RMIT University Student Union. For Students, By Students.
- rusu@rmit.edu.au
RMIT University Student Union. For Students, By Students.
RUSU is passionate about creating a better future for students at RMIT. Our campaigns team advocates directly to the university for high quality education and assessment experiences, inclusive practices, fair policies and procedures, excellent facilities and student spaces and a vibrant campus community.
Each year RUSU presents a list of priorities it believes are necessary to enhance student experience at RMIT. Over the year the student union will advocate strongly for change to deliver these priorities, often working in collaboration with the University to make positive change that supports students.
Events, advocacy, welfare and care packs are just a small part of what we deliver for students every year, and we are always working hard, behind the scenes, to deliver key initiatives to improve the student experience at RMIT, and to fight for the support students need, when they need it most. Here is just a snapshot of what we have achieved:
We’ve expanded Healthy Breakfasts and Chill n Grill to more campuses, and our pop-up markets deliver fresh fruit and veggies all through semester. With our Just Food Collective collab, Compass Marketplaces and Cost of Living Week, students get even more free groceries and produce. Still hungry? Realfoods café now offers $6 curry and rice on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, plus $4 meals on Tuesday nights to fuel late study sessions.
RMIT has introduced interim ELPs for students who engage with the Equitable Learning Service. After RUSU raised the issue at Academic Board, RMIT is investigating ways to ensure that students on ELPs get reasonable adjustments to assessment when requested or are supported to have meaningful discussions with academics to determine how they can participate equitably in assessments.
RUSU takes another step to end deadnaming at university by advocating for trans and gender non-conforming students to be able to have their preferred name on their students cards as opposed to their legal name. First Nations students can also request a student card with a traditional name/cultural name too.
After RUSU joined their voice with other student organisations and advocated strongly to the University Accord process for federal support to end placement poverty, 2025 saw the start of the Commonwealth Prac Payment putting an extra $330+ a week into the pockets of students on placement in select programs.
Our VE Officer has worked hard this year to secure a universal submission deadline for VE assessments, a huge help for the thousands of students who had deadlines which clashed with their in-person learning or apprenticeship hours.
Thanks to RUSU’s advocacy free period products are now available in more bathrooms across all campuses, including disabled and all-genders bathrooms.
We heard how disappointed students were to lose access to Adobe Suite last year. We advocated for RMIT to re-instate access for students who wanted to use Adobe again. Students can now fill in a short form to opt-in to access and regain use of the software.
RUSU was clear that student access to the Multifaith Centre was essential during Ramadan. We worked with RMIT to ensure the opening hours matched key prayer times throughout Ramadan. We are now working with the University and student groups to ensure that opening hours going forward reflect when students are most likely to be on campus and need access to the centre.