Last week the Australian Law Students’ Association (ALSA) forwarded its submission to the Government’s inquiry on Voluntary Student Unionism (VSU). It proposed a new model to address the provision of essential services at universities across Australia.
‘ALSA does not believe that a return to the old system is the best way forward,’ said Mr Mitch Riley, Vice President (Education).
‘Our model proposes a compulsory fee that will cover essential services such as counselling, legal and financial assistance, and educational representation. It should also fund societies that provide activities of direct benefit to students’ education.
‘Law student societies are a good example of this. They offer a range of services such as tutorials, careers seminars and publications, legal competitions, and educational representation. Some even run community legal centres.
‘These services enhance the education of students, and we believe that societies who offer such services should receive funding from their student union.
‘The compulsory fee should not be used to fund sporting facilities, social events or political activities.
‘The problem with services like educational representation and counselling is that these are “emergency” services that nobody ever contemplates having to use. This means that people may choose not to become a member of the union, but later require these services. The same is not true of sporting facilities or social functions, and they can be adequately funded under a user-pays system.
‘ALSA believes that any compulsory charge levied should be deferrable as part of a student’s HECS-HELP loan, which was not possible under the old system.’
ALSA’s submission is available online at: http://www.alsa.asn.au.
Media contact
Mitch Riley
Vice President (Education)
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0403 781 992
