°µÍø½ûÇø

About

About the Student Advisory Council

The Student Advisory Council (SAC) brings together UOW's student leaders as a formal advisory body to the Vice-Chancellor, and proactively engage with staff and students to positively impact decision making and the student experience.

The Student Advisory Council will:

  1. Advise, consult and make recommendations to the University on matters affecting the academic and social wellbeing of students, including:
    • The effectiveness and comprehensiveness of student service delivery:
    • Teaching and learning matters of concern to students;
    • Policies and procedures affecting students;
    • Campus life and activities; and
    • The potential uses of SSAF funds that align with the student lifecycle and priority support categories as permitted under the legislation.

  2. Provide an occasion for student representatives to be proactive and engage with one another to formulate common and group-specific student issues for presentation to the University.

  3. Provide an occasion for University representatives to respond to issues raised by student representatives or issues requiring student consultation.

Structure and membership

Student Advisory Council Position Duration of term Description Election details

Academic Senate

Undergraduate, Postgraduate, Onshore International Representatives 

 2 years Academic Senate is a peak body for advising University Council. Student positions currently filled until 31 Dec 2026.

Academic Senate Committees

Collaborative Delivery Oversight Committee (2)

Course Quality Committee (2)

Research & Graduate Research Committee (3)

Teaching & Learning Committee (4)

 2 years Academic Senate is a peak body for advising University Council. Student positions currently filled until 1 July 2028.
Campus Representatives (8 positions) 1 year Campus representatives promote the interests of campus students to the University and seek to improve the experience and facilities at the campus whilst a member of the SAC.

 Student positions filled until Dec 2026

Faculty of Arts, Society and Business

Undergraduate, Postgraduate and Onshore International Representatives 

 2 years Faculty representatives participate in faculty governance and represent and promote the interests of their respective faculty students whilst a member of the SAC. Student positions currently filled until Dec. 2027

Faculty of Engineering and Information Sciences

Undergraduate, Postgraduate and Onshore International Representatives 

 2 years Faculty representatives participate in faculty governance and represent and promote the interests of their respective faculty students whilst a member of the SAC. Student positions currently filled until Dec. 2027

Faculty of Science, Medicine and Health

Undergraduate, Postgraduate and Onshore International Representatives

 2 years Faculty representatives participate in faculty governance and represent and promote the interests of their respective faculty students whilst a member of the SAC. Student positions currently filled until Dec. 2027

University Council

Undergraduate and Postgraduate Representatives

 2 years University Council is the governing authority of the University. Student positions currently filled until 31 Dec 2027.
WUPA President or standing nominee 1 year The student body elects WUPA representatives. Student position filled until 31 Dec 2026.
WUSA President or standing nominee 1 year The student body elects WUSA representatives. Student position filled until 30 Nov 2026.
Clubs & Societies (2 positions) 2 years

Student Representatives must be a current registered member of a UOW Pulse club or Society to represent the issues and concerns of students registered with a club or society whilst a member of the SAC.

Student positions filled until 31 Dec 2027.
LGBTQIA+ Representative 2 years The student representative must identify as a member of the LGBTQIA+ community.  The representative seeks feedback from LGBTQIA+ community on campus and represents the issues and concerns whilst a member of the SAC.

Position currently filled until 31 December 2027.
Mature Age Representative 2 years The student representative must not have been a current Year 12 school leaver when applying for admission to UOW. The Mature Age representative represents the issues and concerns of mature age students on campus whilst a member of the SAC.

Student positions currently filled until Dec 2027.
Persons with Disabilities 2 years The student representative will be registered with Student Accessibility (SA - formerly Disability Services) and have either a disability or health condition or be a carer for a person with a disability or medical condition. The representative will seek and present issues whilst a member of the SAC.

Position currently filled until 31 December 2027.
UOW Pulse - Student Director 2 years The UOW Pulse student representative will report on matters and initiatives relating to UOW Pulse and the student experience whilst a member of the SAC.

Student positions filled until 31 Dec 2027.
Woolyungah Student Representative 1 year The student representative from the Woolyungah Indigenous Centre (WIC) seeks feedback from Indigenous students and represents issues of concern whilst a member of the SAC. Student positions filled until 31 Dec 2026.
University Residences 2 years The Student Residence representative is elected from a group of student residence leaders and represents issues of concern for student living in UOW residences whilst a member of the SAC. Position currently filled until 31 December 2027.
Women's Representative 2 years The student representative must be, or identify as a female and represents the issues of concern and concerns of women on campus whilst a member of the SAC.

Position currently filled until 31 December 2027.

 

 

Subcommittees and Working Party 

The SAC has three Subcommittees and a Working Party that are composed of SAC representatives, students and staff. The Groups are responsible for different dimensions of the Student Advisory Council and include: 

  • The SAC Student Services and Amenities Fee (SSAF) Subcommittee
    Responsible for prioritisation of the allocation of the student services and amenities fee.
  • The Students as Partners Subcommittee
    Responsible for providing advice and consultation on the development of the Student as Partners framework and toolkit at the University of °µÍø½ûÇø. 
  • The SAC Regional and Metro Campus Subcommittee
    Responsible for consultation on matters relating to student experience, campus culture, and issues affecting students at campuses other than °µÍø½ûÇø. 
  • The Activation Working Group
    Responsible for delivering social events and activities for students and student representatives to raise the visibility of the SAC.  

If you would like more information on the work of these subcommittees you can contact your SAC representative.

Meetings

The Student Advisory Council holds up to 6 formal meetings per year. In these meetings, various areas of the University consult with SAC representatives on initiatives and programs they are implementing. This is also an occasion for student feedback to be discussed and escalated to the relevant University stakeholder. In attendance at each of these meetings are the elected and appointed SAC representatives, the Director, Division of Student Life, and University staff seeking consultation on items.

The SAC also meets 2 times a year with the University Senior Executive known as “Executive Yarns”. This is an occasion for student feedback and ideas to be escalated directly to the Vice-Chancellor, Deputy Vice-Chancellors, Executive Deans, and senior professional and academic staff.

The SAC also host a range of events and activities and have a presence at existing campus life activities, the schedule of these events is available below.

If you have an item of feedback you would wish to raise at these meetings, please get in touch with the SAC and discuss with the relevant student representative.

SAC meetings 2026

  • Meeting 1: Thursday 12 March, Week 2
    Date for returning proposed agenda items per meeting: COB Weds Mar 4

  • Meeting 2: Thursday 9 April, Week 6
    Date for returning proposed agenda items per meeting: COB Fri 27 Mar

  • Meeting 3: Thursday 21 May, Week 11
    Date for returning proposed agenda items per meeting: COB Fri 8 May

  • Meeting 4: Thursday 6 August, Week 2
    Date for returning proposed agenda items per meeting: COB Fri 24 July

  • Meeting 5: Wednesday 9 September, Week 7
    Date for returning proposed agenda items per meeting: COB Fri 28 August

  • Meeting 6: Thursday 15 October, Week 11
    Date for returning proposed agenda items per meeting: COB Fri 2 October

Please email uow-sac@uow.edu.au if you'd like to discuss proposing an agenda item.

2026

2025

2024

2023

2022

2021

2020

2019

2018

2026 highlights and focus areas

Student leadership and governance 

The SAC elected a new Chair and Deputy Chair, appointed members to subcommittees and working parties, and endorsed updated governance documents to strengthen student representation and decision-making.

Regional and Sydney campus engagement

The SAC established a Regional and Metro Subcommittee to strengthen representation across campuses and identify priorities relating to student engagement, communication, support services, and SSAF delivery at campuses other than °µÍø½ûÇø.

Artificial Intelligence and education

SAC representatives contributed student perspectives to UOW's RenAIssance project, providing feedback on AI in learning and teaching, assessment, academic integrity, privacy, accessibility, and ethical use of emerging technologies.

Gender-based violence prevention

The SAC partnered with the Gender-Based Violence Team to provide feedback on UOW's GBV Action Plan, trial student training initiatives, and support consultation activities aimed at improving safety, awareness, and support.

Advocacy on cost of living and student support

Representatives raised concerns regarding transport costs, placement-related expenses, affordability pressures, and access to essential services, ensuring these issues were escalated to relevant University stakeholders.

Student representation in university governance

The SAC contributed to Academic Senate governance reforms, supporting increased student representation on academic committees.

Student Services and Amenities Fee (SSAF)

The SSAF Subcommittee reviewed and updated its governance framework and supported delivery of the 2026 SSAF Student Survey, which attracted more than 2,600 student responses to help inform future funding priorities.

Student experience and campus improvements

Representatives provided feedback on transport, timetabling, accessibility, library services, student engagement, wellbeing, residential life, and future campus developments, including plans for the Liverpool Civic Place expansion.

Student consultation and representation

Examples of consultation and advocacy undertakes by the SAC in 2026 to date include:

  • UOW RenAIssance
  • Gender-Based Violence Action Plan
  • Academic Senate and academic governance reform
  • Student Services and Amenities Fee (SSAF) governance and survey
  • cost of living and student financial pressures
  • placement accessibility and transport challenges
  • timetabling and course delivery
  • student wellbeing, safety and support services
  • Liverpool Civic Place Stage 2 Development
I love being the voice for the students. Bongani SAC REPRESENTATIVE

Get in touch

Connecting with you is what the SAC is all about, and they really want to hear from you! You can share your ideas, concerns or feedback in a few different ways.

How to contact the SAC Student Success Hub