Elections

The National Union of Students (NUS) is the peak representative body for university students in Australia. From its website: “The NUS is established on the principles of student unionism and our primary objectives include working for the interest of students in improving quality of education, academic freedom, access to education, social security, health and welfare.”

Also known as “NatCon”, each December the NUS holds a national conference usually held in Melbourne or regional Victoria. The conference usually goes for 5 days and is attended by students from all over Australia to vote on the following year’s NUS office bearers and policy platform. The location of the conference in 2026 has not yet been announced.

An NUS delegate is a person that has been elected by University’s student population to attend the conference. Adelaide University students can elect 7 NUS Delegates to perform this function in 2026.

Yes, the conference costs money and the schedule of fees is usually released in November. In 2025 the cost for a full delegate registration was around $1500. Your accommodation and flights would then be on top of this. Attendance at the conference is at your own expense. Neither AUSA nor the NUS accept responsibility for funding the elected delegates.

You will need to either proxy your vote to someone else who is attending or your vote will not be counted. This is a process you’ll need to arrange with the NUS directly once the election is over.