Council of Australian Postgraduate Associations

Council of Australian Postgraduate Associations

Abbreviation	CAPA
Predecessor	N/A
Formation	1979; 46 years ago (1979)
Headquarters	Level 1, 120 Clarendon St, Southbank, Victoria 3006.
Location	Australia
Membership	33 affiliated university student organisations representing over 440,000 students
President	Jesse Gardner-Russell
Vice-President	Richard Lee
Key people	Board Chair: Viknash VM Board Secretary: Mitchell Craig Board Treasurer: Yujia (Lucy) Zhang NATSIPA Board Appointee: Dr Sharlene Leroy-Dyer Media and Communications Officer: Taylor Broadbent Policy and Research Officer: Maxim Jon Buckley Disabilities Officer: Gemma Smart International Students Officer: Weihong Liang Regional Officer: Charlie Tran Women's Officer: Vaness Yap Queer Officer: Natrydd Sigurthur
Main organ	Board of Directors
Affiliations	Australian Council of Graduate Research Science and Technology Australia
Website	https://www.capa.edu.au/

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.