These news snippets were published in 2025 Edition 1's '"Uni News" section.
UniMelb Introduces New Campus Protest Policy
Mathilda Stewart
The University of Melbourne has introduced a new policy regarding protest on campus forbidding protest which is indoors, protest which obstructs building exits and protest which ‘disrupts University activities.’
The policy advises students that a failure to comply with this direction may result in suspension or termination of enrolment, and restrictions to students’ capacity to attend classes, exams or access University property. University staff are advised that failure to comply may constitute not following a lawful employer direction.
The policy was announced Monday 3 March, the frist day of Semester One , in an email to University staff and students from the new Vice Chancellor Emma Johnston and is implemented as a Vice Chancellor’s Regulation titled ‘Use of University premises and facilities: conditions regarding protests.’
Vice Chancellor’s Regulations have previously been used to prohibit protest on campus. In May 2024 then-Vice Chancellor Duncan Maskell released a policy prohibiting on campus ‘protest by members of the public who are not students or staff members’ as well as ‘protest that is not peaceful.’
The Vice Chancellor’s Rules have been strongly condemned by the UniMelb branch of the National Tertiary Education Union (NTEU) and UMSU. In a joint statement released 6 March, both bodies stated that they consider the policy an “authoritarian approach” and “believe that the right to peaceful assembly is not subject to whether it unreasonably disrupts activities or operations or causes inconvenience” and is “a fundamental right of a democratic society that goes to the heart of academic life.”
UMSU President Josh Stagg argued that the new protest rule will not work effectively to make students feel safe or welcome, and that instead the University should engage in consultation with students and implement the recommendations of UMSU’s Racism at UniMelb Report.
NTEU UniMelb branch President and NTEU Victorian division President David Gonzalez stated that “University of Melbourne staff are united with students in the belief that protest has an essential role within public universities in advancing knowledge. Professor Johnston conflates staff and student comfort and their safety in this response.”
Murrup Barak Relocates to Building 168
Sophie He
Murrup Barak has relocated from Old Physics to Level 6 of Building 168. Building 168 is located in the Student Precinct which occupies the Swanston and Grattan Street corner of the Parkville campus.
Murrup Barak, named for the Wurundjeri leader William Barak, will now share a building with UMSU offices and the Atlantic Fellows for Social Equity.
The new space is available to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander members of the University community, and provides outreach and support for future and current students.
Melbourne University Choral Society Disaffiliated from UMSU
Mathilda Stewart
The Melbourne University Choral society was disaffiliated from UMSU by the Clubs and Societies Committee in December last year, on the grounds of failing to provide an ‘environment free from bullying for all members.’ Following an appeal to Students’ Council the disaffiliation period has been reduced to six months. The club remains active on and off campus.
EnAccess Maps partners with City of Merri-bek to Assess Accessibility of Council-Owned Venues
Sophie He
EnAccess Maps, a social startup endeavouring to increase online information about venue accessibility,vhas collaborated with the City of Merri-bek to gauge the accessibility of council-owned locations. Trained assessors with disabilities were hired by EnAccess to evaluate locations such as the Coburg Leisure Centre, Brunswick Library and Fawkner Senior Citizens Centre. These appraisals were made publicly available on the EnAccess website.
Users of EnAccess Maps’ website may filter locations by whether they have wheelchair toilets, movement space, accessible parking and step-free access. These filters are accompanied by specific reviews and photographs. Many of these details are self-reported by venues following EnAccess' guidelines. However, patrons are also encouraged to contribute personal reviews and add to the website's growing database.
EnAccess Maps is the flagship project of Enactus Melbourne, an UMSU-affiliated club associated with the international Enactus social entrepreneurship competition. Sabrina Leung founded EnAccess in 2021 while completing her Bachelor of Arts at the University of Melbourne. Since then, EnAccess has partnered with local councils and raised over $100k in equity free funding.
New Campus Canteen Opens on Grattan Street
Mathilda Stewart
Week One of Semester saw UniMelb open the new Campus Canteen on Grattan Street, next to the Prince Alfred Hotel. The Canteen is open from 8am-8pm five days a week, offering fresh $5 meals provided by Carlton Providores. A Southbank location is said to be opening later this year. The Canteen’s opening follows a revealing 2024 report, A Campus in Crisis, authored by the UMSU Welfare Department and researcher Sara Guest, which drew on the UMSU Cost of Living Survey and found widespread food insecurity among students and a lack of affordable food options on campus.
Young Labor Pains!
Mathilda Stewart
More! Liberals in UMSU?
A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) made between student representatives of the Melbourne University Liberal Club (MULC) and Labor Right subfaction TWU, Young Labor Progressive Unity (YLPU), reveal plans for significant control of the student union by the Liberals. The agreement allocated multiple positions for Liberal candidates within More!, including the choice of President or General Secretary.
While the MoU’s term of agreement covers the 2025 USMU election, multiple students with ties to the Liberal Club were present on the More! ticket in September 2024. Farrago understands that the agreement between the TWU Labor Right faction and the campus Liberals will no longer be honoured in 2025.
Notionally National Labor Students
Meanwhile, in New South Wales, 11 members of National Labor Students (NLS), the student wing of the Labor Left faction, were disaffiliated by vote for allegedly breaching the faction’s national constitution.
The motion to disaffiliate those involved referenced a “toxic culture” among elements of NSW NLS. Following the vote a number of members disaffiliated voluntarily to form New South Wales Labor Students (NSWLS), including University of Sydney Student Representative Council President, Angus Fisher.
The disaffiliation was organised by NLS members from Victoria and the ACT. In a statement to student media, NLS leadership emphasised that the group “has a zero tolerance policy for bullying, intimidation, or harassment of any kind.”
NLS expressed their commitment to working with NSWLS in the future, though it remains to be seen exactly how the split will impact the factional make up of delegates to the National Union of Students National Conference. The break between NLS and NSW members is the latest in a series which have seen their national vote share noticeably compromised in recent years.
One Year into the Nuclear-Powered Submarine Student Pathway at UniMelb
Sophie He
In Semester 1 of 2024, the University of Melbourne commenced its participation in the Australian Government’s Nuclear-Powered Submarine (NPS) Student Pathways program.
Over a three-year period (2024-2027), the program allocates the University an additional 300 commencing Commonwealth Supported Places for Bachelor of Science students.
Students on this pathway must major in ‘identified priority areas’ (i.e. physics, chemistry, mathematics or statistics) which will prime them for a career in the NPS workforce. According to VTAC, students may undertake internships and Work Integrated Learning opportunities ‘supported by the Australian Submarine Agency, Department of Defence and industry partners,’ and are invited to exclusive events and activities to network.
The first cohort commenced in 2024 and the final will be accepted in 2027, graduating in 2030. Students are not obligated to join the NPS industry, however the pathway aims to ‘develop a pipeline of highly-skilled STEM graduates who will strengthen Australia’s sovereign capabilities’.