2022 National Conference

What is National Conference?

The NUS National Conference (NatCon) is an annual conference hosted by the NUS to elect new office bearers, consider the audited statement of accounts, consider reports of the National and State Officers, and (the best part) discuss amendments to the NUS standing policy platform.

Attendees get the opportunity to meet fellow student union representatives, leaders and activists. The conference hosts a range of discussions which:

Allows members of conference to shape the standing platform for the upcoming year;
Gives members of conference the opportunity to share their expertise on different policy areas; and
Encourages attendees to engage in discussions and debates among peers.

Time: 10am – 5pm (checkout at 10am on Friday morning)

Dates: Monday 12th to Friday 16th December 2022

Location: Deakin University – 75 Pigdons Road, Waurn Ponds, Vic 3216

How do I register and what are the different ticket options?

Registration is now open for delegates, accredited observers, unofficial observers and student media. Here’s a break-down of what each ticket type means:

Delegates: This is for elected delegates from members organisations. Each delegate holds a certain amount of votes on behalf of their campus (this is dependent on the EFTSL figures from their respective campus). Each camps has up to 7 elected delegates who can attend NatCon.
Accredited Observers: This is for students who are appointed by member organisations to be accredited observers, meaning they are non-delegates who can hold proxied votes on conference floor. Each member organisation can appoint accredited observers equating to their total number of NUS delegates.
Unofficial Observers: This is available for any students wishing to attend NatCon. The amount of unofficial observers that can attend NatCon is unlimited (barring capacity limits). You can choose between a ticket which includes or excludes accommodation, both tickets have food covered.
Student Media: for our live-tweeting icons.
Small & Regional Campus: This is available for delegates & accredited observers from campuses that are small and/or regional in order to help them attend NatCon.

2022 Annual Election

It’s time for our current team of National Office Bearers, State Office Bearers and General Executive Members to finish up their terms, so that means we’ve got to elect a new team for 2023!

The annual elections will be held from Wednesday 7th of December to Thursday 15th December 2022:

Nominations will be open at 9am Wednesday 7th December and close at 12pm Wednesday 14th December.
Polling will be conducted in person at Deakin Waurn Ponds campus between 9am Thursday 15th December and 3pm Thursday 15th December.
Further information about the positions to be elected can be found in the notice of election below.

Notice of Election

Nomination Form

Statutory Declaration Form

Please reach out to the Returning Officer if you have any questions.

Policy Submission

For those who are new to this process, the NUS has a standing policy platform which is amended each year. In order to amend it, delegates submit motions to add, remove or amend sections of the platform.

In addition to this, delegates may submit urgency motions. These do not get added to the standing policy platform, but are a way to highlight key issues occurring at that point in time.

Below is a Policy Submission Guide containing important information about how policies should be drafted. I encourage you all to keep policies as concise as possible.

Policies must be submitted by 11:59pm AEDT on the 30th of November 2022 to gensec@nus.asn.au

Additional Resources

To assist with drafting policy, the following docs are available to guide you:

2021 NUS National Platform

2021 Accepted Urgency Motions

2021 Rule Changes Submitted

2021 Policy Platform Changes Submitted

2021 Urgency Motions Submitted

Can I still submit policy if I’m not a delegate?

If you’d like to submit policy but you’re not a delegate, that’s more than fine. All you’ve got to do is get a member of conference (delegate, accredited observer, member of NX, or state officers) to move and second your motion/s on your behalf. You can see how to display this in the Policy Submission Guide above.

How do I get appointed as an accredited observer?

Member organisations can appoint observers, however they can only be students eligible to be elected as delegates of that member organisation.

Notification of the appointment of observers must be:

on the letterhead of the organisation signed by the President or equivalent officer of the organisation; and
be received by the Accreditation Committee.

To ensure your list of observers is approved by the Accreditation Committee on time, please send a final list to gensec@nus.asn.au by COB on the 25th of November 2022.

How do I proxy my vote?

You can proxy your vote by filling out the forms below, please note the following:

This proxy form is for the entirety of the conference.
Proxy forms must be submitted to the conference organisers (NUSNatCon@nus.asn.au) by the 5th of December.
A statutory declaration must accompany this proxy form (to verify your signature) and must be submitted by the deadline along with the proxy form.

You can proxy your vote to members of conference, which include the following:

other delegates of member organisations (including your own member organisation);
accredited observers of member organisations (including your own member organisation);
members of the national executive; or
state branch officers.

Key Proxy Documents:

Proxy Form

Statutory Declaration Form

Still unsure?

If you’ve never been to an NUS NatCon and you’re unsure, reach out to your campus OBs or to us! This year’s NatCon will be the first fully in person NatCon since 2019, so it will be particularly great for new people to come along to because lots of attendees will be new to the NatCon experience. Plus we’ll have lots of NUS OBs around to help answer any questions you may have.

Until then, don’t be afraid to reach out to the General Secretary (Emily Sagolj – gensec@nus.asn.au) or Conference Organisers (Alan & Kate – NUSNatCon@nus.asn.au) if you have any questions.

Leave a Reply Cancel reply