Media Release
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
3rd February 2025 – The Council of Australian Postgraduate Associations (CAPA) is deeply concerned by the latest Universities Australia report, which reveals an alarming eight percent drop in domestic PhD enrolments between 2018 and 2023. In our 2025-2026 Pre-Budget Submission, CAPA underscored a growing crisis for postgraduate students, exacerbated by inadequate financial support and an unsustainable cost of living. PhD stipends in Australia remain far below living costs. The current base stipend is $33,511 per year. For a candidate working 40 hours per week throughout the year, this equates to just $17.45 per hour or $698 per week. This is significantly lower than the national minimum wage of $24.10 per hour.
“Full-time PhD research, we’re expected to be completing 40 hours a week on our PhD. That’s a full-time jobs equivalent of work. And most PhD students are completing more hours a week than just that 40,” said CAPA National President Jesse Gardner-Russell to the ABC.
“It’s very common for PhD students to come in at 9am and be leaving at 9, 10, 11pm.” Critically, 71% of PhD candidates work over 41 hours per week on their PhD – and they are struggling to make ends meet in this cost-of-living crisis:
“Just think of all of the things that are additional to your life beyond bills and rent and that sort of things that make you happy, and how often you have to think about whether or not you want to do those things,” said CAPA Policy and Research Officer, Maxim Jon Buckley to the ABC.
“Universities may top-up the scholarships, but this creates an impossible choice between offering more scholarships to provide. That is – more opportunities to people like myself from regional Victoria to pursue cutting edge research. Or to provide bigger stipends so that the existing PhD students are better supported. So, it is unfair to say it is the universities fault. Indeed, most universities utilise whatever resources they can to stretch the Federal Government’s funding as far and wide as they can,” said Jesse GardnerRussell on ABC News 24.
Australia’s PhD stipends are not competitive on a global scale. The average PhD stipend in the United States is AUD $67,561.40, nearly double Australia’s base rate. The United Kingdom and Canada recently raised their PhD stipend to AUD $41,372 and AUD $44,000, respectively. “We are competing with countries like Singapore, South Korea, Canada and the European Union who are investing heavily in R&D, and investing in R&D means more PhD students,” said Maxim Jon Buckley.
“There’s misalignment in how our country speaks about valuing building research capability when it pays students at the forefront of this work below the minimum wage … it becomes a labour of love,” said, Jesse Gardner-Russell to the Guardian.
Hence, CAPA implores the Federal Government to consider the following recommendations to support Australia’s future research workforce.
Recommendations:
“In the international scene, PhD research is hugely important and as a country that calls itself the clever country I think it’s really important that we support the people that are driving our reputation,” said Jesse Gardner-Russell to the ABC.
However, the continued decline in domestic PhD enrolments reflects a systemic failure to support students adequately. “We’re talking about the top talent in our country. They are looking at other opportunities, other avenues, which will provide either stable employment and that could be in industry or in the public sector, or at other universities to complete their PhDs in other countries,”
ENDS
Jesse Gardner-Russell | Taylor Broadbent
National President | Media and Communications Director
Council of Australian Postgraduate Associations Inc.
Level 1, 120 Clarendon St, Southbank, Victoria 300
Dear member organizations, postgraduate students and
stakeholders,
It is the Board’s pleasure to announce that the Council of Australian
Postgraduate Associations is recruiting five (5) additional board members to
join the peak body for all postgraduate students of Australia.
Pursuant to clause 28.5 (a) of the Constitution of Council of Australian Postgraduate Associations Inc. (CAPA), Appointed Directors shall be appointed by the Appointments Committee. CAPA Board members appointed by the board hold office for two years.
A CAPA Board member appointed by the Board to fill a casual vacancy holds office shall hold office for the balance of the term of the vacating Appointed Director. A CAPA Board member may be re-appointed for a further 2 terms (Rule 28.6).
As per the constitution, the CAPA Appointments Committee is looking to appoint five (5) Appointed Directors, who may may be any person who, in the opinion of the Appointments Committee, will improve the identity, qualification, or skills diversity of the Board (clause 28.5 (c)). Three (3) of the appointed directors shall hold a term of two (2 years) and two (2) of the appointed directors shall hold a term of one (1) year.
As per the constitution, the CAPA Appointments Committee encourages any individual identifying as LGBTQI+, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander, an International Student, a Woman, or having had lived experience of disability, to apply.
Additionally, as per the Electoral Regulations, the Appointments Committee will be appointing two (2) casual vacancies to fill the National Representative Council, Women’s Officer and Queer Officer positions.
APPLICATION PROCESS:
If you are interested in applying and assist in the representation of over 485,000+ Australian Postgraduate Students, then please submit your cover letter and resume by January 31, 2025, to the Association Secretary, Mr Viknash VM at board@capa.edu.au.
At its Annual Council Meeting (ACM) on 16th November, the Council of Australian Postgraduate Associations (CAPA) elected a highly capable, diverse team of postgraduate representatives to advocate for the needs of postgraduates in 2025.
“2025 is going to be a critical year for all postgraduates. It’s a Federal election year, with education on the agenda. This means it is the time for all postgraduate organisations to come together, pool their resources and capabilities to put postgrads at the top of the national conversation,” said Jesse Gardner-Russell, the incoming 2025 National President and 2024 Board Chair.
“2025 will see CAPA campaigning on the key issues for all postgraduate students. This means fighting for an increase in the HDR stipend. This means fighting for paid placements for all our professional entry coursework students and against the international student caps.”
“This work will only be possible thanks to the commitment of our diligent and talented 2025 national team, and the continual support of our members and partners.”
“CAPA will work closely with our partners in the Group of Eight, Universities Australia, the Australian Council of Graduate Research, the National Union of Students, and the NSW International Student Representative Committee to ensure that a united voice for postgraduate students studying in Australia is recognised and heard,” said Richard Lee, 2024 National President and 2025 National Vice President.
“CAPA is well placed in 2025 to continue its 45-year history of improving the conditions for over 485,000 postgraduate students in Australia, including those pursuing coursework and research degrees. In 2024, we focused on improving the governance of CAPA so that we can operate as an effective, modern-day not-for-profit organisation committed to equity, advocacy, and independent representation, including our close collaboration with the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Postgraduate Association (NATSIPA),” said National Secretary, Viknash VM.
“The CAPA Board is proud to launch its 2025-2026 Strategic Plan to provide renewed focus and ambition to deliver outcomes for its members ahead of the 2025 Federal election.”
CAPA acknowledges that between late 2021 and the first half of 2024, that internal governance matters hindered the organisation’s ability to effectively deliver for the 485,000+ students CAPA represents. The 2024 Board, led by Jesse Gardner-Russell (Board Chair), Viknash VM (National Secretary), Richard Lee (National President), Yujia (Lucy) Zhang (National Vice President), Muhammad Rana, and Dr Sharlene Leroy-Dyer, has worked tirelessly throughout 2024 to address these issues, and resolve them ahead of the 2025 term.
| Name | Position | Institution |
| Jesse Gardner-Russell | National President | The University of Melbourne |
| Sharlene Leroy-Dyer | NATSIPA Appointee | The University of Melbourne |
| Vacant | Board Chair | |
| Viknash VM | Board Secretary | The University of Western Australia |
| Vacant | Board Treasurer | |
| Vivian Bai | Board Director | The University of Sydney |
| Mitchell Craig | Board Director | Curtin University |
| Amitabh Jeganathan | Board Director | The University of Western Australia |
Table 1. Board Directors for 2025
| Name | Position | Institution |
| Jesse Gardner-Russell | National President | The University of Melbourne |
| Richard Lee | Vice President | The University of Queensland |
| Sharlene Leroy-Dyer | NATSIPA Liaison Officer | The University of Melbourne |
| Taylor Broadbent | Media and Communications | The University of Melbourne |
| Weihong Liang | International Officer | The University of Sydney |
| Gemma Lucy Smart | Disabilities Officer | The University of Sydney |
| Maxim Jon Buckley | Policy and Research Officer | The University of Adelaide |
| Charlie Tran | Regional Officer | Griffith University |
| Vacant | Women’s Officer | |
| Vacant | Queer Officer |
Table 1. Elected National Representative Committee for 2025
ENDS
Jesse Gardner-Russell
National President | Council of Australian Postgraduate Associations Inc.
Level 1, 120 Clarendon St, Southbank, Victoria 3006
president@capa.edu.au | boardchair@capa.edu.au
