Under the “Higher Education Support (Student Services, Amenities, Representation and Advocacy) Guidelines 2022”, Universities are required to have a formal process of consultation with democratically elected student representatives and representatives from major student organisations regarding the specific uses of the fee.

This consultation must include:

  • Publishing identified priorities for proposed fee expenditure and allowing opportunities to comment on those priorities by students as well as student associations and organisations; and
  • Meeting with democratically elected student representatives and representatives from major student organisations at the university to consider priorities for use of the fee.
Learn more about Student Services and Amenities Fee (SSAF) and SA-HELP

2026 SSAF allocation process and timeline

The application process will adhere to the following events and timeline in Table 1.

Table 1. SSAF allocation process and timeline
When Action Description Who
August 2025 2026 SSAF applications open

SSAF website detailing how to apply for SSAF allocation funding:

 Student bodies and University
8 – 17 September 2025 Student consultation and feedback gathered for priorities

All students are sent the consultation survey via student email to have their say.

Students are also invited to email any additional feedback to the Office of the Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Education, Experience & Employability) via: eee@swin.edu.au		 Swinburne higher education and vocational education students eligible to pay SSAF
30 September 2025 Student written feedback published on 2026 SSAF webpage

The proposed priorities, taking into consideration the feedback provided in the consultation survey, are published on this webpage:

 Office of the DVC EEE
Early October 2025 Student Bodies: Written feedback deadline

Student bodies are invited to provide written feedback regarding proposed 2025 SSAF expenditure and/or the allocations process (may include written student feedback sent directly to the student bodies) via email in the following ways:

  • To: The Office of the Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Education, Experience & Employability): eee@swin.edu.au
    Subject: 2026 SSAF Allocation Feedback
 Student bodies
Late October 2025 SSAF application due for 2026 SSAF. Applications close COB Wednesday 22 October

Email completed applications as follows:

  • To: The Office of the Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Education, Experience & Employability) eee@swin.edu.au
    Subject: 2026 SSAF Allocation Application
 Student bodies and University
Late October 2025 SSAF ARC meeting to review applications and make recommendations to the Vice Chancellor SSAF ARC (Student Services and Amenities Fees Allocation and Reporting Committee) SSAF ARC and Vice Chancellor
November 2025 Announcement of SSAF recipients

All feedback will be considered with the Vice-Chancellor reaching a decision on the 2026 SSAF allocation in November 2025. Application results will be:

  • Listed on 2026 SSAF webpage. 
  • Emailed to applicants (successful and unsuccessful).
 Student bodies and University

SSAF 2026 - Estimated SSAF

Estimated SSAF to be collected for 2026 is:

$8,530,000*

*Note: This estimated amount may change in 2026 pending actual student enrolments.

2026 SSAF student consultation and feedback

A consultation survey was distributed via student email to all eligible SSAF paying students – including higher education and vocational education to gain student feedback on what they consider to be most important for SSAF-funded priorities at Swinburne. The survey was open from Monday 8 September to Wednesday 17 September 2025.

Of the nineteen allowable spend categories permitted by the government for SSAF expenditure, Swinburne students indicated they would like to see the following areas prioritised for 2026.

The top six spend categories for Swinburne students, ranked in order of preference, are:

  1. promoting the health or welfare of students
  2. helping students obtain employment or advice on careers
  3. providing food or drink to students on campus
  4. providing libraries and reading rooms or student spaces (other than those provided for academic purposes) for students
  5. helping students develop skills for study, by means other than undertaking courses of study in which they are enrolled
  6. helping students with their financial affairs.

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