The Students' Representative Council (SRC) is the representative body for undergraduate students at the University of Sydney. In addition to a student-elected council and student advocacy portfolios, the SRC coordinates a free legal service and caseworker service for all undergraduate students at the University of Sydney. These services provide legal, academic appeal, migration, tenancy and study advice to students.

The SRC has a reputation as Australia's most radical student union, and has been instrumental in leading student activism on a range of issues including education, feminist justice, environmentalism, First Nations justice and queer rights. The longest-running weekly student newspaper in Australia, Honi Soit, is funded by the SRC.

Governance Council The SRC is governed by the council, which currently consists of 39 representatives elected annually by undergraduate students. One representative is elected for every 1000 undergraduate students at the university. The council meets once a month. Motions can be presented by any student (within or without the council), and are debated on for political merit. Motions usually contain action points that can compel the SRC to commit to student issues, and advocate for student interest concerns.

Executive The executive of the SRC is elected annually by the council (bar the president), and consists of the President, Vice-president, General secretary, and five general members, elected proportionally out of council. Meeting fortnightly, the executive makes most significant decisions regarding the SRC.

The day-to-day operation of the SRC is generally conducted by paid staff and paid office-bearers, being the President (directly elected by students), the Vice-President, the General Secretary, the Education Officer(s), and Women's Officer(s). Elections Annual elections are held in September each year, to elect the council, the president, 7 NUS delegates, and the editors of Honi Soit, the student newspaper. Unlike most student organisations, other office-bearers are elected by the council, and not directly by students. All undergraduate students have a right to vote in annual elections.

Approximately 4500 students vote each year.P. Graham, SRC Electoral Officer 2013

History In 1888 the establishment of the Sydney University Undergraduate Association marked the first sign of organised student government on the campus of Sydney University. The Women's Undergraduate Association was formed in 1899 and separate organisations for male and female evening students were to form some years later. In 1929 the four associations agreed to rationalize the governing of the student body, and the Students' Representative Council was established to represent all undergraduates. The first president of the S.R.C. was J. M. Gosper. The 1930/31 Annual Report acknowledges that it is 'largely to the enthusiasm and organising abilities of J. M. Gosper that the council owes its origins.

Student government was initially concerned primarily with gaining a student voice within the official University hierarchy, and promoting student interests within the university environment. However, student leaders soon became aware of their influence within the wider community, and the scope of student politics extended to include issues of broader social and political significance. At various times student activism has been of considerable importance in moulding public opinion in Australia on issues as diverse as apartheid, the death penalty, censorship, conscription and tertiary fees.

Honi Soit is the SRC's official journal and was first published in 1929. Its longevity is perhaps unintended, as the SRC's Annual Report expressed 'doubt as to whether any useful purpose could be served by the continuation of Honi Soit''' and the publication was maintained the following year on an 'experimental basis.'

Presidents Prominent former Presidents of the Sydney SRC include a Prime Minister of Australia, Cabinet Ministers, and Members of Parliaments, State and Federal, Justices of the High Court of Australia and the Supreme Court, including a Chief Justice of New South Wales and a Court of Appeal President. Presidents of the SRC have also regularly proceeded to become Presidents of the National Union of Students. No. Portrait President Factional grouping Term start Term end 1 J.M. Gosper Independent 1929 1930 2 Frank Wood Bayldon Independent 1930 1931 3 V.J. Flynn Independent 1931 1932 4 C.R. Laverty Independent 1932 1933 5 J. Bowie-Wilson Independent 1933 1934 6 D.R. Lewis Independent 1934 1935 7 G.P. Campbell Independent 1935 1936 8 Kevin Ellis Independent 1936 1937 9 P.J. Kenny Independent 1937 1938 10 W. Granger Independent 1938 1939 11 J.H.E. Mackay Independent 1939 1940 12 J.S. Collings Independent 1940 1941 13 P.P. Manzie Independent 1941 1942 14 Moya McDade Independent 1942 1943 15 Keith Dan Independent 1943 1944 16 Marnie Watt Independent 1944 1945 17 John Nash Independent 1945 1946 18 John Redrup Independent 1946 1947 19 Ted McWhinney Independent 1947 1948 20 Alan Beattie Independent 1948 1949 21 Jim Brassil Independent 1949 1950 22 Peter J. Curtis Independent 1950 1951 23 Phillip Jeffrey Independent 1951 1952 24 Gregory Bartels Independent 1952 1953 25 Philip Berthon-Jones Independent 1953 1954 26 Greg Dunne Independent 1954 1955 27 Tony Reading Independent 1955 1956 28 Jim Carlton Independent 1956 1957 29 Malcolm Broun Independent 1957 1957 30 Brian L. Hennessy Independent 1958 1959 31 Martin G. Davey Independent 1958 1959 32 Robert J. Wallace Independent 1959 1960 33 Peter Wilenski Independent 1960 1961 34 John Boyd Independent 1961 1962 35 Michael Kirby Independent 1962 1963 36 Bob McDonald Independent 1963 1964 37 Michael A. Weber Independent 1964 1965 38 J. Richard Walsh Independent 1965 1966 39 Geoffrey Robertson Independent 1966 1967 40 Alan Cameron Independent 1967 1968 41 James Spigelman Independent 1968 1969 42 Percy Allan Independent 1969 1970 43 Barry Robinson Independent 1970 1971 44 Chris Beale Independent 1971 1972 45 Chris Sidoti Independent 1972 1973 46 Brett Mattes Independent 1973 1974 47 John McGrath Independent 1974 1975 48 David Patch Independent 1975 1976 49 Peter Byrnes Independent 1976 1977 50 Barbara Ramjan Independent 1977 1978 51 Tony Abbott Democratic Labor 1978 1979 52 Paul Brereton Centre Unity 1979 1980 53 Paul Rickard Centre Unity 1980 1981 54 John Martin Centre Unity 1981 1982 55 Belinda Neal Centre Unity 1983 1984 56 Mark Heyward Liberal 1984 1985 57 Helen Spowart Council of ALP Students 1985 1986 58 Joe Hockey Liberal 1986 1987 59 Liz Gardiner Left Alliance 1987 1988 60 Rod McDonald Left Alliance 1988 1989 61 Vanessa Chan Left Alliance 1989 1990 62 Caitlin Vaughan Left Alliance 1990 1991 63 Amanda Lees Left Alliance 1991 1992 66 Anna Davis Left Alliance 1992 1993 67 Heidi Norman Left Alliance 1993 1994 68 Nadya Haddad Left Alliance 1994 1995 69 Catherine Burnheim Left Alliance 1995 1996 70 Katrina Curry Left Alliance 1996 1997 71 Adair Durie Students First 1997 10 March 1998 72 Luke Whitington Socialist Left 1998 1999 73 Natasha Verco National Broad Left / Activist Left 1999 2000 74 Moksha Watts Socialist Left 2000 2001 75 Daniel Kyriacou Socialist Left 2001 2002 76 Jo Haylen Socialist Left 2002 2003 77 Felix Eldridge Socialist Left 2003 2004 78 Rose Jackson Socialist Left 2004 2005 79 Nick Wood Socialist Left 2005 2006 National Labor Students 2006 2006 80 Angus McFarland National Labor Students 2006 2007 81 Kate Laing National Labor Students 2007 2008 82 Noah White National Labor Students 2008 2009 83 Elly Howse National Labor Students 2009 2010 84 Donherra (Dee) Walmsley National Labor Students 2010 2011 85 Phoebe Drake National Labor Students 2011 2012 86 David Pink National Labor Students 2012 20 March 2013 Sydney Labor Students 20 March 2013 2013 87 Jennifer Light Centre Unity 2013 2014 88 Kyol Blakeney Grassroots Left 2014 2015 89 Chloe Smith National Labor Students 2015 2016 90 Isabella Brook National Labor Students 2016 2017 91 Imogen Grant Grassroots Left 2017 2018 92 Jacky He Panda 2018 2019 93 Liam Donohoe Grassroots Left 2019 2020 94 Swapnik Sanagavarapu Grassroots Left 2020 2021 95 Lauren Lancaster Grassroots Left 2021 2022 96 Lia Perkins Grassroots Left 2022 2023 97 Harrison Brennan Grassroots Left 2023 2024 98 Angus Fisher National Labor Students (until 17 February 2025) 2024 2025 NSW Labor Students (from 17 February 2025) 99 Grace Street Grassroots Left 2025 2026

Politics From the mid-1960s the SRC has been at the centre of student activism in Australia. Most activist groupings in the National Union of Students have a presence at Sydney University, such as National Labor Students (Labor Left), Socialist Alternative, Student Unity (Labor Right), the Australian Greens, Grassroots Left and the Liberals.

Since 2000 the SRC has been heavily influenced by what is now National Labor Students (formerly the National Organisation of Labor Students), the student arm of Labor's Socialist Left. Prior to that, from the late 1980s until 1997, the SRC was controlled by the Left Alliance, a former NUS faction made up of a coalition of students to the left of Labor such as Socialists, the Australian Greens, anarchists, queer activists, and environmentalists. Labor Party affiliated factions dominated the SRC presidency from 1998 to 2014. In recent years Labor's hold on power was challenged by independent/non affiliated alliances, internal conflicts within established Labor factions and the emergence of the Grassroots Left. Grassroots Left quickly developed into a national NUS faction with a presence on several campuses. A member of Grassroots, Kyol Blakeney, was elected the second Indigenous president of the university's SRC in 2014. However, in 2015 and 2016, Labor Left faction National Labor Students re-secured the SRC Presidency, in cooperation with Grassroots in 2015 and in cooperation with moderate Liberals in 2016, who supported Edward McCann for the Vice-Presidency of the SRC. However, following the election this coalition collapsed, with a broad left grouping of Labor left, Socialist Alternative, independents and Grassroots elected to all remaining positions. In 2017, Grassroots returned to the presidency, electing Imogen Grant as the 90th President of the SRC. In 2018, an independent party of international students labelled the Panda Warriors won the presidency, electing Jacky He as the 91st President of the SRC. He is the first President to have been elected on primarily the votes of international students within the university. In 2019, Liam Donohoe won the Presidency, returning the SRC to a Grassroots president. In 2020, Swapnik Sanagavarapu was elected to the SRC Presidency unopposed, leading to a back-to-back Grassroots victory.Results of SRC President and Honi Soit Elections Provisionally Declared Pulp. 27th August, 2020. In 2021, Lauren Lancaster retained the Grassroots hold on the presidency in the largest election in USyd's history. Lia Perkins (Grassroots) was elected unopposed to the Presidency for 2023 and Harrison Brennan (Grassroots) secured the 5th consecutive year of Grassroots presidencies when he was elected as the 96th SRC president over National Labor Students' candidate Rose Donnelly.https://honisoit.com/2023/09/harrison-brennan-announced-as-96th-src-president/

Angus Fisher (National Labor Students) broke the Grassroots incumbency in 2024, winning the primary vote and ending five years of Grassroots presidencies. The Left bloc (Grassroots, Socialist Alternative, and Solidarity) lost its majority on the council in the same year as the Liberal vote share soared, with Penta holding the balance of power. With the Left bloc supporting Bohao Zhang (Penta) for Vice-Presidency of the SRC, Penta realigned itself and joined the Left bloc to obstruct other factions from executive positions.

Election results 2025