The Council of Australian Postgraduate Associations (CAPA) is the peak representative body for postgraduate students in

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands. With an area of , Australia is the largest country by ...

. CAPA's members are 33 postgraduate associations and the National Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Postgraduate Association (NATSIPA). CAPA provides member associations with representation to the

Federal government A federation (also known as a federal state) is a political entity characterized by a union of partially self-governing provinces, states, or other regions under a central federal government ( federalism). In a federation, the self-gover ...

, and peak bodies such as the

Australian Research Council The Australian Research Council (ARC) is the primary non-medical research funding agency of the Australian Government, distributing more than in grants each year. The Council was established by the ''Australian Research Council Act 2001'', ...

and Universities Australia, on issues affecting postgraduate students in Australia. In 2017, Australia had over 400,000 postgraduate students, representing one quarter of all tertiary students in Australia. Recognising the dual roles of many postgraduate students, CAPA works in collaboration with the National Union of Students where matters impact on all students (such as

voluntary student unionism Voluntary student unionism (VSU), as it is known in Australia, or voluntary student membership (VSM), as it is known in New Zealand, is a policy under which membership of – and payment of membership fees to – university student organisations i ...

and funding for higher education), and with the

National Tertiary Education Union The National Tertiary Education Union (NTEU) is an Australian trade union for all higher education and university employees. It is an industry union, and the only union working exclusively in the Australian university sector. Overview NTEU ...

regarding issues of employment in the tertiary education sector, particularly on the casualisation of the academic workforce. CAPA has an office located at the NTEU National office in

Melbourne, Victoria 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 met ...

. Its Annual Council Meeting (ACM), where organisational issues and policy directives are decided, is hosted by a different constituent organisation each year.

History

CAPA was founded in 1979 by a coalition of ten postgraduate organisations in order to protest taxation on postgraduate research scholarships. Historically, CAPA has been concerned with lobbying around fees on postgraduate degrees. In 1998, a separate organisation, the National Indigenous Postgraduate Association (NIPA) was formed within CAPA. This association became the National Indigenous Postgraduate Association Aboriginal Corporation (NIPAAC) in 1999, and was later restructured as the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Postgraduate Association (NATSIPA) in 2015.

Structure

CAPA consists of elected representatives on three committees: the governing Executive Committee, the Equity committee, and the Engagement Committee. The NATSIPA Liaison Officer sits on all committees. Each committee meets on a monthly basis. New committee members are elected at the Annual Council Meeting, which is held in November. 2021 National representative committee National President- Errol Phuah Vice President- Adam Scorgie (resigned in May 2021) General Secretary- Saira Khan NATSIPA Liaison Officer- Kya Branch Media Officer- Anushka Kapoor Policy and Research Advisor- Eve Walker (resigned in May 2021) International Officer- Vineet Prabhakar Women's Officer- Catherine Allingham Queer Officer- Disabilities Officer- Carmelina Monea (resigned in March 2021) 2021 Board of directors Chair of the Board- Peter Watson (superseded by Nidzam Hussain) Secretary of the board- Nidzam Hussain (superseded by Brinda Asarpota) Member of the board- Maimuna Majimbi (resigned June 2021) Member of the board- Jeremy Waite (resigned November 2021) Member of the board- Simran Kaur Member of the board- Brinda Asarpota Member of the board- Jessica Lu (resigned November 2021) NATSIPA Board Representative- Kylie Day

Past office bearers

National presidents

Vice presidents

General Secretary

Treasurer

Executive and Research Officer - Policy and Research Officer

Media & Communications Officer

References

External links

CAPA websiteNational Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Postgraduates Association
{{NUS Education in Australia Students' unions in Australia National postgraduate representative bodies Student politics in Australia Groups of students' unions