Start a Grad Group
Thank you for your interest in starting a Grad Group!
For more information on the affiliation process, or anything else associated with Grad Groups, please contact the Grad Groups team at gradgroups@gsa.unimelb.edu.au.
What is a Grad Group?
A Grad Group is a GSA-affiliated student society that supports, and is led by, graduate students at the University of Melbourne. GSA’s Grad Groups promote interaction, welfare and cohesion within the University of Melbourne’s diverse graduate student population and fall under the following broad categories:
- Academic
- Business & enterprise
- Creative, media & performance
- Faith & spirituality
- International & cultural
- Physical activity, sports & games
- Political, campaigning & social justice
- Professional development
- Representation & inclusion
- Special interest
- Sustainability & the environment
- Welfare & wellbeing
Any University of Melbourne graduate student can set up a Grad Group! You just need six members, a common interest and some documentation that we can help you with! To talk through the benefits of affiliating, find out what funding opportunities there are and discuss the affiliation process, feel free to book in with the Grad Groups team via email gradgroups@gsa.unimelb.edu.au to get started.
Why affiliate with GSA
An affiliated Grad Group receives:
- Funding and grants
- Equipment hire
- Representation
- Networking opportunities with GSA and other Grad Groups
- Marketing assistance
- Training
- Public liability insurance
- Services, support and advice
Grad Group funding
GSA provides Grad Groups with the funding through
- Annual funding (via reimbursements)
- Special grants
Funding is based on group size, with our smaller groups getting $400 a year (in annual funding) and our largest groups getting $8,000. Groups may also apply for special grants and training subsidies. Upfront funding remains the same, no matter the time of year a Group affiliates, however, annual funding is allocated pro-rata as per the table below.
| Affiliation application received | Affiliation active from | % of Annual funding allocation |
|---|---|---|
| 1 Oct – 31 Dec | 1 January | 100% |
| 1 Jan – 31 Mar | 1 April | 75% |
| 1 Apr – 30 Jun | 1 July | 50% |
| 1 Jul – 30 Sep | 1 October | 25% |
Find out more about Grad Group funding here
Joint affiliation
We welcome joint affiliations for student clubs who wish to affiliate with GSA and UMSU. The guidelines for joint affiliation can be found here.
How to affiliate
We process affiliations four times a year: in March, June, September and December. You can submit your application via the form below at any time.
| Affiliation application received | Affiliation active from |
|---|---|
| 1 Oct – 31 Dec | 1 January |
| 1 Jan – 31 Mar | 1 April |
| 1 Apr – 30 Jun | 1 July |
| 1 Jul – 30 Sep | 1 October |
If you’re interested in forming a Grad Group, you’ll need just six University of Melbourne graduate students with a common interest, a bank account, a constitution (with some basic requirements that we will provide to you), a governing committee (for example, President, Treasurer and Secretary), a Group email address and to hold a meeting where your members vote to affiliate with us.
Your Group’s aims must include at least one of the following:
- To develop graduate student community and provide social experiences
- To enhance the academic life and skills of graduate students
- To foster and promote graduate student creativity and accomplishments
- To foster collaboration in and the communication of graduate student research and ideas
- To promote graduate student welfare and wellbeing
- To provide professional development and upskilling opportunities for graduate students
- To provide space, support and voice for under-represented graduate student
- To represent graduate students and develop and empower graduate student voice
To apply, please complete the Affiliation Form. You will need the following:
- You group details and description
- A copy of your Constitution
- Your membership list and membership details
- Your committee list
- Minutes from the meeting where you voted to affiliate
- Details of your bank account and signatories
- Your group’s logo
- Social media and contact details
Useful resources
To help you set up your Grad Group, we’ve compiled these templates:
Model Constitution Committee List/Membership list/Bank details template
Meeting Agenda & Minutes Template
Affiliate Form
To submit your application to, please fill out all the sections below. You’ll need:
- You group details and description
- A copy of your Constitution
- Your membership list and membership details
- Your committee list
- Minutes from the meeting where you voted to affiliate
- Details of your bank account and signatories
- Your group’s logo
- Social media and contact details