Student Services & Amenities Fee (SSAF) Funding
How the SSAF is used to improve your student experience.
How the SSAF supports you
At UNSW, the money you contribute to the SSAF is spent to support a whole range of services and amenities of a non-academic nature that help make your student experience the best it can possibly be.
Whether you're a domestic or international student, studying in Australia or overseas, undergraduate or postgraduate, we want to ensure that you make the most of the services and support made possible by SSAF funding.
SSAF is a great way of ensuring that all students have the best student experience they can whilst studying at University. The Arc Board had the opportunity to determine the expenditure of in excess of $5.6 million of direct funding in 2023 to support a range of student support services and engagement opportunities.
It is important that the democratically elected student leaders at UNSW are able to determine where SSAF expenditure is channeled. As a member of the SSAF management committee I (...) will continue to have students' voices heard so that we can genuinely influence better outcomes for students.
Find out more about the SSAF
You can learn more about the details of SSAF supported programs and services through the SSAF Management Committee and Governance and read the full allocation report for each year.
Have questions about how, what or when to pay? Check out our SSAF FAQs.
Making the most of your student experience
SSAF funding achievements in 2022 & 2023
In 2022, SSAF continued to fund major UNSW student support services such as:
Mental health and broader wellbeing support
Careers advice
A suite of different services to help students with study skills and advice to progress through their degree.Ìý
Post COVID-19, UNSW has shifted its focus of SSAF spending to ensure that we are supporting students' orientation and transition back to campus. In 2022 and continuing into 2023, SSAF-funded programs have helped welcome our students back to campus. Some expenditure remainsÌýcommitted to delivering a blended face-to-face and online model to support the flexible and diverse needs of UNSW students.Ìý
Additionally, UNSW continues to use SSAF funds to enhance the physical infrastructure of student campus life with projects such as:
UNSW’s Village Green Wellness precinct opened in late 2022Ìý
The Quadrangle Food Court was revitalised in mid-2023Ìý
Refurbished 185 beds at the Cowper Street Student Accommodation in Randwick in 2023.
In 2023, our most significant expenditure of SSAF funding continues to be to support the UNSW student organisation, .
Key funding areas
Delivered an increase in services organised by UNSW’s Psychology and Wellness team, group therapy workshops, TalkCampus and the introduction of peer-to-peer mental health literacy training.Ìý
Arc has expanded its range of events and activities to support international students to build a sense of belonging at UNSW. Programs such as Funner Summer and the Student Concierge services help to provide targeted engagement.Ìý
Orientation activities were conducted in 2023 to welcome and support commencing international and domestic students in transitioning into the UNSW community.Ìý
The Food Hub initiative continues to deliver free food to the student community after its success and has expanded in 2023 to distribute over 188,000 meals.
In late 2022, the UNSW Village Green and the multi-use precinct saw over 250,000 student engagements across 2023.
Physical infrastructure projects
Refurbished 185 beds at the Cowper Street Student Accommodation in Randwick to expand UNSW’s affordable student accommodation offerings.
Employability
Approximately 8,000 students completed employability programs, including mentorship experiences, career development, and individual coaching sessions.
Learn how the SSAF is managed
The SSAF Management Committee was established in 2019 to consult with the democratically elected student representatives, major student organisations, and relevant UNSW Officers to identify priorities in line with the legislative guidelines, establish mechanisms for expenditure and approve annual spending. In 2023, the Committee was chaired by Neil Morris, Director of Student Wellbeing.
The Committee membership includes elected student leaders to ensure Higher Education Support Act 2003 requirements are met. The Committee oversees SSAF compliance and the effective decision-making and monitoring of overall SSAF performance.
The Committee met four times in 2023 with the aim to identify ways to better promote SSAF expenditure, internally and externally to students and supports the application of services that utilise SSAF finances to improve student experience and wellbeing at UNSW.Ìý
The Committee conducted a survey in 2023 and produced a heat map to provide a full students view of SSAF-supported services and where students wish to see future investments.
Activity and funding for 2023 was considered in December 2022 with an additional $255,000 spend endorsed for Arc to support the following initiatives:
- Food Hub
- Supporting clubs
- Activities; movie nights, sporting competitions and lunchtime concerts
- Student leadership training
The full funding allocation report for 2023 can be found at the link below.
Ìý
2024 updates
Following the appointment of the Deputy Vice-Chancellor Education & Student Experience (DVCESE), Professor Sarah Maddison in 2023, responsibility and chairing of the SSAF Management Committee has now been transferred to the DVCESE office with a revised Term of Reference. This includes providing a detailed overview of the allocation of SSAF funds, governance over processes, facilitating committee recommendations and fostering increased student consultation. With the committee membership to be compromised of 11 voting members:
Six democratically elected student representatives:
- Chair, Arc Board
- President, Student Representative Council (SRC)
- President, Postgraduate Council (PGC)
- Student Elected Representative, Arc BoardÌý
- Student Elected Representative, Arc BoardÌý
- Student Elected Representative, Canberra
Five staff:
- Deputy Vice-Chancellor Education & Student Experience
- Pro Vice-Chancellor, Student Success
- Director, Financial Planning & Analysis
- Director, Graduate Research School
- Deputy Rector, UNSW Canberra
The committee will meet twice a year. The first meeting, held in July, discussed the results of the broader student community consultation via a survey conducted in April, before UNSW’s annual financial planning begins in mid-September. The second meeting, in November, will confirm the allocation of SSAF funds for the following year.