University Of Sydney Students' Representative Council
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The Students' Representative Council (SRC) is the representative body for undergraduate students at the
University of Sydney The University of Sydney (USYD) is a public university, public research university in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in both Australia and Oceania. One of Australia's six sandstone universities, it was one of the ...
. 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 ''Honi Soit'' is the student newspaper of the University of Sydney. First published in 1929, the newspaper is produced by an elected editorial team and a select group of reporters sourced from the university's populace. Its name is an abbrev ...
'', 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. 1 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-Presidents, General Secretaries, 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.


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 The prime minister of Australia is the head of government of the Commonwealth of Australia. The prime minister is the chair of the Cabinet of Australia and thus the head of the Australian Government, federal executive government. Under the pr ...
, Cabinet Ministers, and Members of Parliaments, State and Federal, Justices of the
High Court of Australia The High Court of Australia is the apex court of the Australian legal system. It exercises original and appellate jurisdiction on matters specified in the Constitution of Australia and supplementary legislation. The High Court was establi ...
and the Supreme Court, including a
Chief Justice of New South Wales The Chief Justice of New South Wales is the senior judge of the Supreme Court of New South Wales and the highest-ranking judicial officer in the Australian state of New South Wales New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States a ...
and a Court of Appeal President. Presidents of the SRC have also regularly proceeded to become Presidents of the National Union of Students.


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 The Australian Greens, commonly referred to simply as the Greens, are a Left-wing politics, left-wing green party, green Australian List of political parties in Australia, political party. As of 2025, the Greens are the third largest politica ...
, 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 National may refer to: Common uses * Nation or country ** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen Places in the United States * National, Maryland, ce ...
), 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 Labour or labor may refer to: * Childbirth, the delivery of a baby * Labour (human activity), or work ** Manual labour, physical work ** Wage labour, a socioeconomic relationship between a worker and an employer ** Organized labour and the labour ...
such as Socialists, the
Australian Greens The Australian Greens, commonly referred to simply as the Greens, are a Left-wing politics, left-wing green party, green Australian List of political parties in Australia, political party. As of 2025, the Greens are the third largest politica ...
,
anarchists Anarchism is a political philosophy and movement that seeks to abolish all institutions that perpetuate authority, coercion, or hierarchy, primarily targeting the state and capitalism. Anarchism advocates for the replacement of the state w ...
, queer activists, and
environmentalists Environmentalism is a broad philosophy, ideology, and social movement about supporting life, habitats, and surroundings. While environmentalism focuses more on the environmental and nature-related aspects of green ideology and politics, ecologi ...
. 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. 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. 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, Solidarity and aligned Independents) lost its majority on the council in the same year as the Liberal vote share soared, with NLS (Labor Left) holding the balance of power.


Election results


Current composition (2024−2025)


2023


2022


See also

*
University of Sydney Union The University of Sydney Union (USU) is Australia's largest independent student-led member organisation located at University of Sydney in Camperdown, New South Wales, Australia. The current iteration of USU formed in 1972, as an amalgamation ...
*
Sydney University Postgraduate Representative Association The Sydney University Postgraduate Representative Association (SUPRA) is the peak body of elected representatives who campaign on behalf of the Research and Coursework Students at The University of Sydney, alongside the University of Sydney Stu ...
* ''
Honi Soit ''Honi Soit'' is the student newspaper of the University of Sydney. First published in 1929, the newspaper is produced by an elected editorial team and a select group of reporters sourced from the university's populace. Its name is an abbrev ...
''


Notes


References


External links


SRC Website
{{Authority control Students' unions in Australia University of Sydney