r/Anu

https://www.righttoknow.org.au/request/anyou_survey_disaggregated_by_co#incoming-48060

Hey all,

For any international students who's done COMP4820 or similar internship-for-credit courses, does the work you do count toward your student visa's work limit, or is it treated as study since it's a credit bearing course?

I'm doing a paid internship through COMP4820 for one semester and looking to apply for an external casual role on top of that to keep finances afloat. I want to make sure I'm not accidentally stacking up more work hours than my visa allows, but I can't find a clear answer on whether internship-for-credit hours count separately from paid casual work.

For reference, COMP4820 is not exactly a mandatory course, but one of the three possible capstone courses required for my degree.

I'm booking an appointment through ANUSA legal service to ask about this, but current booking times are sparse given it's currently the term break, and given the narrow external job application windows, I'd appreciate any help or pointers I can get here! Thanks in advance.

https://www.timeshighereducation.com/news/consult-properly-over-restructures-australian-universities-told

Published on July 2, 2026

John Ross

Sham and shortcut consultations frowned on, as Canberra mulls more governance reforms

Universities will be expected to pursue “best-practice and meaningful consultation” over major restructure proposals, and to involve staff and students “prior to decisions being made”, under recommendations accepted by the Australian government.

Institutions will also be obliged to set minimum quotas for governing council members who have expertise in higher education and public administration.

In a report tabled in parliament, the federal government has supported all 12 recommendations from last September’s interim report of the Senate Education and Employment Committee’s 2025 inquiry into university governance.

The government has also supported, or supported in principle, five of the eight recommendations from the inquiry’s final report in December.

Canberra had already committed to many of the reforms after receiving a separate report from the Expert Council on University Governance, which urged the insertion of eight new “governance principles” into the threshold standards by which Australian universities are regulated.

The endorsement of most of the Senate committee recommendations appears to further strengthen the transparency and governance obligations on universities, without outlining how these expectations will be enforced.

Joo-Cheong Tham, Victorian assistant secretary of the National Tertiary Education Union (NTEU), said more explicit consultation requirements could ultimately prevent a lot of grief for university administrators as well as their staff.

Tham cited Deakin University’s recent attempt to restructure, which stalled amid upheavals including the abrupt departure of the vice-chancellor. In a mea culpa email to staff, Deakin’s chancellor Claire Higgins and “caretaker” vice-chancellor Matthew Clarke vowed to be more consultative in the future. “Change will still be needed…but it must be the right change, shaped with you, and that is the lesson we are taking from this.”

The Australian National University is among other institutions that have endured turmoil over perceptions of tick-box consultation on poorly premised restructures in which the decisions appeared to have been made in advance.

In a recommendation to yet another university governance inquiry, in Victoria, the NTEU said “major change processes” – including the development of restructure proposals – should be “transparent, consultative and reviewed after two years”.

Regular restructures produce a “hiring-firing yo-yo” with “damaging effects on staff wellbeing”, the union told the Victorian committee.

While the federal government has accepted the bulk of the Senate inquiry’s recommendations, it has shrugged off several including a call for the Education Department to fast-track its work to improve statistical reporting on the numbers of casual university staff and the share of teaching work they perform.

The government also refused to commit to most of the 33 separate recommendations lodged by crossbench members of the Senate committee, including Greens senators and Canberra independent David Pocock.

But the government gave in-principle support to three of Pocock’s proposals, including a requirement on universities to publish “disclosure-of-interests” registers covering their senior executives and governing body members, and to “update them in real time”.

It comes after a recent New South Wales auditor-general’s investigation found over 790 instances of university employees with directorships in organisations that provided services to the universities, of which 30 per cent had not been declared on conflict-of-interest registers. Forty-four involved senior executives, of which 10 had not been declared.

Collectively, these “vendor” organisations earned A$353 million (£184 million) from the state’s universities last year.

The auditor-general said some of the omitted declarations appeared to be genuine oversights – either because the outside directorships “arose by virtue of their role at the university”, or because university staff had left before completing their end-of-year disclosures – but referred the findings to universities’ internal audit units for “further review”.

I received the rest of my marks today, I put the raw marks into a weighted calculator and got 79.6 raw.

In the final mark, does this get scaled or rounded up. I really need a HD in at least one of my courses to get my GPA to where it needs to be.

Does anyone know the answer to this! I can’t handle the suspense of waiting for my final marks…

I would like to defer my acceptance but it says to fill out a form, and it says that my application will be re-evaluated. Does this apply even if I already have an offer? Is there no option to defer without being re-evaluated?

Hi everyone,
I’m an Asian student who will be studying at ANU soon.
I have sensitive skin and scalp, so I’ve often used sunscreen, sunglasses, long sleeves, hats, and a UV parasol whenever I’m outdoors. It’s mainly to protect my skin.
However, I’ve heard that parasols aren’t very common in Australia, and that people who use them are often assumed to be tourists. That made me a little worried.
At ANU (or Australian universities in general), how often do you actually see students using parasols?
If you saw an Asian student walking around campus with a parasol almost every day, would it seem strange or socially awkward? Would it make it harder to fit in or make friends, or would most people not care?
I’m trying to balance protecting my skin with blending into campus life, so I’d really appreciate honest opinions from locals or current students.
Thanks!

MONASH OR ANU??

my_qualifications :- 12th student

Hey everyone, I've received undergraduate offers for Software Engineering/Computer Science from several Australian universities, including UWA, Adelaide, RMIT, Monash, and ANU. I’ve narrowed my options down to Monash and ANU, but I'm completely stuck in a 50-50 dilemma and could really use some perspective. The ANU Dilemma On one hand, ANU has immense prestige as Australia's national university. However, I’ve been reading a lot about their recent financial restructuring ("Renew ANU"), massive staff layoffs, and executive departures over the last couple of years.
Is this negatively affecting the student experience or course quality for computing/software students right now? Does it make choosing ANU a risky bet for a 2026/2027 intake, or are they successfully bouncing back? The Monash Dilemma On the other hand, Monash has its famous Industry-Based Learning (IBL) program, which looks like an incredible launchpad for internships and graduate employment.
I’ve heard the selection process for IBL is fiercely competitive (requiring a high WAM/GPA and multiple rounds of interviews).
If I don't manage to get into the IBL program, does Monash lose its main competitive edge over ANU for software engineering?

ould be about the courses, the colleges, Canberra itself, or just how to actually survive the place. the stuff nobody puts in the official guides. what would you tell someone walking in on day one?

Received an unconditional offer for Masters (Sem 1, 2027) on Friday/26th June, any idea on when they usually send out scholarship offers? (Intl student here)

In my degree there is 1 slot saying: Must do at least 6 units of Transdisciplinary, and 6 units of ICT-related. Logically, it is possible to do two different courses (one in Trans, one in ICT) with the total of 12 units. However is it possible if I do 6 unit of a course (that is both ICT and trans), which is only 6 units and still satisfies what my degree asks?

I’m an international student who is considering taking a PhD in ANU, my concern is, is 39,000 AUD annum enough? The scholarship that I am applying for would be worth 39,000 AUD.

Any insight or advice is also appreciated.

Hi i’m currently in high school in Victoria and want to do a dual degree in commerce/international relations, i’ve been looking at anu because they don’t have a prerequisite of methods (i don’t do methods just general so my options are limited) however it lists it as assumed knowledge so what does that mean for me :)

hey all - im a victorian interstate student on a gap year rn looking to apply to college. ill apy to anu via the uac later on but in havung a look at some colleges affiliated

what would be the best college for me as a very outgoing social person but i still prioritise academics. i like parties doofs whtver but do value building lifelong friendships and relationships. i like a big group of people as oppoosed to a really small tightknit group. only issue is i didnt do really do any spirts/leadership last year at all and my academics from yr 12 arent perfect (averaged 75% accross all subjects)

thanks!!

anyone has interaction with ANUSA so far? I knew they provide free food which is very good but i don't think they are able to assist students that faced critical challenges. Afterall, they are still a student body. please share your thoughts.

If anyone is experiencing depression/ mental breakdown or other related issues. You may wish to call this number: 13 11 14. Lifeline (Independent, outside ANU) (Available 24/7). ANU's crisis hotline and etc took forever to answer phone calls and they would not listen attentively and addressed your concerns appropriately. If you facing troubles and needed someone to listen to you. This is the right hotline for calling.