of the union in the 1910s and provide students with a say in who runs the peak student representative body for all campuses. The UQU executive have predominantly been run by groups of students aligned with the major political parties of Australia and their historical predecessors. For much of the Union's history voting was done for individual positions not group tickets, in some years, such as 2003, this resulted in the President being from a Labor Left ticket and the Secretary and Treasurer from a Liberal ticket.
Presidents Year President Union Secretary Treasurer Party 1981 David Barbagallo Fiona McKenna Nigel Pennington Labor Right 1982 Ken Macpherson Fleur Kingham Nigel Pennington Labor Right 1983 Fleur Kingham Danielle Bond Paul Lucas Labor Left/Labor Right 1984 Tony Kynaston Ric Moore Karen Axford Labor Left/Labor Right 1985 Brad Bauman Kate Greenwood Tony Kynaston Liberal/Labor Right 1986 Jillann Farmer Jenny Fox Mark Herbert Labor Right 1987 Andrew Lamb Jorge Jorquera Scott Barclay Independents/Left 1988 Dirk Moses Robyn Finken/ Andrea Napier Mark Bahnisch Labor Right 1989 Victoria Brazil James Jarvis Julian Sheezel National/Liberal 1990 Jane Lye Kirsten Greathead Rebecca Keys Reform/Labor Right 1991 James Gifford John Briggs Donna Sinopoli Liberal 1992 Michael Kleinschmidt Anne-Marie Valentak Marcus Clark Liberal 1993 Sandy Brown Daniel Varghese Martin Bush SEA (Students for Education Action) 1994 Murray Watt Jenny McAllister Mary Thorpe Focus (Labor Left) 1995 Maya Stuart-Fox Timothy Ward Michael Caldwell Labor 1996 Jody Thompson Luke Myers Michael Barry Liberal 1997 Cynthia Kennedy Anna Straton Jamie Dawson Labor Left 1998 Bede Nicholson Katie Connolly David McElrea Labor Left 1999 Matthew Carter Alissa Macoun Benjamin Turnbull Labor Left 2000 Sarah McBratney Matthew Collins Rebecca Lang Labor Left 2001 Juliana Virine Angela Setterlund Adam Kent Labor Left 2002 Christopher Vernon Lisa Chesters Aaron Meadows NLS 2003 Aaron Marsham Antonio Ferreira-Jardim Jemma MacGinley NLS/Liberal 2004 Margot Balch Jonathan Hames Michael Wright Vision (NLS) 2005 Leah Sanderson Jorn Herrmann Alex Main Focus (NLS) 2006 Lucinda Weber Erin Fentiman Christopher Knowles Thrive (NLS) 2007 Julie-Ann Campbell Diana Mackay N/A Voice (NLS) 2008 Josh Young Lisa Colyer Ben Riley Fresh (Liberal) 2009 Brandon Carter Luke Walker Lisa Colyer Fresh (Liberal) 2010 Michael Zivcic Michelle Delport Robert Hilmer Fresh (LNP) 2011 Benjamin Gorrie Brodie Thompson Hannah Bona Fresh (LNP) 2012 Colin Finke Brodie Thompson Linda Cho Fresh (LNP) 2013 Rohan Watt Kieran Shaw Priyanka Luecke Fresh (LNP) 2014 Joshua Millroy Ines Paterson Nathan Johnston Reform (NLS/Labor Right) 2015 Kathryn Cramp Matthew Hales Tom O'Connor Reform (NLS/Labor Right) 2016 Michael Lucas Gabii Starr Nora Abdalla Reform (NLS/Labor Right) 2017 Gabii Starr Finbar Fuller Joshua Roser Reform (NLS/Labor Right) 2018 Jeremy Lwin Kelsie McArthur Samuel Ngugi Focus (Labor Right/LNP) 2019 Georgia Millroy Ethan Van Roo Douglas Nathan Kerr Focus (Labor Right/LNP) 2020 Ethan Van Roo Douglas Rebekah Thornton Tom Landy REAL (LNP) 2021 Emily Scott Ryan Jover Lisa Pham Rebuild (NLS/Labor Right) 2022 Emily Searle Cara Rowe Radhika Peddibhotla Rebuild (NLS/Labor Right)2023Richard Lee Greta Simpson Joshua Marsh Rebuild (NLS/Labor Right) 2024 Angus McRae Alex Smock Tuifa'asisina Tapenaga Reupena Polataivao-Fatialofa II Reform (NLS/Global Mates) 2025 Jaafar Jabur Nomhle Putuka Tuifa'asisina Tapenaga Reupena Polataivao-Fatialofa II Reform (NLS/Global Mates)2026Alyssa Roser Lucy Den Houting / Poppy Kidd Hanirud Velayutham Community (Labor Left/Democrats/Labor Right/Independents)
Vice-Presidents Year VP Student Rights VP Campus Culture VP Gender and Sexuality Party 2009 Robert Hilmer & Aurelia Connelly Matthew Chadwick & Sam Bool Rachel Brimblecombe & Nick Sowden Fresh (Liberal) 2010 Brayden Soo & Rory Broadbridge Alexander Tate & Alisha Musil Laney McLaren & Christopher Balean Fresh (LNP) 2011 Michelle Delport & Isaac Robertson Nelson Martoo & Kiran Srinivasan Natalie Keys & Duncan Stubbs Fresh (LNP) 2012 Bridget Young & Kieran Shaw Abby Nydam & Nathan Flett Ashleigh Ross & Rohan Watt Fresh (LNP) 2013 Elliot Johnson & Harrison Bolt Jonathan Hair & Jared Peut Eloise Shaw & Anthony Deacon Fresh (LNP) 2014 Laura Howden & Richard Lee Stephen Kakoniktis & Natalie Morris Kathryn Cramp & Lotte Scheel Reform (NLS/Labor Right) 2015 Isabel Manfield & Shannon Fogarty Daren Tan & Gabby Menolotto Amy Jelacic & Annie Danks Reform (NLS/Labor Right) 2016 Olivia Amsden & Riley Williamson Ange Ou & Thomas Parer Madeline Price & Emil Cañita Reform (NLS/Labor Right) 2017 Emily Earle & Domenico Sottile Alynna Wong & Prianka Thomas Sabina Rooney & William Triste Reform (NLS/Labor Right)2018 Paul Taylor & Zachariah Schafferius Sangwon 'Jimmy' Jin & Paige Howard Kulkarawa Kukoyi & Nicholas Comino Focus (Labor Right/LNP) 2019 Kaiyin Wu & Isabella Scattini Tom Landy & Rebekah Thornton Amy Sienkiewicz-Grob Focus (Labor Right/LNP) 2020 Gustavo Pazo & Brodie Fennell Lili Wackwitz & Annabel Genest Emily Coggan & Dakota Titmus REAL (LNP) 2021 Josie Vu & Liam Heseltine Benjamin Kozij & Kurt Tucker Emily Searle & Elias Blanch Rebuild (NLS/Labor Right/LNP) 2022 Samara Paradine & Jake Coleman Rheanna Norris & Justin Chen Greta Simpson & Marisha Robinson Rebuild (NLS/Labor Right)2023 Ryley Calvert & Angus McRae TJ Polataivao-Reupena & Shivram Shipankar Erin Blyth & Daniel Chancellor Rebuild (NLS/Labor Right/Global Mates)2024 Jeryn Chang & Jordy Duffey Jaafar Jabur & Sam Lee Skye Taylor & Amrita Kaur Reform (NLS/Global Mates)2025 Lucy Den Houting & Richard Liu Quinn Horton & Samuel Lee Alyssa Roser & Ali Spanevello Reform (NLS/Global Mates)2026 Jonathan Barnes Blackburn & Isabella Young Lachlan Hocking & Mathew Jimmy & Mia Christopher Quinn Botfield / Desh Wilson & Miranda Cahill Community (Labor Left/Democrats/Labor Right/Independents)
Association of Postgraduate Students (APS) In 2011, UQ postgraduate students formed a postgraduate collective within the UQU due to a departmental shuffle at the University; the UQ Association of Postgraduate Students has since rebranded as "UQU Association of Postgraduate Students (APS)". This new Union body has been in regular contact with The Council of Australian Postgraduate Associations (CAPA) and sent a representative to the 2011 CAPA annual conference in Sydney. APS caters to the needs of over 13,000 postgraduate students at the University of Queensland. The Association exists to promote a postgraduate community, promote postgraduate wellbeing and provide a voice for postgraduate students at UQ. All Postgraduate students at UQ are automatically members of the Association.
In 2021, the Union signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the University on a new model to govern and expand the Student Services and Amenities Fee (SSAF) at The University of Queensland; the MOU guarantees a set amount of student money to be provided to APS as a service provider alongside the Union, Student Services and UQ Sports.
In 2023, APS became an incorporated entity and a registered charity under "Association of Postgraduate Students Inc., The University of Queensland".
APS Presidents Year President(s) Party 2014 Amanda Acutt Reform (NLS/Labor Right) 2015 Aleen Kujur Reform (NLS/Labor Right) 2016 Anna Safonova Reform (NLS/Labor Right) 2017 Partha Narayan Mishra & Gustavo Chamusca de Azevedo Reform (NLS/Labor Right) 2018 Elif Kaya Focus (Labor Right/LNP) 2019 Selene Cannelli Focus (Labor Right/LNP) 2020 Christian Rizzalli Student Action 2021 Richard Lee & Betty Lin Rebuild (NLS/Labor Right) 2022 William Triste Global Mates 2023 Saumya Jain & Jeryn Chang Global Mates 2024 Yash Koppula & Richard Lee Global Mates 2025 Aadhya Babu & Hayden Mitt Global Mates 2026 Hayden Mitt & Arnav Jajoo Global Mates
Student Collectives Representing minority, special interest and other community groups on campus, UQU’s collectives serve as advocacy and social organisations for students. The collectives are managed by student elected committees.
Disability Collective