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The UWA Student Guild is the official student representative body at the University of Western Australia, representing the interests of students to the university, government and the wider community, as well as providing services to students. As of 2021, the Guild is affiliated with the National Union of Students, the peak representative body for Australian tertiary students. In 2021, 96% of the 21,265 UWA students were members of the Guild.

Guild Council is the overall governing body of the Guild and consists of voting and non-voting members democratically elected at the annual Guild elections or at department annual general meetings.

Governance

Annual Elections

Student representatives are elected to their positions by students in annual elections held in September. Elections are conducted by the Western Australian Electoral Commission. Elected office bearers take office as of 1 December in the year they are elected.

Guild Executive

The Guild Executive consists of the Guild President, the Guild Vice-president, the Guild General Secretary, and the Chair of Guild Council. Both the Guild Vice-president and the Chair of Guild Council are elected by and from Guild Council at the first meeting for the Guild Year.

Guild Council

The Guild is administered by a council of student representatives elected for one-year terms, beginning on December 1 and ending on the 30th of November in the following year. There are twenty-one voting members of council, and several more non-voting members. Members may hold a voting and a non-voting role concurrently. Unlike some other student unions, there is no financial compensation for student representatives, with the exception of the President and Postgraduate Representative who work at the Guild full-time and part-time respectively during their term.

Members of Guild Council are:

• Guild President: the peak student representative at UWA. The 2024 Guild President is Indi (or India) Creed.
• Vice President: is responsible for assisting the President as a member of the Guild Executive. The 2024 Vice President is James Hodgman.
• Chair of Guild Council (or Chair): is responsible for chairing all meetings of Guild Council as well as presiding over statutes and by-laws of the Guild. The 2024 Chair is Jelena Kovacevic.
• General Secretary (GenSec): sits on several committees, publishes the agendas and minutes for Guild Council, and assists with organising the budget for the Guild. The 2024 General Secretary is Nikhi (or Nikhita) Talluri.
• President of Education Council: chairs Education Council (Ed. Council) which provides a forum for students to have a voice on educational issues. The 2024 Education Council President is Akshata Jois, who was appointed by Guild Council following the resignation of Robert Whitehurst in January.
• President of Public Affairs Council (PAC): is responsible for overseeing the activities of PAC as well as reporting to Guild Council. The 2024 PAC President is Sammie (or Samantha) Smith.
• President of Societies Council (SOC): is responsible for overseeing the activities of SOC as well as reporting to Guild Council. The 2024 SOC President is Max Vinning.
• President of the Postgraduate Students' Association (PSA): oversees the PSA which is the representative body for postgraduate students at UWA. The 2024 PSA President is Christopher-John Daudu who previously served as the 2023 Coursework Vice-president of the PSA.
• President of the International Students' Department (ISD): is responsible for overseeing ISD which represents international students studying at UWA. The 2024 ISD President is Rishav Neog.
• Western Australian Students' Aboriginal Corporation (WASAC) Chair.
• Women's Officer: is responsible for overseeing the Women's Department which represents women and non-binary students on campus. The 2024 Women's Officer is Paige Brandwood.
• 13 Ordinary Guild Councillors (OGC). The 2024 OGCs are:
  • Luke Alderslade.
  • Rachel Yeo.
  • Sanya Singhal.
  • Chloe Lazaroo.
  • Keertikka P Ganesan.
  • Alevine Magila.
  • Shreya Bhardwaj.
  • Archit Menon.
  • Mehardeep Kaur.
  • Aidan Kirby-Smith.
  • James Hodgman.
  • Amira Nunn.
  • Jelena Kovacevic.

Standing Invitees are not members of Guild Council but have the same rights and privileges. Standing invitees are:

• Immediate past Guild President.
• Wellbeing Officer: is responsible for overseeing the activities of the Wellbeing Department which co-ordinates and organises the wellbeing activities. The 2024 Wellbeing Officer is Lauren Kohlen, who was appointed by Guild Council following the resignation of Chloe Dixon-Hotchkin in January.
• Environment Officer: is responsible for overseeing the Environment Department which seeks to promote sustainability for the Guild and University. The 2024 Environment Officer is Anya Kai, who was appointed by Guild Council following the resignation of Claudia Bruce in March.
• Sports Officer: is responsible for overseeing the activities of the Sports Department which seeks to promote active lifestyles for UWA students. The 2024 Sports Officer is Korede Oyemade.
• Residential Students' Department (RSD) President: oversees the activities of RSD which is the peak representative body for students living on-campus. The 2024 RSD President is Anthony Sims.
• Pride Officer: is responsible for overseeing the activities of the Pride Department which aims to raise awareness and create a community for LGBT+ students at the university. The 2024 Pride Co-Officers are Lorenzo Iannuzzi and Alexia Kenny Wood. Wood was appointed by Guild Council following the resignation of Finn Gearon in March.
• Access Officer: is responsible for overseeing the Access Department. The 2024 Access Co-Officers are Olivia Stronach and Lucinda Bartlett. Bartlett was appointed by Guild Council following the resignation of Matthew Harris in March.
• Ethnocultural Officer: is responsible for overseeing the Ethnocultural Department which serves as a representative voice for culturally and linguistically diverse (CaLD) students to Guild Council. The 2024 Ethnocultural Co-Officers are Rama Sugiartha and Parham Bahrami.
• Volunteering Chair.
• Mature Age Students' Association (MASA) Chair.
• Any other Department officers.

Services provided

The Guild runs a number of activities including Orientation Day (O-Day), the Weekly Tav Quiz and welfare events. Guild Departments and Subsidiary Councils run other events, such as Club Carnival run by the Societies Council.

The Guild supports and assists a network of more than 140 affiliated clubs and societies on campus through the Societies Council, catering to a very wide range of interests (religious, theatrical, cultural etc.). The Guild runs the majority of catering outlets on campus, including the Tavern, and a volunteering centre.

The Guild's Student Assist provides one-on-one academic advocacy, financial counselling, a food pantry, and interest-free loans.

Student media

The Publications Committee oversees print publications from student departments. This includes publications such as Pelican, Damsel Magazine (Women's Department), and Lighthouse Magazine (International Students' Department).

Pelican was established in 1930, making it one of the oldest student publications in Australia.

PROSH is a Guild initiative that began in 1931 and is the oldest and most successful single-day charity event in the country run entirely by students. The tradition sees UWA students dress up in costumes and sell the satirical newspaper to raise money for charity.

History

Foundation

The first meeting of Guild Council was held on Friday the 11th of April in 1913 with Sir John Winthrop Hackett serving as the first Guild President. Due to tuition being free at UWA at the time, there were limited resources for social and sporting activities, this resulted in the Guild taking these activities on and charging a membership fee of a half-crown, two shillings and a sixpence.

Cruickshank-Routley Memorial Prize

In 1955, following the deaths of two final year law students - Ian Cruickshank and George Routley - the Cruickshank-Routley Memorial Prize was established by the Guild. In July 1983, an inaugural Cruickshank-Routley Memorial Prize Dinner was held which has now become the annual Guild Ball, held in October. The Cruickshank-Routley Memorial Prize is awarded to the student who has made the greatest contribution to student life at UWA. In 2023, the prize was $500.

'New' Guild Building

In 2021, the UWA Student Guild held a Guild Alumni event to celebrate fifty years since the opening of the New Guild Building. The event was attended by former Guild President, Kim Beazley as well as former Guild Councillor the Hon. Robert French AC.

Controversies

Racism controversy

The 2013 edition of annual charity newspaper Prosh caused significant controversy when a racist article, "dream-time horoscopes" lead to a public relations disaster for the Guild, with the Indigenous Communities Education & Awareness Foundation (ICEA) withdrawing support from the paper. SBS News reported that the horoscopes read "don't get stuck in a rut, shake up your daily routine and grab yourself a block of V-B instead of export". The Guild President at the time, Cameron Barnes, apologised for the article and committing to conducting an independent review of the newspaper's editorial processes.

Missing money

In May 2014, the Guild hired audit and tax firm BDO to investigate financial irregularities in the Guild's 2013 accounts which identified between $800,000 and $900,000 in financial irregularities. Following the investigation, a staff member was dismissed as confirmed by the then Guild President, Tom Henderson. In 2018, a former financial officer of the Guild confessed to stealing more than $500,000 from the organisation. The financial officer was ordered to pay back $560,000 to the Guild's insurer as well as sentenced to four years in jail.

Past Guild Presidents

References

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• Student politics in Australia
• University of Western Australia