UMSU Annual Election 2026
Annual elections will be held in September to elect leaders and representatives who will be in charge of UMSU in 2027.
Table of contents
Notice of Election
Notice is given as of 12noon, Monday 27 July of the 2026 University of Melbourne Student Union annual elections. (Forms submitted before this time will be taken to have been received at the moment notice is given.) This annual election also incorporates by-elections for casual vacancies for the 2026 term of office.
The election will be held from the 7th–11th September, 2026.
List of positions
The following positions are open for election.
Officer positions
- President
- General Secretary
- Education (Academic Affairs) Officer
- Education (Public Affairs) Officer
- Welfare Officer
- Women’s Officer
- Creative Arts Officer
- Activities Officer
- Queer Officer
- Environment Officer
- Media Officers
- Clubs & Societies Officer
- Indigenous Officer
- Disabilities Officer
- People of Colour Officer
Students’ Council — voting representatives
- General representative (15 to elect)
- Representative for Graduate Students
- Representative for Indigenous Students
- Representative for International Students
- Representative for Queer Students
- Representative for Students of Colour
- Representative for Students with Disabilities
- Representative for Southbank Students
Committee members
Each committee elects 7 members.
- Activities Committee
- Creative Arts Committee
- Disabilities Committee
- Education Committee
- Environment Committee
- Indigenous Committee
- People of Colour Committee
- Queer Committee
- Welfare Committee
- Women’s Committee
Southbank campus positions
- Southbank Students Campus Co-ordinator
- Southbank Activities Officer
- Southbank Education Officer
- Southbank Students Committee (7 to elect)
Burnley campus positions
- Burnley Campus Co-ordinator
- Burnley Students Committee (7 to elect)
National Union of Students
- National Union of Students delegate (7 to elect)
2026 Byelection
Note: These positions are 2026 positions that are vacant. Successful candidates will fill the positions for the remainder of the 2026 term of office (until 30 November 2026).
- Burnley Committee (at least 4 to elect)
- We expect to announce more positions here shortly
A list of positions, role descriptions, and current officeholders is also available.
Nominations (how to be a candidate)
All general members of UMSU are entitled to run for elections. If you’re not a member, follow this guide to becoming a member — it’s free.
Nominations must be received by the deadline, which is 12noon (Melbourne time) on Friday, 14th August 2026. This deadline is strict and cannot be extended.
More information for candidates is available and we encourage you to read it carefully. This includes critical information for all candidate supplied by UMSU, information about the mandatory induction, a summary of the eligibility requirements for specific positions, information about tickets, links to election forms, guidance for candidate photos and other information of interest to candidates.
The nomination form uses Google Forms. If you’re unable to access or submit it, please contact us in advance of the nomination deadline for an alternative format.
Tickets
A group of fifteen or more members seeking election on a common platform may apply to register a ticket name and be set out on the ballot under the ticket’s name.
Information about tickets, including the form for registering a ticket, is available on the candidate information page.
How to vote
This year, the elections will be held by electronic attendance polling.
You can vote in two ways:
- By attending a polling place during election week (7th – 11th September). Times and locations of polling places will be announced later, which will be on the Parkville, Southbank and Burnley campuses.
- By applying for an electronic postal vote, which will be sent to your student email during election week. You can apply now, and more information about postal votes is below. Do this before Thursday 3rd September to avoid delays during polling week.
In all cases, your vote must be received by 5pm (Melbourne time), Friday 11th September. The system is automatically closed to votes after this time.
Note that the polling method has changed since previous years. We won’t be automatically sending a polling link to every student — if you’re not in a position to vote on campus, you should apply for an electronic postal vote.
All students enrolled in higher education award courses are eligible to vote in the elections.
How to vote — electronic postal voting
If you’re not in a position to vote at a polling place during polling week, you can apply for an electronic postal vote. Applications are open now.
- An electronic postal vote is sent by email to your student email during election week.
- Electronic postal votes have the same deadline as attendance votes: 5pm (Melbourne time) on Friday 11 September.
- If you apply but subsequently decide to vote in person, your link will be automatically cancelled. (If you vote with your electronic postal vote link and then attend a polling place, you’ll be unable to vote by attendance.)
Deadline: Electronic postal vote applications should be received by Thursday, 3rd September 2026. The Regulations have a provision for accepting late applications to accommodate emergencies during election week — we’ll announce our process for handling these later in August. However, if you don’t think you’ll be able to attend a polling place during election week, we encourage you to apply for a electronic postal vote early.
Paper postal votes (delivered by Australia Post) are not offered this year.
Getting help voting
If you have questions about voting, you can contact the Returning Officer for assistance.
During the election, polling places on the Parkville, Southbank and Burnley campuses will be staffed.
We’ll provide more information about voting closer to the election.
Timetable
The election timetable will be updated throughout the election period.
- Monday, 27th July
- Formal notice of elections given
- Opening of nominations
- Opening of ticket registration
- Opening of postal vote registration
- T.B.C.
- Prospective candidates’ information session
- 12noon, Friday 14th August
- Deadline: close of nominations, including conflict of position form
- Deadline: close of ticket registrations
- Note these deadlines are written into the Electoral Regulations strictly and therefore cannot be extended.
- 11.59pm, Monday 17th August
- Deadline: changes to policy statements
- Deadline: candidate photograph submission
- Deadline: ticket “order of candidates” forms
- To be advised: candidates’ information session
- 11.59pm, Thursday 3rd September
- Close of timely applications for electronic postal votes (Note: The Regulations provide for acceptance of late applications for electronic postal votes. More information on the circumstances under which late applications will be accepted will be made available in August.)
- Monday 7th September – Friday 11th September
Election regulations
The election takes place under the auspices of the UMSU Constitution, Regulations, policy and procedures, in particular, the Electoral Regulations.
Returning Officer
The Returning Officer is responsible for managing the election. In 2026, UMSU has appointed Stephen Luntz of Above Quota Elections as Returning Officer. Patrick Clearwater has been appointed as Deputy Returning Officer.
Complaints: complaints about the conduct of the elections, or the candidates in it, can be made to the Returning Officer (below).
Office hours
Closer to the election, we’ll announce our office location and regular office hours. In the meantime, we’re available by email (below) and by appointment.
Note: We don’t have an office or regular hours on the Southbank or Burnley campuses, but can attend by appointment if needed. Please contact us below.
Contact details
The best contact for the Returning Officer is returningofficer@union.unimelb.edu.au. If you wish to contact a specific official, see below.