Editor’s Note: While Victor Zhang is not ordinarily involved in any coverage relating to the USU, as he is an employee of the organisation, the editorial team has made an exception for matters relating to the 2025 USU Election given the intensive labour and time requirements demanded by student election coverage.
Twice a year Eastern Avenue and the Redfern Run are flooded with a sea of campaigners clad in their brightly coloured shirts. In semester one, these campaigners will try to convince you why you should elect themselves or their friend to the University of Sydney Union (USU) Board.
What is the USU?
The USU is one of four student representative organisations on campus — the other three being the Students’ Representatives Council (SRC), the Sydney University Postgraduate Representative Association (SUPRA), and Sydney University Sport and Fitness (SUSF).
The USU primarily engages in service provision, governing and funding clubs and societies (C&S), operating most food and beverage outlets (F&B) on campus (such as Courtyard, Manning, Fisher Coffee Cart, etc.), operating retail and graduation stores, managing Welcome Week, and operating the free food pantry service FoodHub. The USU comprises roughly 50,000 members, primarily drawing from undergraduate and postgraduate students. The SRC and SUPRA seek to be the peak representative body for undergraduates and postgraduate students respectively, providing a vehicle for activism and advocacy, and providing free and independent casework and legal services for students.
The USU Board
The USU Board is the governing body of the USU charged with oversight over the performance, and the strategic and financial direction of the union. The Board is also responsible for hiring (and firing) and monitoring the performance of a Chief Executive Officer (CEO) who the Board delegates the implementation of their decided policy to.
14 members sit on the Board: 11 of them elected by the membership of the USU, two university senate appointees (SADs) who the student body have no say in, and the immediate past president in a non-voting capacity. The 11 elected candidates Board serve two year terms.
The current executives on the Board are President Bryson Constable (Liberal), Vice-President Ben Hines (Independent), Honorary Secretary Julia Lim (Independent), and Honorary Treasurer James Dwyer (Unity/Labor Right). A new executive will be voted on following the close of elections.
Your SSAF At Work
Of the $23 million collected by the university in Student Services and Amenities Fees (SSAF) the USU receives the lion’s share with the USU being allocated $8.3 million this year. The USU’s revenue in 2023 amounted to $30 million. In addition to receiving SSAF, the USU generates revenue from the operation of F&B, retail outlets, and rent from USU buildings, namely Holme, Manning, and Wentworth. Comparatively, the SRC received $3.2 million in SSAF this year and generates little other revenue.
Successful candidates will have a guiding influence over the strategic direction of the USU, and in turn, how campus life will look like for all students. Candidates this year are campaigning on food affordability amidst a cost-of-living crisis, increased student safety, promoting the outreach of the USU especially towards international students, and relaxing “red tape” on C&S (this last policy Honi found that most candidates were not in fact able to fully articulate their vision on and reconcile with their vision for increased student safety).
It is important to remember that while candidates may make a multitude of promises, some more ambitious than others, after the election is over on 16th May, it remains on us to keep the elected Directors accountable to not just their promises, but for them to keep the USU itself accountable to the policies they deliberate on.
Voting opens at 9:00am Monday, 12th May and closes at 5:00pm Friday, 16th May. The results are announced shortly after voting closes.
