On 22 July, 65 Senior Residents (SRs) wrote an open letter to the ANU Residential Experience Division over concerns about the new “Community Support Officer” (CSO) 24-hour model. This includes SRs from Bruce Hall, Wright Hall, Burton and Garran, Wamburun Hall, Yukeembruk Village, Fenner Hall, UniLodge and Griffin Hall. The CSO model, put into practice this semester, has been criticised for the removal of Duty SRs, the numbers of CSOs per hall and the implications of the changes on student safety and wellbeing. 

The SRs letter put forward six key demands.

1. “That at least 1 Community Support Officer is assigned to each hall for every shift to reduce wait times for calls ranging from lockouts to critical incidents.
2. That CSOs are better integrated into the community through paid attendance at Bush Week events and ongoing community education initiatives, to help overcome low resident trust towards staff members outside of their communities.
3. That the Residential Experience Division implements targeted, hall-specific training for CSOs due to the unique character of our different residential halls.
4. That lockout fees are abolished, since the current rationale that SRs are inconvenienced by lockout calls no longer applies.
5. That the SR scholarship remains the same, or that any reductions are minimal, in order to retain passionate and experienced SRs into the future.
6. That transparent and accountable feedback mechanisms to review the 24 hour model are implemented to best promote student safety and wellbeing.”

Woroni understands that the ANU has received the letter.  

According to an ANU spokesperson, the role of CSO, “was created to provide after-hours support to ANU Residences.” The role differs from SRs, who were required to respond to over-night calls from residents. CSOs are, however, “expected to be awake for the full shift” and “tasked with administrative duties throughout their shifts as well as conducting building rounds, responding to incidents and other tasks”. 

They explain, “Successful candidates for the CSO roles participated in four weeks of training and onboarding. This consisted of, but not limited to, responding to first aid, mental health awareness, pastoral care, maintenance, admin support, incident escalation and event management.” 

“In addition to the practical training, the CSOs engaged in practical shadowing with staff and existing Senior Residents (SRs) and Community Coordinators.”

In their letter, however, SRs maintained great concern over the new 24-hour CSO model and whether it would truly be able to “best support residents when they need help after hours”. 

They point out, “Due to the unique character of our halls, each community has different needs and expectations of CSOs. For example, Wright is known for its emphasis on harm minimisation and UniLodge has distinct after-hours processes regarding mental health first aid and incident handling.” 

“The Residential Experience Division should collaborate with management and SRs from each hall to determine the content of hall-specific training and avoid a one size fits all solution. CSOs must be paid for these hours.”

SRs also demanded, “The current rationale for lockout fees is that it inconveniences SRs who may be woken up to assist locked out residents. However, this no longer applies if CSOs are being paid to provide after-hours support.” 

They maintain, “Lockout fees have no other justification; they do not provide any disincentive to students since no one intends to forget their keycard – especially if they know they may need to wait longer or walk down to reception in the middle of the night. Instead, they place an unacceptable financial burden on residents.” 

The lock-out fees have been a topic of controversy after the fees were hiked by 667 percent  from $15 in 2022 to $100 in 2023. These fees are charged whenever residents require their doors unlocked after hours. The fee was adjusted after significant campaigning from ANUSA. 

Woroni understands there will be no expected change to the number of CSOs on duty between 10 pm to 8 am, meaning one CSO will be shared between two residences during this time. The SR’s first demand predicts that this will likely “[increase] wait times and compromise student safety”. This is of particular concern for residents of Yukembruuk Village and Ursula Hall, which are a five-minute walk apart, as well as Fenner and Toad Hall which are a seven-minute walk. 

The New Residential Mentor model: 

The ANU spokesperson told Woroni, “Under the new model, starting from 1 January 2025 SRs will be known as Residential Mentors (RMs).” The ANU announced the RM changes in an email to all current residents. 

This would entail decreasing the value of most SR scholarships by half. Currently, scholarships cover 100 percent of the room fee for a standard room in the SR’s residence, ensuring equal opportunities for every SR in all residences. 

Under the new Residential Mentor (RM) system, scholarships will be based on the average cost of a standard room in all ANU residences, instead of the cost of the room specific to the RM’s residence. 

The full scholarship amount will be $342.11 per week in 2025, however, all RMs, academic scholars and canteen assistants will only receive half this amount no matter the cost of the residence. 

On top of planned rent increases, these changes mean an RM at Yukeembruk Village will be given a scholarship of $171.1 in 2025, down from $382 in 2024, a decrease of over 55 percent. This is a common trend across residences, with future RMs in most ANU halls worse off due to the new scholarship averaging method.

In their open letter, SRs explained, “ Most work undertaken by SRs occurs outside of duty shifts, from floor meetings, to pastoral care, to maintaining a community presence and implementing portfolio projects. We anticipate that staff will expect more from us once the 24-hour model is implemented, and that we will play a mediating role between residents and CSOs after hours.” 

“Even if our workload decreases slightly, reducing the SR scholarship will prevent colleges from retaining passionate and experienced Senior Residents in future because it is insufficient to justify the costly accommodation fees.”

During a cost of living crisis, this decrease in scholarship will significantly affect future RMs. A UniLodge SR told Woroni, “This new change is incredibly stressful. As someone who comes from a low socio-economic background … it has placed a lot of stress on me.” 

Another SR explained, “Most current SRs already study full-time and work second or third jobs just to make ends meet … changes to the scholarship for next year are just going to place even more pressure on us.” 

They continued, “There will definitely be fewer returning SRs applying than in previous years.” 

SRs will maintain their full scholarship for the remainder of the year, with the full effect of the changes expected to come into effect from 1 January 2025.

In response to the SR demands, the ANU stated, “The University is currently in the process of preparing a QR code feedback form for residents. Once ready, these QR codes will be placed in visible areas across all university residences. We will update our community once these forms are ready to be rolled out.” 

However, for many SRs, the changes may be disenchanting. In their letter they call on the ANU to, “ genuinely consider our concerns as SRs. We are uniquely placed to know how a new model will change the culture of our halls and access to wellbeing services.” 

“Whilst we appreciate that the Residential Experience Division has attempted to reach out to SRs through consultation sessions, we are concerned our input has been overlooked by staff working behind closed doors. Instead, we believe that our six demands would greatly improve the 24 hour staffing model. In the interests of all, we ask you to work with us in good faith.”