Veterinary students already have some of the highest HECS debts in this country. In addition to this they must undertake at least 52 weeks (that is a whole year) of unpaid work in order to complete their degree. Students often forego meals, sleep in tents or on couches or take out even more loans in order to complete their degree. These students are often also at risk of being subjected to racism, homophobia, transphobia, ableism, sexual harassment, and even violence at unpaid placements, without being able to leave or complain, for fear of not being able to complete their course requirements. Addressing placement poverty is vital if we are to have a diverse, inclusive, and resilient veterinary sector supporting Australian communities.

Ahpra must operate a fair and equitable fee setting policy to enable a flexible and responsive health workforce. Failing to provide reduced fees for practitioners on parental leave shows that Ahpra doesn't 'walk the walk' when it comes to principles of equity.  Ahpra has maintained its inequitable position in recent years despite numerous individual and collective representations requesting that it change course. We need your help to make this change happen!  Ahpra advises practitioners who enquire about fee reduction during parental leave that they can apply for non-practising registration. But experience indicates this is not a viable or practical option because of how Ahpra operates. Reapplying for registration is expensive and time consuming, many practitioners would not be able to avoid paying annual registration anyway, and the period of time between reapplying for registration and actually being re-registered is uncertain and can be a period of many months - during which time the practitioner is unable to work as a healthcare practitioner because they are not registered.  There are over 877,000 Australian healthcare workers, who are a diverse, dedicated and predominantly female workforce. Providing reduced registration fees for practitioners who are on parental leave would support a self-sustaining, fair, reasonable, flexible and responsive approach to fee setting, consistent with the principles of equity.

You are truly making a life-altering decision! Please also provide your UniSyd student email and ID using the links below to inform us if you are affected.

Statutory Child Protection is in crisis. More children are at risk of harm for longer, more children are being put on orders and in out of home care. Most reports and complaints are not looked at and early intervention opportunities are missed until it is too late requiring more damaging interventions. Foster and Out of Home Care options are minimal with many jurisdictions relying on expensive private providers to house children in motels and offices with limited access to wrap around services, placing the development of children at risk. Our state child protection services are buckling due to not enough staffing and the inability to fill case workers and other positions with adequately trained social workers and psychologists. This problem lies across all jurisdictions and requires sustained national action.

May Day, also known as International Workers’ Day, is celebrated globally on May 1st. It commemorates the historic struggles of workers and their contributions to society. Many countries recognise this day as a public holiday, allowing workers to rest, reflect, and participate in labour-related events. And New South Wales, a state that is equal last for public holidays, should recognise its historical importance by making it an official public holiday.

Local Council jobs need protecting! In the past, job seekers looked for council jobs because they knew they were secure. People pursued careers in Local Government for career enhancement, working conditions and the job security. Now it seems like a never-ending cycle of Reviews, Restructures and Retrenchments. Councils lose expertise, service delivery suffers, staff become disillusioned, and high vacancy rates make the problem worse. Local Government Jobs, Worth Fighting For!

We are facing a critical moment in preserving the heart of our student community: our beloved student bars. The threat of these spaces being taken away from us and handed over to profit-driven private companies is real, and it's a cause for concern for all of us. First and foremost, student bars are more than just places to grab a drink; they are the beating heart of our campus culture. These spaces have been managed by our student union, the QUT Guild for over 30 years. By keeping our bars under Guild management, we ensure that they remain accessible, affordable, and inclusive for all students. But why should you care about who manages our student bars? Because it's about more than just where we go for a drink after class. It's about protecting our student voice and agency on campus. The University's decision to take away Guild services and businesses like graduation gowns, The General Store, and social sport has already diminished our sense of ownership and control over our own student experience. What's next? Will the University continue to chip away at the resources and spaces that make our student union strong? Think about it: if our student bars are handed over to private companies whose primary goal is to maximise profits, what happens to the values and priorities that matter to us as students? Will these companies prioritise student welfare and community building, or will they prioritise their bottom line? The University's actions raise serious questions about their commitment to a strong student union and a vibrant campus community. By taking away essential services and potentially handing over our student bars to external entities, the University is sending a message that they do not value the role of students in shaping our own campus experience. We cannot afford to stand idly by while our student union and the spaces that define our campus culture are under threat. It's time to stand up and demand that our voices be heard. We must rally together to protect our student bars, preserve our student union's autonomy, and ensure that our campus remains a vibrant and inclusive community for generations of QUT students to come. Join us in signing this petition to show the University that we care about our student bars and that we will not let them be taken away from us without a fight. Together, we can send a powerful message that the QUT student body stands united in defense of our student union and the values it represents. In solidarity, QUT Guild

It is unethical for the funds of UniSuper members to be invested in any companies which: • provide products or services that contribute to violent acts against civilians, Israeli or Palestinian; • profit from, or are complicit in, human rights abuses in Palestine; • provide products or services that contribute to the maintenance of the Israeli military occupation of Gaza, the West Bank and East Jerusalem; • provide products or services that contribute to the maintenance and construction of the Separation Wall and/or maintenance and expansion of Israeli settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories; and/or • establish facilities or operations in Israeli settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories.

The Commonwealth risks the health of vulnerable elderly Australians if ACAS is privatised. The model for ACAS is changing, with the first stage of the new Single Assessment System due to be implemented as of July 2024. The Commonwealth has decided to openly tender (meaning private providers can tender for the first time) for the provision of services to support the new system, while bilateral negotiations with states and territories still are ongoing, creating a lack of transparency and certainty regarding the future of the service. The Commonwealth is leaving frontline staff and patients in the dark as to how this model will operate. This risks good public sector jobs and patient safety. The Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety explicitly stated that assessments should be undertaken by assessors who are independent from approved providers. Allowing aged care providers to also conduct assessments directly contradicts the advice of the Commission and will potentially put profits before patients, with the end result potentially jeopardising patient care. Our members have experienced years of precarity and uncertainty regarding the future provision of aged care services, meaning many experienced Allied Health Professionals have already left the sector to ensure their own personal job security, while others fear for their role beyond 1 July 2024. This loss of collective knowledge and expertise could prove disastrous to ensuring that our elder Australians receive the best care in their later years. To prevent this, we demand that aged care assessment services remain in public hands, that good public sector jobs are safeguarded and that patient safety is put before profits.

More than 60 per cent of doctors surveyed have reported making a clinical error due to exhaustion. Our doctors are fatigued, overworked, and suffering from stress and mental health problems. Overworked and underpaid healthcare staff leads to an unsafe and unsustainable healthcare system for both patients and the workers. Without proper support or work / life balance, many doctors in training are leaving the industry altogether. Victoria’s junior doctors are not asking for a pay rise - they are simply asking to be paid for hours they have already worked. Use the form to send a letter to Hon. Mary-Anne Thomas (Minister for Health), let the Victorian Government know that the wage theft from junior doctors needs to stop.

Hundreds of refugees are being threatened with a minimum of one year in prison if they refuse to cooperate with efforts to deport them, under a new bill introduced by Labor. This bill passing would mean refugees who don't cooperate with the government's attempt to deport them could be fined almost $100,000 and imprisoned. Labor have made this disgraceful move after the high court ruled it was illegal for the government to indefinitely detain refugees like this in Australia. If people on bridging visas, without visas, or in immigration detention fail to comply with a directions from the Immigration Minister to assist in their own deportation will be a criminal offence carrying a mandatory minimum of 12 months in prison, a maximum of five years, a $93,900 fine, or both imprisonment and a fine. One of the refugees currently at the centre of this case is known as ASF17 - a bisexual Iranian man who the government are currently attempting to deport back to Iran, where he will face certain persecution and fears for his life. ASF17 has been held in indefinite immigration detention in PNG since he fled Iran to Australia in 2013. The government justifies his detention on the basis that he has refused to cooperate with Iranian authorities to receive the necessary travel documents to be deported. Now, ASF17 is at the centre of a legal case which will be heard by the high court in April, arguing that refugees in his position should be covered by last year's high court ruling declaring indefinite immigrant detention unlawful. The response of the Labor government has been to brutally double down on their anti-refugee politics. This is a disgrace - everyone fleeing persecution and oppression in their home countries should be welcome here. We Demand: - STOP the Migration Amendment (removals and other measures) bill - Allow refugees in Australia without visas, or with any kind of temporary visa to have PERMANENT protection in Australia, without threat of deportation - END the racist cruelty of the Australian government toward refugees Petition Authored by the National Union of Students Queer/LGBTQIA+ Department, Monash Student Association Queer Officers, and the Tamil Refugee Council

Australia is at an important juncture. It is long past time for the Federal Government and state/territory governments to work together to invest in and reform the early childhood education and care system, so that every child has a guarantee to the best start in life. When children attend preschool they can expect greater academic success, have better career prospects, better health outcomes and stronger family and personal relationships. Right now, access to two years of preschool is dependent on where you live. Because some states/territories are rolling this out, while others are not. Australia needs a national plan, so that all children around the country can access two years of high-quality public preschool, no matter where they live.