The Council of Australian Postgraduate Associations (CAPA) is the peak representative body for postgraduate students in Australia. CAPA's members are 33 postgraduate associations and the National Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Postgraduate Association (NATSIPA). CAPA provides member associations with representation to the Federal government, and peak bodies such as the Australian Research Council and Universities Australia, on issues affecting postgraduate students in Australia. In 2015, Australia had over 310,000 postgraduate students, representing one quarter of all tertiary students in Australia.
Contents
- History
- Structure
- 2017 Executive committee
- 2017 Equity committee
- 2017 National Operations committee
- Past Presidents
- References
Recognising the dual roles of many postgraduate students, CAPA works in collaboration with the National Union of Students where matters impact on all students (such as voluntary student unionism and funding for higher education), and with the National Tertiary Education Union regarding issues of employment in the tertiary education sector, particularly on the casualisation of the academic workforce.
CAPA has an office located at the NTEU National office in Melbourne, Victoria. Its Annual Council Meeting (ACM), where organisational issues and policy directives are decided, is hosted by a different constituent organisation each year.
History
CAPA was founded in 1979 by a coalition of ten postgraduate organisations in order to protest taxation on postgraduate research scholarships. Historically, CAPA has been concerned with lobbying around fees on postgraduate degrees.
In 1998, a separate organisation, the National Indigenous Postgraduate Association (NIPA) was formed within CAPA. This association became the National Indigenous Postgraduate Association Aboriginal Corporation (NIPAAC) in 1999, and was later restructured as the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Postgraduate Association (NATSIPA) in 2015.
Structure
CAPA consists of elected representatives on three committees: the governing Executive Committee, the Equity committee, and the National Operations Committee. The NATSIPA Liaison Officer sits on all committees. Each committee meets on a monthly basis. New committee members are elected at the Annual Council Meeting, which is held in November.
2017 Executive committee
National President- Peter Derbyshire
General Secretary- Natasha Abrahams
Vice-president (Equity)- Vibol Hy
Vice-president (National Operations)- Dylan Styles
NATSIPA Liaison Officer- Sharlene Leroy-Dyer
Media Officer- Oluwadamilola Ayeni (Lola)
Policy and Research Advisor- Simon Burnett
2017 Equity committee
Vice-president (Equity)- Vibol Hy (Chair)
Disabilities Officer- Vacant
International Officer- Alex Yao
Queer Officer- Oliver Moore
Women's Officer- Vacant
NATSIPA Liaison Officer- Sharlene Leroy-Dyer
2017 National Operations committee
Vice-president (National Operations)- Dylan Styles (Chair)
Northern Branch President- Brittany McCormack
Eastern Branch President- Anish Saini
South-Eastern Branch President- Swathi Shiva
Western Branch President- Diane Smith
Central Branch President- Richard Matthews
NATSIPA Liaison Officer- Sharlene Leroy-Dyer