National Tertiary Education Industry Union | |
Founded | 1993 |
---|---|
Headquarters | Melbourne, Victoria |
Location | |
Members | 27,309 (as at 31 December 2022) [1] |
Key people | Dr Alison Barnes (National President) Damien Cahill (General Secretary) Gabe Gooding (National Assistant Secretary) |
Affiliations | ACTU, EI |
Website | www |
The National Tertiary Education Union (NTEU) is an Australian trade union for all higher education and university employees. It is an industry union, and the only union working exclusively in the Australian university sector.
The NTEU is a specialist national union solely representing staff in tertiary education. In all Australian universities, the NTEU represents professional staff, academic staff, research staff, general staff, ELICOS teachers, and staff of Student Unions and university companies. In Victoria, the NTEU also represents TAFE general staff and all staff in Adult Education.
The NTEU was formed out of previous tertiary education staff associations, principally the Federation of University Staff Associations and the Federation of College Academics. It is generally considered to be more towards the left of the union movement, and has a high focus on self-directed membership branches and the organising model of unionism. The NTEU often engages in organising campaigns to build its membership density.
The NTEU is not affiliated with any Australian political party.
Our Universities Matter is a major national campaign being run by the NTEU, launched in 2008. [2]
The campaign seeks to:
Academic Freedom Watch is a site established to promote academic freedom in Australia's universities. Created by the Victorian Division, the site includes debates and articles written by high-profile academics in this area. [3]
Our TAFEs Matter is the campaign to promote Victoria's TAFE system, which is being undermined by changes in funding systems by the Victorian Government. The changes would introduce a HECS-style loan scheme, more than double student fees and reduce public TAFE funding certainty. [4] During 2019 and 2020 members at the University of Melbourne formed a casuals network. This ran campaigns against underpayment which culminated in the university repaying $45 million in wages to current and former staff. [5]
Sentry is the NTEU's online magazine for all members during the pandemic. It is published monthly between issues of Advocate. It contains updates on campaigns and policy work, member stories and information from member experts. [6]
The NTEU publishes:
Technical and further education or simply TAFE is the common name in English-speaking countries in Oceania for vocational education, as a subset of tertiary education. TAFE institutions provide a wide range of predominantly vocational courses.
A students' union or student union, also known by many other names, is a student organization present in many colleges, universities, and high schools. In higher education, the students' union is often accorded its own building on the campus, dedicated to social, organizational activities, representation, and academic support of the membership.
The Australian Education Union (AEU) is an Australian trade union, founded in 1984 as the Australian Teachers Union, which is registered with Fair Work Australia as an employee group, and is affiliated with the Australian Council of Trade Unions. The AEU is Australia's third largest trade union, with 198,480 registered members in 2021, consisting of educators who work in public schools, colleges, early childhood and vocational settings in all states and territories of Australia. Members include teachers and allied educational staff, principals and administrators mainly in government school and TAFE systems. Teachers working in the private schools system are covered by the Independent Education Union of Australia (IEU). In some states the AEU shares coverage of some members with the National Tertiary Education Union, Community and Public Sector Union and United Workers Union. Through the Federation of Education Unions, the AEU works closely with the two other Federal unions which cover educators in non-government schools and universities. The AEU is also internationally affiliated to the Education International, which the AEU claims is "the largest non-government organisation in the world."
The Victoria University of Wellington Students' Association (VUWSA) is the official student association at Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand. VUWSA was established in 1899 as the Victoria University College Students' Society.
The Queensland Council of Unions (QCU) is a representative, an advocacy group, or peak body, of Queensland trade union organisations, also known as a labour council, in the Queensland, Australia. As of 2020, 26 unions and 13 regional branches were affiliated with the QCU. The QCU represents unions covering around 350,000 Queensland workers. It is affiliated with the Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU). Its offices are located in the suburb of South Brisbane, Queensland. As a peak body for the Queensland trade unions, the objective of the QCU is to achieve industrial, social and political justice for Queensland workers. The management structure of the QCU is made up of a committee of management and an executive of representatives comprised from affiliated unions.
The Tasmanian University Student Association (TUSA), formerly known as Tasmania University Union (TUU), is the peak body of student representation for tertiary students attending the University of Tasmania and was established in 1899.
The New South Wales Teachers Federation is the registered trade union that covers New South Wales (NSW) public school teachers. The New South Wales Teachers Federation represents all teachers in NSW public pre-schools, infants, primary and secondary schools and TAFE institutes. Teachers working in public non school based teaching service positions and corrective services are also covered by the Federation.
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 2017, Australia had over 400,000 postgraduate students, representing one quarter of all tertiary students in Australia.
Voluntary student unionism (VSU), as it is known in Australia, or voluntary student membership (VSM), as it is known in New Zealand, is a policy under which membership of – and payment of membership fees to – university student organisations is voluntary.
Graduate Women International (GWI), originally named the International Federation of University Women (IFUW), is an international organisation for women university graduates. IFUW was founded in 1919 following the First World War by both British and North American college and university workers who were hoping to contribute to congenial relations between women of different nationalities. Over 100 years later, GWI continues to advocate for women's rights, equality and empowerment through the access to quality secondary and tertiary education as well as training up to the highest levels. The goal is for 100% of girls and women worldwide to achieve an education beyond primary school.
Tertiary education in Australia is formal education beyond high school in Australia, consisting of both government and private institutions and divided into two sectors; Higher Education and Vocational Education and Training (VET) provided by government-owned TAFEs & private Registered Training Organisations (RTO). Australian Qualifications Framework (AQF), the Australian national education policy, classifies tertiary qualification into 10 levels: level 1 to 4 vocational certificates ; level 5 & 6 undergraduate diploma and advanced diploma; level 6 associate degree; level 7 bachelor degree, level 8 bachelor honours degree & graduate certificates and graduate diplomas; level 9 for master's degree; and level 10 PhD. Most universities are government owned and mostly self-regulated. For other institutes there are two national regulators for tertiary education for registration, recognition and quality assurance of both the "provider institutes" as well as the "individual courses" provided by the providers. Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency (TEQSA) regulates institutes which provide education from level 5 or above. Australian Skills Quality Authority (ASQA) regulates institutes which provide education from level 1 to level 6.
Edward J. "Ted" Steele is an Australian molecular immunologist with interests in virology and evolution. He is an honorary research associate at the C.Y.O'Connor ERADE Village Foundation in Piara Waters, WA, Australia.
Scholars at Risk (SAR) is a United States-based international network of academic institutions organized to support and defend the principles of academic freedom and to defend the human rights of scholars around the world. Network membership includes over 530 higher educational institutions in 42 countries.
The Melbourne Model is a standardised academic degree structure which was introduced at the University of Melbourne in 2008. The Melbourne Model is designed to align itself "with the best of European and Asian practice and North American traditions" specifically for "[i]nternationalising academic programs and aligning degree structures with the 'Bologna model'". As a result of its implementation the university's 96 undergraduate courses were replaced with six undergraduate degrees and professional programs. These were Arts, Science, Environment, Biomedicine, Music, and Commerce. Agriculture was added later, and Environments controversially replaced by Design. The idea was that career-oriented specialisation would occur at postgraduate level, rather than in the broad undergraduate degree itself. The shifting of Medicine and Law to postgraduate level was new in Australia.
Navitas is an Australian owned for-profit private education services company, owning various private education providers internationally. It is the largest private non-university higher education provider in Australia.
AIT, Academy of Interactive Technology is a specialist higher education and vocational education institution based in Sydney, with a second campus opening in Melbourne, Australia in 2015. AIT was established in 1999, and specialises in three disciplines: digital media, information technology, and business. AIT is a member of the NextEd group, alongside Greenwich English College, Go Study Australia, and the International School of Colour and Design (ISCD). AIT was the first in Australia to offer courses in Motion capture technology, and has the latest markerless Motion Capture system installed in its Sydney campus, in 2013, AIT was still the first Mobile Applications Development course provided. AIT holds and participates in many events, including the AIT Oscar Night, the AIT Games Night, and the Vivid Light Festival.
The New Zealand Tertiary Education Union is the main trade union in the New Zealand tertiary education sector, and represents the interests of more than 10,000 workers employed within the sector across New Zealand. Its membership includes academics, researchers, teachers and workers employed in all occupations in universities, polytechnics, institutes of technology, wānanga, other tertiary education providers and allied organisations.
Celeste Liddle is an Australian unionist, writer, and Indigenous feminist (Arrernte). Having first risen to prominence via her personal blog, Rantings of an Aboriginal Feminist, Liddle has written opinion and commentary for several media publications and anthologies.
Carolyn Allport was an Australian historian, unionist and activist.
Barbara Ann Pocock AM is an Australian politician who was elected at the 2022 Australian federal election to become a Senator representing South Australia from July 2022. She was officially declared elected by the Australian Electoral Commission on 15 June 2022. Previously, she ran as the Greens candidate for the Division of Adelaide in the 2019 Australian federal election. She is a professor and economist.