Council of Australian Postgraduate Associations
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.
History
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.
Structure
CAPA consists of elected representatives on three committees: the governing Executive Committee, the Equity committee, and the Engagement Committee. The NATSIPA Liaison Officer sits on all committees. Each committee meets on a monthly basis. New committee members are elected at the Annual Council Meeting, which is held in November.
2020 National representative committee [4]
National President- Romana-Rea Begicevic
Vice President- Bojana Klepac Pogrmilovic (half term), superseded by Errol Phuah
NATSIPA Liaison Officer- Sharlene Leroy-Dyer
Media Officer- Anushka Kapoor
Policy and Research Advisor- Errol Phuah
International Officer- Devendra Singh
Women's Officer- Aishwarya Singh
Queer Officer- Shae Brown
Disabilities Officer- Ashik Mathulla
2020 Board of directors [5]
Chair of the Board- Saira Khan
Secretary of the board- Adam Red Scorgie
Member of the board- Maimuna Majimbi
Member of the board- Peter Watson
Member of the board- Nithin Ponnaluru
Member of the board- Aidan Cornelius-Bell
NATSIPA Liaison Officer- Dr. Sharlene Leroy-Dyer
Past Office bearers
National Presidents
| 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 Byran | ||
| 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 | ||
| 2013 | Meghan Hopper | ||
| 2014 | Meghan Hopper | ||
| 2015 | Harry Rolf | ||
| 2016 | Jim Smith | ||
| 2017 | Peter Derbyshire | ||
| 2018 | Natasha Abrahams | ||
| 2019 | Natasha Abrahams | ||
| 2020 | Romana-Rea Begicivic | ||
Vice Presidents
| 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 | ||
| 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 | ||
References
- "2015 First half year student summary tables". Australian Government Department of Education and Training. Retrieved 25 July 2016.
- "Twenty five years of CAPA – the fight is far from over" (PDF). Council of Australian Postgraduate Associations. Archived from the original (PDF) on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 25 July 2016.
- "About NATSIPA". NATSIPA. Retrieved 25 July 2016.
- http://www.capa.edu.au/announcement-capa-office-bearers-elected-2018/
- http://www.capa.edu.au/announcement-capa-office-bearers-elected-2018/