This article was originally published in Woroni Special Edition 4.5, The Broadsheet.
Student Assistance Team (SAT)
ANUSAs Student Assistance Team (SAT) Grants saw strong growth in demand within the first half of 2024, replicating increasing cost of living pressures on students. ANUSA offers SAT grants as one of its strategies to combat the increasing cost of living crisis. From 2023 to 2024, Grant programs included the Assistance Grant, Medical Grant, Carers Grant, Accommodation Assistance Program, Grocery Voucher Program, and Transport Voucher Program.
According to ANUSA’s quarterly SAT reports, there was an over 16 per cent increase in student grant applications at a cost of $14,302, nearly 30 per cent more than in the first quarter of 2024 compared to 2023 (adjusted for inflation rate of 4.2%).
This increase was partially predicted and saw an extra 20 per cent allocated to SAT Grants in the 2024 budget compared to 2023.
Overall, in the first half of 2024, an additional 74 students accessed the SAT Grants in comparison to the same period of 2023. The largest uptake was seen in the Carers Grant, with 8 times more successful applicants, and the Transport Voucher Program, with an additional 43 successful applicants. This 2.5 percent increase in Transport vouchers can be credited to the program’s suspension in Q1 of 2023 due to the COVID-19 Pandemic.
Even with the additional 20 per cent allocated to SAT grants for 2024, the program is expected to use all of its allocated funds. The first half of 2024 cost nearly 53 per cent of its total allotted budget, compared to the less than 49 per cent allotted used in the first of 2023.
ANUSA Treasurer Will Burfoot told Woroni, that all ANUSA services had been in strong demand in 2024, with the current cost of living crisis “adding onto the challenges students already experience” and that students reaching out for assistance “are in increasingly tough positions”.
ANU’s decision to defund the post-graduate union PARSA in 2023, caused major concerns for post-graduate representation and student services. Woroni understands ANUSA SAT grants were opened for postgraduate students on a case-by-case basis early on and full access from the middle of 2023.
Postgraduate students accounted for 27.2 percent of the total SAT grants received in the first half of the 2024 year, displaying a strong uptake under their new union.
Will Burfoot added, “We [ANUSA] are seeing strong growth for postgrad coursework and HDR candidate support services. These students are engaging in increasing numbers thanks to outreach events and targeted marketing.”
Legal Services
In 2024, ANUSA’s legal services dealt with higher-than-usual student demand and delivered services to a range of students.
The ANUSA Legal Service provides “free and confidential advice to all ANU students”. Its main areas of focus are “tenancy, migration, visa advice, legal problems at work, discrimination, defamation and SASH”. The Service is the only free legal aid provider on campus and though it cannot represent students in legal matters, it can give referrals to other community-focused organisations such as Legal Aid ACT.
According to the ANUSA Legal Service’s quarterly reports, 483 legal matters have been addressed throughout the first half of the year. Approximately 81 percent of those accessing its services are international students.
The reports also note that nearly 80 percent of all students (including domestic ones) reported that the ANUSA Legal Service was their only affordable way of gaining such assistance. The Legal Service’s importance to vulnerable students is further underscored by over 56 percent of clients coming from “underserved communities”.
The high levels of use by international students may in part be the result of the Legal Service’s focus on migration law. In the first quarter of 2024, the Service ran a number of workshops and educational programs on migration and tenancy law. With the Australian government’s new cap on international student Visas, it is likely international students will continue accessing ANUSA Legal Service in high numbers.
The demand for legal aid has only risen this year. In the first half of 2023, 337 legal matters were handled – representing a 43 percent increase in demand for the service.
This rise in demand has also correlated with longer wait times. In March 2021, which saw approximately 30 matters opened by the Legal Service, students waited on average “6 days or less” for an appointment.
In March 2024, which saw 85 matters, the average wait time was approximately 11 days.
It should be noted that the increase in demand for services far outpaces the increase in wait time, indicating that ANUSA Legal Services have grown more efficient over the years.
Nonetheless, this has not prevented a slight drop in student satisfaction. In 2021, 79 percent of students gave the service a “10/10: when surveyed on their experiences with it. In 2024, this has fallen to 76 percent.
ANUSA Treasurer Will Burfoot told Woroni that “we leave plenty of room” for “unexpected legal expenses”.
For a union that struggles with student engagement – as evidenced by consistently low voter turnout – ANUSA’s widely-appreciated Legal Services stands out.
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