WUSA is the UOW Student Union and as such works to fight for student interests on campus and in the broader community, keeping both the University administration and Australian governments accountable when it comes to issues affecting students. WUSA also provides advocacy and welfare services for students on campus. As of 2017, the UOW Allsorts Queer Collective is the only collective in existence and they are run independently of WUSA. WUSA was affiliated to the National Union of Students and has participated in national campaigns including the fight against upfront course fees, Voluntary Student Unionism, and the struggle to reinstate free Higher Education in Australia. WUSA has also called upon the national body and other student organisations to support its local causes in the past. The sister student organisation for WUSA is the Newcastle University Students' Association. In 2016, WUSA held a referendum to end affiliation with the National Union of Students. The campaign to disaffiliate, led by a group called WEXIT 2016, saw the motion passed. However, only 27 votes were cast in total causing significant controversy. In the years since WUSA has actively participated in a number of campaigns, including leading the opposition to the controversial degree in Western Civilization.
Current Council Members
President- Alexander Hall General Secretary- Imogen Draisma Treasurer- Joel McKay Education Officer and Assistant Secretary- Robin Pearson Disabilities Officer- Liam Delfs Tertangala Coordinator- Kal Slater Welfare Coordinator- Madison Lord Women's Representative- Frances Kerkham Environment Representative- Darcy Turner Ethno-Cultural Representative- Sara Alamoos International Students Representative- Farjad Hussain General Representatives - Jasmine Duff, Mitchell Crighton, Ben Regan, Joshua Bell, Kyle Douglas Key: Unity= Student Unity; student wing of Labor Unity, NLS= National Labor Students; student wing of the Labor Left, SALT= Socialist Alternative, Lib= Liberal Students; student wing of the Liberal Party, Ind= Independent
Presidents
1994 - Peter Knox 1995 - Jo Kowalczyk 1996 - Laura Wilson 1997 - Carol Berry 1998 - Erin Cahill 1999 - Kane Gleeson 2000 - Nadine Torney 2001 - John Finlayson 2002 - Amanda Craig 2003 - Michael Szafraniec 2004 - Michael Szafraniec /Ben Jones 2005 - Ben Coughlin 2006 - Jess Moore 2007 - Elizabeth Larbalestier 2010 - Chris Monnox 2011 - Eloise Young 2012 - Peter Hughes 2013 - Samantha Dixon 2014 - Mitchell Bresser 2015 - Peter Munford 2016 - Samuel Tedeschi 2017 - Jasper Brewer 2018 - Tim Piert, Mia Watson 2019 - Chloe Rafferty, Madison Lord 2020 - Alexander Hall
