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SUPRA Council elections

SUPRA is your elected student council and should represent the interests of all postgrad students – including you!

The council is elected each year by postgrad students at Usyd.

If you’re interested in joining SUPRA Council, nominating someone else, or you’d just like to learn more about how our elections work, this information will help you out.

Find out more about SUPRA Council.

Joining SUPRA Council

There are 3 ways to join SUPRA Council:

• nominate in the General Election
• nominate in an equity officer election
• fill a casual council vacancy.

The General Election and equity officer elections are held each year between March and May, while casual vacancies are filled throughout the year as they arise.

The General Election

The General Election is the main election to elect 31 general councillors. Any postgraduate student at the University of Sydney who is a SUPRA member can run for election, as long as they haven’t already completed their degree requirements.

The elected council begins their term on 1 July and continues until 30 June the following year, or until they resign from council.

SUPRA Council has several reserved positions to ensure diversity on council, and a candidate can identify themselves to be in more than 1 category. The reserved positions are:

• 12 women students
• 6 international students
• 6 Higher Degree by Research students
• 6 coursework students
• 3 non-cisgendered students
• 3 students studying at a satellite campus
• 1 student who is a carer.

The General Election is organised and run by an independent Returning Officer, who is not an employee or representative of SUPRA. The Returning Officer ensures that the election runs according to the regulations, and  is free, fair and without bias. The Returning Officer counts the votes and announces the winners of the election.

During the election period you can contact the Returning Officer: returning.officer@supra.usyd.edu.au.

Nominating in a General Election

When the election is called you will be able access an online nomination form. You will also need 2 other currently enrolled SUPRA members to nominate you (also known as ‘seconding’ your nomination). Your nominators have their own forms to fill in.

You can run for election on your own, or as part of a group – known as a ‘ticket’. Each candidate in a ticket still needs to be individually nominated and elected. If you’re part of a ticket, someone from your group needs to fill out a Ticket Registration Form.

Read the SUPRA Electoral Regulations for full election rules and details.

Finding out about General Elections [H4]

We keep our website updated with all election information and notices during the election period. We also publish all election news and announcements in our weekly newsletter, Grad Post.

We announce when nominations open, and keep you notified of all stages of the election, including when you can vote and who the winners are. Become a member to receive Grad Post. You can also follow us on social media for election updates: Facebook and Instagram.

Equity officer elections

There are 6 SUPRA equity networks, which support and advocate for the specific needs of those groups. Find out about our equity networks.

The networks are:

• Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Network
• Disability and Inclusion Network
• International Students’ Network
• Queer Network
• Satellite Campus Network
• Women’s Network.

Each of these networks independently elects a network member to become the equity officer for the network and hold a position on SUPRA Council. The equity officer elections are held in April.

To participate in an equity election you need to be a SUPRA member and part of that equity cohort. For example, to participate in the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Officer election (whether running for election or voting) you must be an Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander postgrad student at Usyd.

If an equity officer leaves their position during their term, a by-election is held outside the normal election period to fill the position.

No single person may hold more than one equity office, or an equity office and a general councillor position at the same time. It is allowable to nominate for both a general councillor and an equity officer position, but successful equity officers will be removed from the list of nominees for the General Election.

While these elections are usually run independently by their networks, SUPRA can facilitate an equity officer election when necessary.

Finding out about equity officer elections

All equity network election notices and news are published on our website and in our weekly newsletter, Grad Post.

Individual equity networks also advertise elections independently within the networks. Contact your equity network.

Casual council vacancies

Casual vacancies on SUPRA Council can become available when councillors resign. When a position on council becomes available, SUPRA will announce it in our Grad Post newsletter, on our website, and on social media. Any SUPRA member can nominate to fill a casual vacancy.

Find out more about casual council vacancies

Office bearers

After the General Election, the elected councillors meet in June to elect a number of councillors to roles within the council. These roles are called offices, and have specific duties regarding the governance and management of the association. Find out more about SUPRA Council and governance.

SUPRA Council Executive:

• President
• Vice President
• Education Officer
• Treasurer
• Secretary
• HDR Officer.

Other office bearers

• Director of Student Publications
• Community Engagement Officer.

The President may not hold any other office while they are President. No person may simultaneously hold more than one of the executive positions. However, these offices can be held simultaneously with an equity office or any other office created by council.

All of these positions receive a stipend, but also rely on some volunteer time from the person holding the role.

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Last updated October 2024.