About Us
Who we are
UWA ASA is the University of Western Australia Academic Staff Association, uniquely placed to represent the needs of the academic staff at UWA. The core mission of the University of Western Australia is to serve the public good and UWA ASA functions to maintain the visibility of this mission by supporting the collective exercise of academic citizenship.
The objectives of the UWA Academic Staff Association are:
- to promote the work and purpose of academia as the centre of what UWA does;
- to promote and support the wellbeing of academics at UWA, and to advocate—to all levels of management—for a sustainable and balanced academic life on campus;
- to be a forum for academics to voice their concerns about matters that affect academic life on campus, and raise awareness about these concerns;
- to advocate for good governance at UWA;
- to act as an exemplar for critical leadership within UWA;
- to facilitate cross disciplinary connections at UWA for the benefit of the University community;
- to support and maintain the exercise of academic freedom in teaching and research.
When the National Tertiary Education Union (NTEU) was formed, UWA staff elected to retain UWA ASA as a separate body. While the work of the NTEU on a national basis in advocating for universities and their employees is essential and invaluable, UWA ASA retains an important function in maintaining oversight of the working conditions and concerns of academic staff that are specific to UWA.
In the University of Western Australia Act 1911, the university is defined as “a Senate, Convocation, Staff, and Students”. The wording of the Act implies that the university is a community. UWA ASA’s prime objective is to lobby for the effective functioning of that community by serving as the voice for one of its key components—academic staff.
