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.[1]
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.
CAPA was founded in 1979 by a coalition of ten postgraduate organisations in order to protest taxation on postgraduate research scholarships.[2] 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.[3] 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.
CAPA consists of elected representatives who sit on the Board and the National Representative Council: the governing Executive Committee, the Equity committee, and the Engagement Committee. New committee members are elected at the Annual Council Meeting by the membership, which is held in November.
2024 National representative committee [4]
| Position | Name | Term | |
|---|---|---|---|
| National President | Yujia (Lucy) Zhang | Acting | |
| Vice President | Yujia (Lucy) Zhang | 2024 | |
| General Secretary | Simar Bedi | 2024 | |
| Media & Communications Officer | Jordan Di Natale | 2024 | |
| NATSIPA Liaison Officer | Dr Sharlene Leroy-Dyer | 2024 | |
| Policy and Research Advisor | Vacant | 2024 | |
| International Officer | Vacant | 2024 | |
| Women's Officer | Vacant | 2024 | |
| Queer Officer | Vacant | 2024 | |
| Disabilities Officer | Vacant | 2024 |
2024 Board of directors [5]
| Position | Name | Term | Membership | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Board Chair | Jesse Gardner Russell | 2023–2025, 1st Term | Elected | |
| Board Secretary | Viknash VM | 2023–2025, 1st Term | Elected | |
| Board Member | Muhammad Rana | 2023–2025, 1st Term | Appointed | |
| Board Member | Vacant | NA | ||
| Board Member | Vacant | NA | ||
| Board Member | Vacant | NA | ||
| NATSIPA Board Representative | Dr Sharlene Leroy-Dyer | 2019 -2024 | Appointed by NATSIPA |
| National President | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Name | ||
| 1979 | Andrew Pik | ||
| 1980 | Robert Biggins | ||
| 1981 | Suw Hatherly | ||
| 1982 | Russel Jacobs | ||
| 1983 | Russel Jacobs | ||
| 1983 | Hal Swerissen | ||
| 1985 | Catherine Cuthbert | ||
| 1985 | Anne Seitz | ||
| 1986 | Anne Seitz | ||
| 1987 | Anne Seitz | ||
| 1988 | Tony Ryan | ||
| 1989 | Monica Carroll to Katw le Strange | ||
| 1990 | Paul Dworjanyn | ||
| 1991 | Teresa Tjia | ||
| 1992 | Teresa Tija | ||
| 1993 | Shane Ostenfield | ||
| 1994 | Oliver Simmonson | ||
| 1995 | Simon Vanderaa | ||
| 1996 | Danielle Brown | ||
| 1997 | Danielle Brown to Bronwyn Fredericks | ||
| 1998 | Robert Jansen to Jill Thorpe | ||
| 1999 | Tom Clark | ||
| 2000 | Bradley Smith | ||
| 2001 | John Byron | ||
| 2002 | Leisa Ridges | ||
| 2003 | Benjamin McKay | ||
| 2004 | Stephen Horton | ||
| 2005 | Stephen Horton | ||
| 2006 | Jason Hart | ||
| 2007 | Nigel Palmer | ||
| 2008 | Nigel Palmer | ||
| 2009 | Nigel Palmer | ||
| 2010 | Tammy Jonas | ||
| 2011 | John Nowakowski | ||
| 2012 | Chamonix Terblanche to Meghan Hopper | ||
| 2013 | Meghan Hopper | ||
| 2014 | Meghan Hopper to Vino Rajandran | ||
| 2015 | Harry Rolf | ||
| 2016 | Jim Smith | ||
| 2017 | Peter Derbyshire | ||
| 2018 | Natasha Abrahams | ||
| 2019 | Natasha Abrahams | ||
| 2020 | Romana-Rea Begicivic | ||
| 2021 | Errol Phuah | ||
| Vice President - National Operations Committee (Discontinued) | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Name | ||
| 1981 - position created | Russel Jacobs | ||
| 1982 | Mike Lawson | ||
| 1983 | Hal Swerissen | ||
| 1984 | Katherine Ingram | ||
| 1985 | Gary Baker | ||
| 1986 | William Renfrew | ||
| 1987 | Willian Renfrew | ||
| 1988 | Adele Milne to John Frame | ||
| 1989 | Kate le Strange to Tracy Cross | ||
| 1990 | - | ||
| 1991 | - | ||
| 1992 | - | ||
| 1993 | Oliver Simmonson | ||
| 1994 | Ramona Mitussis | ||
| 1995 | Danielle Brown | ||
| 1996 | Joe Brennan & Phil Reid | ||
| 1997 | Bronwyn Fredericks to Sali Bache | ||
| 1998 | Jill Thorpe to Tom Clark | ||
| 1999 | Steve Warren | ||
| 2000 | Harriet Baillie | ||
| 2001 | Angela Pratt | ||
| 2002 | Jasmina Brankovich | ||
| 2003 | Svetia Petkova | ||
| 2004 | Benjamin McKay | ||
| 2005 | - | ||
| 2006 | - | ||
| 2007 | - | ||
| 2008 | Katherine Barnsley | ||
| 2009 | Tammi Jonas | ||
| 2010 | - | ||
| 2011 | Philippa Hunter | ||
| 2012 | Harry Rolf | ||
| 2013 | Harry Rolf | ||
| 2014 | David Nowak | ||
| 2015 | Jim Smith | ||
| 2016 | Zhao (Joe) Lu | ||
| 2017 | Dylan Styles | ||
| 2018 | Anish Saini | ||
| 2019 - Discontinued | - | ||
| Vice President - Equity (Discontinued) | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Name | ||
| 2009 - position created | Katherine Barnsley | ||
| 2010 | - | ||
| 2011 | Meghan Hopper | ||
| 2012 | Angelus Morningstar to Areti Metuamate | ||
| 2013 | Alex Chung | ||
| 2014 | Sadie Heckenberg & Vino Rajandran | ||
| 2015 | Mia Kwok | ||
| 2016 | Alyssa Shaw | ||
| 2017 | Vibol Hy | ||
| 2018 | Mick Fox | ||
| 2019 - Discontinued | - | ||
| National Vice President | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Name | ||
| 2019 - position created | Rachel Brisbane | ||
| 2020 | Bojana Klepac then Errol Phuah | ||
| 2021 | Adam Scorgie (resigned May 2021) | ||
| 2022 | Muhammad Bilal Shaikh | ||
| 2023 | |||
| General Secretary (National Secretary & Treasurer position merge in 2015) | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Name | ||
| 1980 - position created | Geoff Prince | ||
| 1981 | Paul Wormell | ||
| 1982 | |||
| 1983 | Rita Hermus | ||
| 1984 | Harold Thornton | ||
| 1985 | Brenda Biggs | ||
| 1986 | Paul Lewis & Rick Moore | ||
| 1987 | Steven Harvey | ||
| 1988 | David Albrecht | ||
| 1989 | Lorraine M Elliot | ||
| 1990 | Sue Weston | ||
| 1991 | Barbara Murray | ||
| 1992 | Barbara Murray | ||
| 1993 | Christine Beveridge | ||
| 1994 | Craig Meer | ||
| 1995 | Jane Fischer | ||
| 1996 | Paul Vince | ||
| 1997 | Steven Warren | ||
| 1998 | Steven Warren | ||
| 1999 | Alana Chinn | ||
| 2000 | Alana Clohesy | ||
| 2001 | Alister Air | ||
| 2002 | James Taylor | ||
| 2003 | Gavin Hazel | ||
| 2004 - | Gavin Hazel | ||
| 2005 - 2007 | - | ||
| 2008 - | Bronwyn Crowe | ||
| 2009 - | Bronwyn Crowe | ||
| 2010 - | - | ||
| 2011 - | Joseph Provenzano | ||
| 2012 | John Nowakowski | ||
| 2013 | James Searle | ||
| 2014 | Eduardo Jordan | ||
| 2015 | Andi Deane | ||
| 2016 | Peter Hurley | ||
| 2017 | Natasha Abrahams | ||
| 2018 | Dylan Styles | ||
| 2019 | Rachael Brisbane | ||
| 2020 | Bojana Klepac then Errol Phuah | ||
| 2021 | Saira Khan | ||
| 2022 | |||
| 2023 | Muhammad Bilal Shaikh | ||
| International Officer | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | Devendra Singh | ||
| 2020 | Devendra Singh | ||
| Treasurer (discontinued) | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Name | ||
| 1981 - position created | Tim Dabbs | ||
| 1982 - | Ken Straham | ||
| 1983 - | Ken Straham | ||
| 1984 - | Elizabeth Kerr | ||
| 1985 - | Elizabeth Kerr | ||
| 1986 - | John Frame | ||
| 1987 - | John Frame | ||
| 1988 - | Timothy Littlejohn | ||
| 1989 - | Jane Murfett | ||
| 1990 - | Brian Jardine | ||
| 1991 - | David Smith | ||
| 1992 - | David Smith | ||
| 1993 - | David Smith | ||
| 1994 - | Richard Matejic | ||
| 1995 - | Ken Taylor | ||
| 1996 - | Andrew Grienke | ||
| 1997 - | Andrew Grienke | ||
| 1998 - | Andrew Woolf | ||
| 1999 - | Rod Jarman | ||
| 2000 - | Rod Jarman | ||
| 2001 - | David Coffman | ||
| 2002 - | David Coffman | ||
| 2003 - | Prem Legha | ||
| 2004 - | Kristen Thuy Hunyh | ||
| 2005 - 2007 | |||
| 2008 - | Nick McCarthy | ||
| 2009 - | Melissa Lovell | ||
| 2010 - | |||
| 2011 - | Pricilla Rogers | ||
| 2012 - | Adrian Soh | ||
| 2013 - | Sharangan Maheswaran | ||
| 2014 - | Arjuna Mohattala | ||
| 2015 - Discontinued | |||
| Executive and Research Officer - Policy and Research Officer | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| 1982 - position created | Marion Zaunbrecher | ||
| 1983 | Linda Barwick | ||
| 1984 | Jan Macintyre | ||
| 1985 - 1994 | |||
| 1995 | Mark Frankland | ||
| 1996 | Mark Frankland | ||
| 1997 | Mark Frankland | ||
| 1998 | Mark Frankland | ||
| 1999 | Mark Frankland | ||
| 2000 | Mark Frankland | ||
| 2001 | Mark Frankland & Karen Mann & Hilary Pearse | ||
| 2002 - 2010 | |||
| 2011 - re-introduced as Policy & Research Advisor | Tammi Jonas | ||
| 2012 | Meghan Hopper | ||
| 2013 | Angelus Morningstar | ||
| 2014 | Sharangan Maheswaran | ||
| 2015 | Peter Derbyshire | ||
| 2016 | Vikraman Selvaraja | ||
| 2017 | Simon Burnett | ||
| 2018 | Simon Burnett | ||
| 2019 | Owen Miles | ||
| 2020 | Errol Phuah | ||
| 2021 | Eve Walker (resigned May 2021) | ||
| Media & Communications Officer | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 - position created | Caitlin Bruty | ||
| 2016 | Natasha Abrahams | ||
| 2017 | Damilola ayeni | ||
| 2018 | Zoe Tulip | ||
| 2019 | Zoe Tulip | ||
| 2020 | Anushka Kapoor | ||
| 2021 | Anushka Kapoor | ||
| 2022 | |||
| 2023 | Elsa Chew | ||