GSA would like to congratulate all the newly elected representatives for the 2024-2025 term and thank all the outgoing representatives for all their hard work over the year.
We are aware of some concerns/queries around the current GSA elections. We would like to clarify that the Association’s elections are operated via a third party, contracted to run the election process in an independent manner – a Returning Officer (RO).
The RO is appointed by the independent Electoral Tribunal and is answerable to it. The Electoral Tribunal further independently decides on all appeals and other matters regarding the Electoral Regulations of The Associations elections.
The whole process is independently managed: GSA Staff, GSA executives and elected representatives are not involved in the management of the elections. The Electoral Tribunal has looked at all the appeals/queries raised and declared the 2024 election results. All votes cast have been counted and will be valid for any countback elections conducted as stipulated in the Electoral Regulations.
The Electoral Tribunal has also provided recommendations to the GSA that amendments be made to the Electoral Regulations and the processes that they govern. As part of continuously improving our governance, GSA will look at re-establishing a working group comprising a broad membership to further improve the robustness of our electoral processes.
We understand the feelings that everyone may have resulting from the outcome of elections, and we empathise with your feelings. If anyone would like to discuss and clarify things, please feel free to reach out to us at GSA Governance governance@gsa.unimelb.edu.au or email your queries to the GSA General Secretary at gensec@gsa.unimelb.edu.au
Thank you for all your support as we continue working on supporting our graduate community.