2027 SSAF Budget and Student Consultation

The Student Services and Amenities Fee (SSAF) helps fund services, activities and support available to students across James Cook University.

For 2027, JCUSA and JCU UniLife submitted a joint SSAF funding bid to support student representation, advocacy, clubs and societies, campus engagement, sport and recreation, student welfare, communications and the operational capacity required to deliver these services.

The proposed 2027 SSAF Expenditure Plan is now open for student consultation.

Student consultation closes at midnight on Friday, 9 October 2026.

Have your say

Students can provide feedback directly by emailing:
[email protected]
When providing feedback, students may wish to comment on:

which services they currently use;
which services they believe should be prioritised;
whether services are accessible at their campus or study location;
whether the proposed allocations reflect student needs;
what services or opportunities they would like to see expanded;
how SSAF expenditure should be reported to students.

What did JCUSA and JCU UniLife request?

The joint JCUSA and JCU UniLife submission requested:

$2,365,683.60

The submitted bid was approximately 5% above the total SSAF funding approved for the organisation in 2026. The increase reflected rising employment and operating costs, increased demand for clubs funding, expanded student engagement and welfare programmes, greater governance and compliance requirements, and proposed improvements to regional, remote and online student access.

The joint submission was developed to support services available across JCU campuses, study centres and online modes, rather than funding one individual programme or activity.

What is currently proposed?

The proposed 2027 SSAF Expenditure Plan recommends:

$2,000,000 for JCUSA and JCU UniLife

This is $365,683.60 less than the amount submitted by JCUSA and JCU UniLife.

The proposed allocation is not yet final. It is being published for broad student consultation before feedback is considered and a final recommendation is provided to the Vice-Chancellor.

If the proposed $2 million allocation is confirmed, JCUSA and JCU UniLife would need to reprioritise the original budget and scale or defer some proposed expenditure. The exact internal changes would need to be determined after the final allocation is known.

How was the requested funding distributed?

The original 2027 submission proposed the following expenditure.

Service area	2027 amount requested	What it supports
Student Representation	$155,650	Elected student representatives, elections, Council induction, governance, training, student engagement and representative activity
Student Advocacy	$446,000	Independent advice and advocacy for students navigating University policies, decisions and academic or administrative matters
Student Events	$40,000	Orientation activities, Market Days, Stress Less activities, awareness events and other student engagement programmes
Food and Drink for Students	$25,000	Free food and refreshments provided through student events and campus activation
Clubs and Societies	$132,500	Club grants, insurance, shared equipment, club induction and governance support
Sport and Recreation Operations	$582,053.60	Staffing, facilities, equipment, affiliation, compliance and administration required to provide student sport and recreation
Sport Competitions and Activities	$220,000	Social sport, interfaculty competitions, UniSport participation, Indigenous Nationals, esports and campus recreation
Student Media and Communications	$129,480	Student communications, website support, social media, campaigns and information about available services
Management and Administration	$497,000	Financial administration, governance assistance, reporting, compliance and operational support required to deliver SSAF-funded services
Office Refit or Relocation	$25,000	Proposed improvements to JCUSA and UniLife spaces and separation of organisational functions
Student Welfare Projects	$113,000	Period Positivity, proposed service expansion and development of a collaborative student food bank and op-shop
Total requested	$2,365,683.60

The submitted supporting budget (see below) provides a further breakdown of each category, including proposed staffing, operating costs and individual activities.

Who benefits?

The submitted bid was designed to support undergraduate, postgraduate, HDR, regional, remote and online students.

Many costs cannot be divided neatly by campus because services such as advocacy, communications, insurance, administration and online support are shared across multiple locations. Proposed activities included services in Townsville and Cairns, as well as expanded regional, remote and online engagement.

JCUSA recognises that service access and activity levels are not currently identical across every location, and improving regional, remote and online access was one of the objectives included in the original 2027 submission.

JCUSA's Position

JCUSA recognises that the available SSAF funding is limited and that other student groups and locations have legitimate needs.

However, the proposed reduction applies to a combined budget supporting several established University-wide services, not one standalone project. If the $2 million allocation is confirmed, some expenditure and planned service improvements will need to be reduced or deferred.

JCUSA believes students should understand what the joint allocation supports and have an opportunity to comment before the final decision is made.

Document Bundle

The relevant budget documents have been provided below for students who would like further information. Together, they show what JCUSA and JCU UniLife originally requested, how the proposed funding would be used, and the allocation currently being considered by JCU.

2027 JCUSA and JCU UniLife Supporting Budget
A detailed breakdown of the staffing, activities and operating costs included in the joint bid, together with previous-year figures and explanatory notes.

Proposed 2027 JCU SSAF Expenditure Plan
JCU’s current proposed distribution of SSAF funding, including a $2 million allocation for JCUSA and JCU UniLife. The plan remains open for student consultation and is not yet final.

2027 SSAF Budget and Student Consultation

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