Student Services and Amenities Fees (SSAF)
What did Sport receive and how was it utilised?
The University reinstated a compulsory Student Services and Amenities Fee (SSAF) in 2012, following an alteration to federal legislation in October 2011.
In 2023 MU Sport will have received $4.7m to support the delivery of inclusive sport, facilities, clubs, fitness, and recreation programs that keep the campus community active, encourage community leadership and enhance the student experience.
Sport Matters at Melbourne – It Inspires, Connects and Leads
The management and Advisory Board of MU Sport carefully considered how the SSAF funds would be best utilised in line with the University of Melbourne’s ‘Advancing Melbourne 2030’ and ‘The University of Melbourne Strategic Plan for Sport’ objectives of increasing and supporting student engagement and participation mindful of the current and future financial position of the organisation.
It was determined that the ongoing priority was to support initiatives to increase student participation and engagement while continuing to address the backlog in sport related building maintenance and capital projects partly caused as a result of the introduction of Voluntary Student Unionism in 2007. These strategies will be carefully explored with all stakeholders including sporting clubs and groups and general users over time and introduced as and when more resources become available.
Despite the current challenges the SSAF provided MU Sport with the opportunity to reduce the cost to access some services, improve the quality and/or provide additional services in 2023:
Reactivation
MU Sport has developed an ambitious plan to increase the number of students who participate in regular activity at the University through regular, informal physical activities on campus; Come and Try programs; and targeted programs for underrepresented groups. A Student Life Pass was created as a ticket to all things recreation, fitness and sport at the University. This includes come and try sessions for sporting clubs and programs; fun weekly events, activities and giveaways; exciting trips and tours; social sporting competitions; and games and pop-up activities throughout the campus. Mu Sport has been able to activate places and spaces throughout campus to run our reactivation activities to ensure that we are taking the activity to students; and a timetable of weekly pop-up activities and events for the semester has been compiled.
Fitness Services
MU Sport is committed to keeping costs as low as possible, providing tailored, affordable, fitness service options to students:
- The student direct debit fee of $28.99 has been kept at the same level since 2015 and has not increased in 2023.
- Support Regional Fitness Facilities
- Access for Elite Athletes
- Regular free group fitness classes
- Free pool access at regular times during the week
- Water Safety Program
Subsidised Casual Access
A range of new program initiatives were introduced to provide students with increased access to casual and one-off sporting and fitness opportunities at low or no cost. These programs include the ‘quick-hit’ programs allowing students to access venue hire facilities for no fee such as tennis, squash and badminton courts.
Sport and Club Support
Coaching and Administrative Support
- Increased support for targeted club coaching and management appointments.
Support Services
- A range of central services is being provided to reduce the burden on voluntary club officials. This includes expert administrative support for financial and payroll transactions and reporting, rollout of cloud-based communication and online membership registration and renewal systems. Support for clubs assists in meeting higher levels of OHS, HR and financial risk management and compliance.
Operational Club Support
- Subsidies to Clubs to provide participation and engagement opportunities for students.
Representative Sport
Venue Access
- Club access to internal and external venues
Strategic Club Support
- Opportunities for clubs to access additional support in the areas of club marketing/fundraising, alumni relations, sponsorship, merchandise, and event coordination.
High Performance Student Athlete Support
- Increased support for elite athletes and teams to including programming, testing and performance review.
Leadership Programs
- Support in running or coordinating dedicated Leadership Programs in the following:
- Indigenous Sport Program
- Pride and Diversity Program
- Strong Woman Program
- Active Student Leadership
- Access Melbourne Memberships
Buildings and Grounds
Maintenance and Capital
- Additional funds allocated to the maintenance and capital development of buildings and grounds.
Administration
- Provision of Administrative support to student participation.
View more information about the Student Services and Amenities Fee below: