Jordon O’Rielly
National Welfare Officer
What is the Welfare Department?
The Welfare Department is responsible for ensuring Australian university students have a national voice in regards to their health, wellbeing and the costs associated with taking on higher education.
Campaigns in 2017
The 2017 NUS Welfare Department Campaign is titled Your Rights at Work, Uni and Home. The campaign has been rolled out to campuses across the country and has included plenty of work with student organizations and other lobby groups.
So far the campaign has been fighting to #FixCentrelinkNow and secure the rights of students in the workplace!
The #FixCentrelinkNow petition has over 2000 signatures from around the country and counting! The petition called to:
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End the Automated System
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Fix the Pay Delays
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Shorten the Call Times
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Change the One Size Fits all Nature of Centrelink
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Say no to cashless Welfare Cards
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Lower the Age of Independence
The campaign has also included plenty of publicity around the personal experiences of students engaging with Centrelink, stunts to raise awareness around the fake debt scandal and submissions to the Senate.
In addition, the Welfare Department also launched its Your Rights at Work- You’re a Target campaign! This focuses on;
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Protecting Penalty rates
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Changing Junior Pay Rates
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Exploitation in Unpaid/underpaid internships
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Securing the wage rights of casual and part-time workers
Click here to download the brochure explaining your rights as a student worker
So far the campaign has been running a photo petition at campuses across the country called #ISupportPenaltyRates! This has allowed a number of students speak out on why they need and rely on their penalty rates! Moreover, the campaign has created a brochure so every student can easily access information regarding their workplace rights!
The NUS Welfare Department is also working with the Butterfly Foundation to raise awareness around eating disorders and body image. The Welfare Department is working with Butterfly to distribute informative materials around the issues and promote events throughout the year!