The Melbourne Graduate April 2024 (Annual Report 2023)

THE MELBOURNE GRADUATE

The Graduate Union of The University of Melbourne Inc. Annual Report for Year 2023

The past year brought with it significant change to The Graduate Union. Most significantly Councillor Natalie Gray took over as Chair from Councillor Vincent Mirabelli who remains on council as immediate Past-Chair.

Vincent had the difficult task immediately upon his appointment, of dealing with the immediate and ongoing effect of the Covid pandemic on The Graduate Union and together with the support of the administration and Council was able to see us successfully through that difficult time.

President's Message

The current Chair now has the challenge of taking us forward.

Council endorsed my appointment for a second term, expiring in May 2024, and I am pleased to be able to continue as President and support Council during this exciting period.

Coming out of the Covid period, many challenges lie ahead. There is still uncertainty regarding numbers of overseas students who will obtain visas to study in Australia, and the demographic mix of students continues to be affected by geo-political factors in our region. Fortunately, our reputation sees us with high occupancy for Graduate House accommodation as we go forward.

All organisations should reappraise their goals and strategies regularly. The old adage ‘If you fail to plan, you plan to fail’ remains true, and this year we focussed on a strong and future-focussed strategic plan with two intensive workshops involving all Councillors reappraising our values, strengths and weaknesses. This was followed by wide consultation with members.

Like many organisations we face the need to attract new members. Additionally, as the Chair has indicated in her report, we want to proceed with Stage 1 of the Building Plan.

Our strategic position in the Parkville precinct and next to the nearly completed Parkville Metro Station was given even more impetus by the publication of the Melbourne University Masterplan. Council is aware of the responsibility to make the best use of our unique position and is engaged in maximising our options.

As you will see from the Chair’s Report, there are a number of new initiatives being offered to students to enhance their experience whilst at Graduate House and the Master Classes in particular have been a great success.

Our social functions are well attended and I thank all members for their continuing support of The Graduate Union.

My thanks also to Daniel Clark and his staff and to the enormous contribution made by the Councillors to the efficient running of the organisation. We have a vibrant, well managed organisation, and an exciting future.

The

Honourable Diana Bryant AO KC President of The Graduate Union

Chairperson's Message

I was humbled to be elected as Chair in May last year, taking the baton from Vincent Mirabelli. Vincent held the position during a very uncertain time. The Graduate Union has spent the last 12 months reviewing the post COVID world as it relates to the key purposes.

In order to make sure that we are relevant moving forward, we prepared a new strategic plan which was completed in December, following extensive consultation. I highlight our purpose below.

Our purpose provides the base for our actions. Our executive team is preparing an action program, supported by Councillors and committee members. One of the key outcomes of strategic planning is importance of managing the membership assets in a way that optimizes their value and promotes organizational objectives. We remain committed to the Stage 1 project, developed under the previous two Chairs Vincent Mirabelli and The Hon Tony Pagone AM KC. The continuing aim is to make a physical and functional contribution to the Parkville precinct, in the context of the new Metro rail station and the Melbourne University Masterplan. In all our activities, the intention of The Graduate Union is to make positive contributions to the reputation of Melbourne as an internationally recognized centre of education, within a world which is seeking to be sustainably responsible and architecturally creative.

A couple of statistics are provided to describe our activities during the last 12 months. Occupancy rose to 84.5% in 2023, compared to 58.8% in 2022. Meeting Services welcomed 11,748 attendees

to meeting and events held at Graduate House, doubling that of 2022.

I have really enjoyed getting to know the crew. I have attended functions, sat in the lounge enjoying morning tea or dining with friends, enjoyed lunch with people from academia overseas and discussed all types of issues with my fellow Councillors and committee members.

We have commenced relationships with other groups, such as 3MBS and Graduate Women Victoria, in addition to continuing our relationships with community groups such as the John Cain Foundation-Per Capita, Carlton and numerous others listed on page 17 of the Annual Report.

Of course, our longest relationship is with The University of Melbourne. Two of our Councillors, Kylie O’Connell and David Israel, are nominated by the Vice Chancellor. The Graduate Union is a member of the Heads of University Accommodation Committee. University departments and other groups hold functions at Graduate House. We also co-operate with the Graduate Student Association. The Graduate Union membership includes over 67 nationalities and promotes diversity in activities and pastoral compassion. We have consciously embraced the recognition of Australia’s indigenous heritage which adds depth to our thinking and respectful behavior.

Emeritus Professor Martin Comte OAM, as Chair of the Fundraising and Benefactions Subcommittee, and Dr Max Stephens, Chair of the Membership and Marketing Subcommittee have continued

to work assiduously in their respective domains. Under our new Strategic Plan, the two committees will be merged into one following the Annual General Meeting (AGM) and renamed Advancement Comittee. The reason for the change is to acknowledge our commitment to improving the member experience.

The Doctoral Masterclass Series program was developed by Cr Martin Comte OAM and Cr Max Stephens. Presenters included academics from The University of Melbourne, RMIT University, and Monash University. Participants represented Graduate House and other university residential college members, and graduate students across several universities. The slides of the presentations were made available to attendees for continuing reference.

This year’s 2024 pilot mentoring program has been developed by Cr Martin Comte OAM, Cr Max Stephens, Cr Kylie O’Connell and Cr Fausto Marasco. It aims to improve residents’ experience of living and studying in Graduate House and in Melbourne. It offers conversation and support, but is not specifically 'career mentoring’. I personally have benefitted recently from mentoring two School of Design students from The University of Melbourne and know how important our own mentoring program can be for our residents.

With support from members of the Fundraising and Benefactions subcommittee and discussions with The University of Melbourne and RMIT University, Cr Martin Comte OAM has initiated our Graduate Union Pin Design Competition. The winner of this competition will be announced in the middle of the year.

Other subcommittees focus on keeping the engine of The Graduate Union in a healthy condition.

Cr Molina Asthana, as Chair of the Governance subcommittee, has continued the program of updating policies and ensuring that we act responsibly.

Cr Muan Lim, as Chair of the Finance and Audit Subcommittee, has kept a competent eye on

income and expenditure to ensure that the legacy is managed soundly.

Cr Mary Kelleher, as Chair of the Building and Facilities subcommittee, has continued to work with staff to make sure that facilities are safe and comfortable.

Administratively, the Committee structure has been modernized and simplified as an outcome of the strategic plan. The Chairs will focus on their committee, rather than being spread too thinly across multiple roles. Governance Secretariat, Greg Carter has implemented the new governance platform to simplify communications.

National and international club reciprocity provides an opportunity for members to stay and dine in friendly places which are well located and connected to the fabric of their communities. I have stayed at the Oxford and Cambridge Club in London and the Harvard Club in Boston as well as the University Clubs of San Franciso and Chicago. In all cases, the experience has been more welcoming than a hotel and I have welcomed discussions with people of wide and interesting professional and social backgrounds in refined and safe settings. We are seeking to increase our reciprocal club memberships.

This report includes a list of all Councillors and Committee members on Page 8. All of our valued crew, led by General Manager Daniel Clark, are acknowledged on pages 26 and 27 of this report.

I genuinely appreciate the contributions by everyone to keep The Graduate Union and its home at Graduate House providing membership services to a standard which reflects its role within an international education community.

Natalie Gray Chairperson of The Graduate Union Council

General Manager's Message

The aroma of fresh coffee brewing with breakfast smells from the kitchen alluring residents into the dining room in the morning ... the sounds from organisation attendees meeting here ... seeing members enjoying collegiate events during the day ... the conversation voices with laughters and chatter of our residents during dinner... these wonderful sights and sounds bring joys to everyone’s ears.

2023 saw the vibrancy of Graduate House brought back to the days of pre-Covid and the confidence of returning to face to face learning and socialising restored. A great number of achievements were accomplished in the past twelve months:

• There is an increase in numbers of membership to The Graduate Union.

• Graduate House occupancy rose to 84.5% from 2022’s result of 58.5%.

• The Graduate Union (GU) Council’s completion of the Strategic Plan 2024-2026.

• Actions have been taken for the progression of the Stage 1 Master Plan Project.

• The Doctoral Journey Master Class Series was successfully undertaken.

I am humbled and grateful to the GU Council for the work that has been undertaken. I thank President The Honourable Diana Bryant AO for her leadership and support; Cr Vincent Mirabelli who completed his term as Chair of Council, for his excellent work as Chair for the past three years. Congratulations to Cr Natalie Gray for being elected as Chair of Council from June 2023 and for hitting the ground running.

The Chairs of each subcommittees have shown dedication and have demonstrated great leadership of their specific areas of work and contribution. To all Council members and members on these subcommittees, I thank you for your time and effort throughout the year and also for your support and guidance.

Council met in July and undertook the opportunity to direct The Graduate Union into the future with the commissioning of the Strategic Plan 2024-2026. Held over two days and guided by a facilitator, the Council revisited the purpose of The Graduate Union and the college, Graduate House. With subsequent consultation with all subcommittee members, strategic goals were formed. They are:

• Connection – We offer connection to Graduates

• Graduates – We are for Graduates for life

• Discourse – We engage with ideas that matter

• Evolution – We are evolving into the future

These plans will enable The Graduate Union to evolve and ground into the future and show the relevancy of the association today.

In conjunction with Council and the Membership and Marketing subcommittee, the association engaged a marketing graduate to undertake a study for The Graduate Union. This was lead from the initial work in 2022 between the Membership and Marketing and Fundraising and Benefactions subcommittee, analysing the membership of the association. The Marketing study and report saw surveys to new members and Life members conducted, social media campaigns carried out to

increase awareness of The Graduate Union and the promotion of Graduate House in conjunction with The University of Melbourne. The complete report on the findings and implementations are listed with the Membership Marketing Subcommittee report by Cr Max Stephens.

Our fundraising campaigns for this year took on a new direction with the Mid-Year Annual Appeal focusing on membership fees (as a donation) from sponsorship of new members joining the association. The End-of-Year Annual Appeal prioritised on the establishment of the GH Mentoring Program for 2024. These were well received and I thank every donor for contributing to these campaigns. Apart from these appeals, donors are welcome to contribute to our ongoing campaigns, such as The 110th Jubilee Anniversary Endowment and The William Berry Post-Graduate Student Trust to fund the refurbishment and the upkeeping of building projects. We are always grateful for your support and to those who donated throughout 2023 and the past years, we thank you.

The Graduate Union collegiate events were held throughout the year with a great lineup and variety of speakers. The Annual general meeting (AGM) was well attended, with over 50 members, face to face and online and this was followed by the AGM Dinner where we heard the history and great work of the 3MBS Radio network and what they do for classical music in Victoria. The End-of-Year Celebration party on the 1st December was a huge success with close to 100 members and guests in attendance who enjoyed a wonderful performance by acclaimed singer Helen Kerr-Lawley.

One of the great initiative was the inaugural Doctoral Journey Master Class Series held in August and September. The seven lecture series were well attended by Graduate House residents and residents from several other Residential colleges. The success of this series will see the second series taking place in 2024. I thank Vice-Chair of Council, Emeritus Professor Martin Comte OAM for this initiative and for organising the series of speakers.

We will be offering further alternatives and new events to our members in 2024. We are re-

introducing the previous successfully held Twilight Lecture Series with three events scheduled in 2024. In collaboration with 3MBS, we are holding the inaugural 3MBS and Graduate House Lunchtime Recital Series which consist of three performances held throughout the year.

The Stage 1 Master Plan project has seen a lot of work done to preserve the Planning permit and see the project come to reality for the great good of The Graduate Union. The actions taken is to enhance the facilities and the financial stability of the association’s future. We thank two major donors to the Capital Campaign for allowing the association to use their donations to engage experts and consultants in these actions. We look forward to a positive outcome of the project in 2024.

To the staff of The Graduate Union, the work and dedication that you give on a daily basis is highly appreciated by me and the members of The Graduate Union. Thank you!

With the increase in demand of residents and meeting events, the number of staff have also increased. I am grateful for the role they all play in the success of the college and association. I would particularly like to congratulate Hospitality manager, Rosie Ellul her 30 years of dedicated service to the association. This is an extraordinary and fantastic achievement.

Looking ahead to 2024, we are seeing a continued high demand for accommodation and bigger increase in enquiries from a range of clients interested to hold their events at Graduate House. We will continue to work hard for the members of our association, in the programs and events we offer and bring more benefits to our membership. The GU Council’s hard work on the Strategic Plan 2024-2026 and its implementation over the 3 years will see great strides for the next 110 years of The Graduate Union.

Daniel Clark General Manager of The Graduate Union

Council Members (2023 - 2024)

The Hon Diana Bryant AO KC President

Cr Martin Comte OAM

Vice-Chairperson of Council and Chairperson of Fundraising and Benefactions subcommittee

Cr Muan Lim

Chairperson of Finance and Audit subcommittee

Cr Mary Kelleher

Chairperson of Buildings and Facilities subcommittee

Cr Jane Tisdall

Cr Fausto Marasco

Appointed to Council to May 2024

Cr Kylie O'Connell

Vice-Chancellor Representative from The University of Melbourne

Cr Natalie Gray

Chairperson of Council

Cr Max Stephens

Chairperson of Membership and Marketing subcommittee

Cr Molina Asthana

Chairperson of Governance and Nominations subcommittee

Cr Vincent Mirabelli

Cr Lawrence Grima

Cr Michael Lynch

Appointed to Council to May 2024

Cr David Israel

Vice-Chancellor Representative from The University of Melbourne

Governance and Nominations subcommittee

The Governance and Nominations subcommittee is pleased to provide this report on its activities in 2023. The roles and responsibilities of this subcommittee are provided in regulation 33.2.

Strategic priority of ‘effective responsive stewardship’

The Governance and Nominations subcommittee assists and advises Council on the key 2022-2024 Strategic Plan priority of effective responsive stewardship. 2023 saw the Council come together to look at the future of the association in the 2024-2026 Strategic Plan. The Governance and Nominations Subcommittee will be playing a key role in the implementation of and changes to the Governance structure of the association, especially in the subcommittees of the association.

The changes made to the constitution (the Rules) and supporting regulations over the past decade continue to enable the Association to have; sound systems, well developed and implemented policies and procedures; and good governance operations. These all have been subjected to repeated and continuous quality control measures.

Governance oversight and meetings were held in hybrid face to face and on zoom throughout the year. The Annual General Meeting (AGM) was held on the 16th May 2023 with good attendance of members and available for members to attend online.

Rules

At the 2023 AGM, minor changes to the rules were proposed and passed by the association. These changes were minor in nature and allowed for future flexibility is executive roles of the association.

Council performance, subcommittees and composition

The Association continued to show the sound and comprehensiveness of the Governance structure, however Council and the subcommittees will continue to review and refine aspects to ensure the structure is modern and to the needs of the

association. The Council, management and staff have worked closely to ensure that Members, Resident members and guests are well looked after at Graduate House.

The Governance and Nomination subcommittee has worked throughout 2023 to review, revamp and develop the many policies of The Graduate Union. A policy review, development and amendment process has been developed to ensure this subcommittee, and all other subcommittees, continue to view and understand the Policies of the Association.

The Rules provide for the election of not more than nine Council Members, each with terms of (usually) three years. In 2023, Cr Natalie Gray and Cr Martin Comte OAM were elected for a second three-year term and Cr Molina Asthana was elected for a third three-year term

In July 2023, and in accordance with rule 49.1(d),Council appointed Cr Fausto Marasco for a second year on Council. His contribution to Council over the year was tremendous.

In November 2023, and in accordance with rule 49.1(d), Council appointed Mr Michael Lynch as a coopted member of Council for the term of one year. Mr Lynch brings a wealth of knowledge in Property, Hotel and Student Accommodation management, previously being the General manager of Student Accommodation in Carlton for Campus Living Villages. Michael has been a member of the Building and Facilities Subcommittee for the previous two years.

In conclusion, I thank the 2023 Governance and Nominations subcommittee members —Dr Kylie O’Connell (Co-Vice-Chairperson), Cr Vincent Morfuni (Co-Vice-Chairperson), Cr Vincent Mirabelli, Cr Jane Tisdall, Cr David Israel and Mr Greg Carter (secretariat support) as well as the secretariat and administration staff at Graduate House.

Cr Molina Asthana Chairperson of the Governance and Nominations subcommittee

Graduate Union Council Elections

Above Quota Elections (AQE) were contacted on 9th November, 2023, in regards to acting as Returning Officers for The Graduate Union annual election to be held from March to May 2024.

Our application, submitted on 22nd November, was accepted. The election was even more straightforward than last year. Once again, the staff and administration of The Graduate Union handled much of the work that AQE usually do for many of our other clients. Our role was restricted to the taking and verifying of nominations, dealing with candidate queries, collecting the votes and counting the ballots.

There were three positions to be filled, but only two nominations were received, from Jane Tisdall and Michael Lynch. Both nominations were found to be in order, with candidates, nominators and seconders all being financial members.

Consequently, both members are declared elected. The Graduate Union’s rules do not specify a process for how to handle a position when fewer nominations are received than positions to be filled. This is the subject of our only recommendation for this year, although we stand by the 2023 recommendations.

The following nominations were received:

• Jane Elizabeth Tisdall

• Michael Lynch

There being three positions and only two nominations:

• Jane Elizabeth Tisdall

• Michael Lynch are declared elected unopposed.

Stephen Luntz Returning Officer

Personal Statements from Candidates

TISDALL, Jane BBus/Arts ( Japanese) (Swinburne)

My qualifications include:

• Bachelor Business/Arts (Japanese)

• Member of CPA Australia

• Member of Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand

• Member of the Institute of Public Accountants

• Member of the Australian Institute of Company Directors

• Registered Tax Agent

• Registered ASIC Agent

For the last 20+ years, I’ve been in the world of accounting, taxation and business consulting, witnessing the intricacies of business close-up. While I’ve spent many years supporting start-ups, SMEs, large corporations and not-for-profit organisations, I’ve always enjoyed a more individualised approach to work.

For the last six years, I’ve applied my ‘big business’ acumen and channelled it into delivering effective accounting, taxation and advisory services for business owners who feel compelled to combine profit with purpose, leave a lasting legacy, and build a meaningful, fulfilling business they love to turn up to, day in day out. I believe that as individuals, we can only achieve so much, but in partnership, we can leave a lasting impression.

Giving back to the community is important to me. I have and continue to volunteer for several charities.

LYNCH, Michael BBus (VU), Grad Dip Mktg (Monash), MBA (MBS), GAICD

I am delighted to have the honor and opportunity to serve The Graduate Union, its members. I have over 40 years experience managing accommodation sites including 15 years with Campus Living Villages who entered into a commercial contract with The University of Melbourne for the Student Village located in Leicester Street, Carlton.

My values are centered around family, fairness, equal opportunity. My two children attended our local high school.

I look forward to serving members' needs whilst providing strategic and operational input into the next phase of The Graduate Union’s evolution.

I am currently employed in a senior role with a large Victorian not for profit entity with a long history of serving older Australians in the aged care, retirement living and disability services sectors.

Membership and Marketing subcommittee

The Membership and Marketing subcommittee is pleased to provide this report on its activities in 2023. The roles and responsibilities of this subcommittee are provided in regulation 34.2.

Membership in 2023

The Membership and Marketing subcommittee has been undertaking a necessary review of the Association’s members throughout 2023. This analysis has allowed the association to evaluate the active members of the association; review the membership database of the association, and to provide recommendations for the future.

By 31st December 2023, the Association had 1392 active registered members comprising:

Life Members 944 (2022 – 964).

Graduate Members (non-resident) 366 (2022 – 325).

Associate Members 25 (2022 – 20).

Organisation Members 57 (2022 - 51).

With increased occupancy during 2023, there were also 245 Resident members. Past residents of Graduate House, GUCA (Graduate Union College Alumni) totalled over 2,000. It is important to note that the data base of GUCA goes back more than ten years, and that alumni generally do not continue their membership of The Graduate Union (GU) after leaving the College. These past GUCA resident members were contacted to ascertain that their contact information is up to date and whether they wish communications from The GU to continue. Some email addresses are no longer current – for example, unimelb email addresses lapse shortly after graduation - and response rates from this group have therefore been low.

Graduate Union Strategic Plan 20242026 and Membership Strategic Priorities

The Membership and Marketing subcommittee monitors and delivers on the ‘Innovative Influential Membership’ priority of the 2022-2024 Strategic

Plan. At the Strategic Planning Day in July, some of these goals for the future were clearly identified :

Understand the expectations of current and future Graduate Union members;

Carry out an analysis of the Graduate House website and communication avenues;

Develop programs to engage current members to spend more time at Graduate House;

Prepare a strategic plan (2023-2026) to engage and increase the membership of early and mid-career graduates.

It is worth listing the following six strategic planning goals that were identified by the subcommittee. These were:

1. Employ computer-based and data-driven reporting on current Graduate Union Membership to target future programs.

We developed an ongoing, detailed computerbased reporting strategy to analyse and understand our memberships trends, including age and length of membership, including patterns of donations/benefactions and reported to Council on a 6-month basis with recommendations to implement.

2. Understand Expectations of current Graduate Union Members.

We commissioned a study to engage current GU members expectations through face-toface meetings and online (computer) based surveys. Please see (below) for more details of the findings and recommendations from the Marketing study and subsequent report commissioned by the subcommittee in conjunction with the General Manager below.

3. Partner with the Funding & Benefactions Subcommittee for the mid-year Appeal.

We worked closely with the Fundraising & Benefactions Subcommittee to develop an annual strategy for the mid-year Appeal. The strategies included a program in 2023 in which

GU members were invited to ‘sponsor a new member’.

4. Develop programs to engage current members to spend more time at Graduate House. This program will be implemented in 2024.

5. Partner with The University of Melbourne to enhance the profile of The Graduate Union and to promote the advantages of The GU Membership.

A social media campaign was developed and implemented to highlight the services and advantages of becoming a member of The GU. Specific focus was on engaging The University of Melbourne students and recent graduates.

6. Partner with The University of Melbourne to develop annual program specifically for graduates and nearly completing graduates to consider the GU membership.

The actions for this activity are further discussed in the Marketing study and subsequent report below.

Marketing Study and Report

Collaboratively with the General Manager, the subcommittee commissioned a Graduate marketing

student, Ms Winnie Wu, to deepen The Graduate Union’s understanding of our demographics, incentives, expectations and suggestions, in order to gain insights into how our membership system attracts people today and improve to better attract our target audience in the future.

Objectives of the study

• Having a better understanding of our target audience — by understanding their demographics, incentives, expectations and suggestions, we can better form our strategies to attract them;

• Encouraging more engagement with our target audience — since they have little knowledge of our membership, we want to create more interactions to foster our brand awareness;

Improving our brand image — Rejuvenating our brand image to better attract the young audience today.

Implementation

The study focused on three key segments of The GU membership and potential membership.

Traits

Most seniors (estimating 65+), mostly retired domestics, have strong brand loyalty.

Approach

Reaching through email and post via a survey document (pdf).

Young to mid-age (estimating 2060), mostly from Melbourne, have a basic understanding and preferences of The GU.

Reaching through email by filling in an online survey (Google Form).

Youngest (estimating 18-35), heavy social media users, have little knowledge of The GU.

Reaching through a social media campaign (Instagram) by filling in an online survey (Google Form).

To reach new non-resident members, we sent out emails with a survey link included. In total there were 51 recipients, 8 responded and the response rate was 15.7%.

To reach our young non-members, we launched a social media campaign where after people followed our social media, tagged a friend and filled in the survey. In total, we reached 212 people and 11 people participated in the campaign. The conversion rate is 5.2%.

Findings from the Marketing Study

New non-resident member respondents:

• Demographic traits: Although they have only recently joined our membership, more than half of them are above 50 years of age (62.5%) and graduated for more than 5 years (62.5%).

• Behavioural traits: They heard about us from the University (50%) or through word of mouth (50%). Their visit frequency varies, which can be weekly (25%) or rarely (25%).

• Psychographic traits: our accommodation (28.6%) and meals (28.6%) attract them while what they value the most is a place to stay (62.5%). Most of them want to have more opportunities to develop professionally (30.8%) as well as meeting new or like-minded people (23.1%) and more discounts (23.1%). Most of them enjoy our membership and will recommend the membership to others (87.5%).

• Based on their comments, most praised how friendly and helpful our staff is. However, two pointed out that we need to keep up to date with our communications and services.

Young non-member respondents:

• Demographic traits: Most of those who joined our social media campaign are non-members (88.9%), under 30 years of age (66.7%), and either studying or just graduated (100%).

• Behavioural traits: Most of them heard about us from either social media or friends (88.9%) but have never been here (66.7%).

• Psychographic traits: For them, all kinds of benefits are important, especially chances to meet new people (33.3%) and develop professionally (29.2%). Unfortunately, none of them are interested in signing up for our

membership – mostly related to the lack of information (50%) and cost-related concerns (37.5%). However, they are keen to know more updates about our brand and membership program (66.7%).

• Based on their comments, most of them expressed an interest in knowing more about The Graduate Union and Graduate House.

Insights from the Marketing Study and Report

The need for incentives to influence young audiences.

Most of our new audiences are digital natives. They live in a world where they get ads, messages, and notifications from their devices every second. This makes them hard to reach, relatively sceptical, and have very short attention spans. To influence them (including capturing attention, changing attitudes or encouraging behaviours), we need to offer some kind of “value” to trade for their time and attention. The “value” can be functional (such as discounts), experiential (such as joining events) or symbolic (such as a sense of belonging).

The increasing difficulty of reaching new audiences.

From the change in the response rates, we learnt that the less familiar people are with our brand, the less likely they are willing to engage, thus making it harder for us to reach them. This shows the importance of being present in our audience's life, even if it is just a brief impression. It also shows how valuable our existing audience is, so we should invest more in maintaining and deepening connections with them.

More tailored offerings for young audiences

Both groups of respondents want the same benefits from our membership — meeting new people and developing professionally. This points to the importance that we provide more occasions allowing members to expand their networks, especially professional networks.

More effective communication to reach young audiences.

How young audiences absorb information has changed rapidly. Compared to Boomers and Gen X, they no longer read any hard copies, occasionally

check email inboxes, and are glued to their phones and social media all the time. To reach them, we must change how we communicate with them. Social media communication is no longer an option but a compulsory channel to reach young audiences.

Recommendations and actions for consideration for the Strategic Plan 2024-2026

1. Seeking partnerships with The University of Melbourne and student associations.

If we wish to expand our reach, the fastest and most cost-effective way is through partnerships. As we learnt from the Life -Member survey responses, as well as the results of recent surveys, The Graduate Union’s connection with The University of Melbourne is what members and non-members value dearly. We should take advantage of it as a way to present and promote our brand.

This could be done through partnering with University and Student associations. We have been in contact with The University of Melbourne’s Graduate Student Association (GSA) and discussing future collaborations –this is a big step forward and we should seize the opportunity. A fresh social media marketing drive will take place early in 2024.

To attract Student associations, we could come up with “student-club exclusive packages” with more discounts and flexible offerings (since room hiring at the University is free of charge). The best time to establish partnerships is at the beginning of the year when student clubs are recruiting new members and planning new events for the upcoming year.

By doing so, the perceived association between The Graduate Union and The University of Melbourne can be strengthened. Social media collaboration with student clubs can also help us gain awareness and rejuvenate our brand image.

2. Maintaining and deepening existing relationships.

The decrease in response rates highlights the increase in difficulty in reaching new audiences.

On the flip side, it also shows how valuable our existing members are and we should leverage it fully. A big part of them are our residents, yet we have not been able to bond with them fully. The Graduate House Student Group (GHSG) could be a bridge between us, however, there has in the past been very limited communication between the Association and them. This was addressed in 2023 with, for example, the inauguration of the Master Classes program. Further initiatives are planned for 2024 to strengthen links between our residents and the wider membership of the Association.

By building a more effective communication channel with the GHSG, they could help us gather event footage/photos and use them for online marketing. This way, our online profile could look younger and more authentic, which is more appealing to young users today. Also, engaging with our residents online fosters a sense of community. This makes our residents more likely to engage with The Graduate Union after moving out, increasing the chance of renewing memberships.

We should set up a group chat or a shared mailbox for representatives of the GHSG. Thus, even when the student representatives change each semester, we can still be in contact with the Group and have important files shared and passed down.

3. Having a Graduate House role supporting communications and engagement.

All the above recommendations, as well as the ones from previous marketing reports, cannot be implemented if The Graduate Union does not have sufficient capability to implement them. Together with Graduate House staff, Council must support and oversee newer ways of communication, which include managing social media, tracking website performance, exploring new contacts, and maintaining existing contacts with The University of Melbourne, University of Melbourne student associations, and the GHSG.

An ongoing membership and marketing strategy needs to foster membership engagement, such as continuing to research the target audience, collaborating with

student clubs and university associations, planning new promotional events (e.g. running promotional stalls during The University of Melbourne’s Orientation Week), hosting careerfocused workshops (e.g. with The University of Melbourne’s Student Peer Leader Network) and other marketing practices (e.g. developing a Graduate Union membership trial program)

4. Asking for non-university email address

When going through Skaria (the membership database) while conducting the survey, it was found that many members put their university email addresses as a primary contact (@student.unimelb.edu.au). However, based on the university policy, continuing access to university email account will be fully deactivated after 15 months after the completion of the course.

This means that we will be losing the main way of contact to people who are highly aware of and engaged with our brand – a group with great potential for renewing memberships and applying for life-long memberships.

To avoid so, it is suggested that when members sign up for memberships, they should be prompted to leave a personal email address – either through verbal cues from our receptionists or the design of our online membership application form.

In short, four key takeaways were:

1. From our brand’s perspective, the connection between The Graduate Union and The University of Melbourne stands out as the competitive advantage we already have.

2. We should strengthen it by establishing more collaborations with the University and current students.

3. Our membership offerings need to be more tailored to the young audiences by providing them with professional networking opportunities, as well as the ways in which we communicate with them, especially on social media.

4. These could be done by creating a staff role with responsibilities to include supporting communications and engagement. (such a position is now in place for 2024.)

Meeting Services and GU-Collegiate events

In 2023, we saw the continued increase and confidence in attendees attending face to face events held at Graduate House. GU-Collegiate events continued to be hybrid meetings with some members continuing to attend online.

The annual General Meeting on Tuesday 16th May 2023, saw close to 50 members face to face and 8 members online, with a great number attending the Dinner afterwards.

2023 saw an End of Year Celebration for all members held on Friday 1st December. This event was well attended with close to 100 people present. Great food and beverage were served with a fabulous performance from Helen Kerr-Lawley at the end of the evening.

Thanks goes to all members who attend our GU collegiate functions, or come in for a drink or meal in the Dining Room, or continue to communicate with The Graduate Union.

2024 activities

In line with the above strategic objectives, the Graduate Union looks forward to building the Association’s presence and awareness within The University of Melbourne; to enhancing communication to graduates of The University of Melbourne; involving early and mid-career graduates more generally; and building up the membership of the Association.

In conclusion, I extend my gratitude to the 2023 Membership and Marketing subcommittee members —Ms Jan Hocking (Co-Vice-Chairperson from June 2023), Cr Martin Comte OAM (Co-Vice-Chairperson), Ms Rosie Maddick (Co-Vice Chair until May 2023), Cr Molina Asthana, Cr Mary R. Kelleher, Mr Keith Ryall, Cr Fausto Marasco and Cr David Israel.

I thank also the dedicated and hardworking staff at Graduate House for their warm hospitality, professionalism, hard work and support especially Ms Winnie Wu who undertook the Marketing study and report over a period of 6 months.

Dr Max Sephens Chairperson of the Membership and Marketing subcommittee

We are pleased to report that, for 2023, we processed 714 bookings, an increase of 59 from 2022. These bookings included special events, conferences, workshops and planning days. There were 158 clients and the total number of attendees for these bookings was 13,310, with an increase of 1611 from the previous year.

Some special occasions with large numbers included:

The Melbourne Press Club and the Australian Intercultural - 4th Media Iftar Dinner, on 13th April 2023 with 60 attendees. This dinner event brought together a cross-section of Melbourne's diverse society during Ramadan to share a meal and conversations. The panel discussion on the topic of “Faith in a Secular Age - Why belief and religion still matter” discussed where faith sits in an ever increasing secular society.

Soroptimist International of Melbourne 75th Celebration Luncheon, on 24th June 2023 with 60 attendees. The luncheon was held to celebrate 75th Charter Anniversary of Soroptimist International of Melbourne, Inc. and was attended by Soroptimists from other clubs; and friends who share the vision of improving lives of women and girls. Guest speaker was former Judge Frances Millane, who talked

about the vital work of the Australian Association of Women Judges in helping Afghanstan judges now living Australia. The attendees also heard from Dr. Nouria Salehi, who talked about the AADO - Afghan Australian Development Organization and its work. The luncheon raised funds for this worthy cause.

Global Hemp Summit Conference, on 27th & 28th September 2023 with 60 attendees. Organised by member Dr David Wilson, the Global Hemp Summit in partnership with the Centre for Advanced Manufacturing of Prefabricated Housing (ARC CAMP.H), and the Australian Hemp Manufacturing Company, hosted the 3rd Global Hemp Summit from Melbourne, Australia to a global audience. This two-day summit showcased industry experts, academics and entrepreneurs involved in Industrial Hemp research and commercial enterprise.

The Australian & New Zealand Association of Psychiatry Psychology & Law (ANZAPPL) event, Tuesday, 11th July 2023 with 60 attendees. The guest speaker, Professor Troy McEwan presented on the topic, Stalking and Homicide.

by Hospitality Manager, Mrs Rosie Ellul

Some of our Current Organisational Members

The

Dental

Lysander

Membership in 2023

Organisation Members

ARC Centre of Excellence for Climate Extremes/School of Geography

Association of German Teachers of Victoria (AGTV)

Australian Centre of Research Excellence in Malaria Elimination (ACREME)

Australian New Zealand Association of Psychiatry Psychology Law ( ANZAPPL )

First Super

Goethe Institute Australia

Graduate Student Association

Leadership Victoria

Oxfam Australia

Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre

WEHI (Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research)

Life Members

Dr Ashley Peng Chee Ng

Members

Dr Peter Lazarus Anastassiadis

Mr Peter William Andrews

Mr Craig Charles Bagley

Dr Andrew Blackburn

Mr Peter Raymond Buckingham

Mr Peter Ralph Howard Burt

Ms Robyn Byrne OAM

Miss Annunzia Cagnoni

Mr Subhajit Chakraborty

Mr Akash Chaudhary

Dr Mary Cole

Mr Alysson Costa

Mr Stephen Curtain

Mr Wenkang Ding

Ms Patricia Duke

Brigadier Konard Ermert

Emerita Professor Heather Fehring

Miss Carolyn Fisk

Mr Peng Gao

Mr Saviour Grech

Mr Hamish R Green

Mrs Nicola Jane Harle

Mr James Henshall

Ms Wendy Hermeston

Mr Grant Alan Hocking ASM

Mrs Yao Hu

Ms Cindy Huang

Associate Professor Neryl Jeanneret

Miss Aleisha Chen Yu Jiang

Dr David Jones

Mr Jai Raj Kajla

Ms Kyoko (KJ) Kojima

Mr Duncan Gordon Ley

Ms Yajie Li

Ms Ivy Lim

Ms Anran Liu

Mr David John Lowden

Mr Chris McCarty

Mr David John McSteen

Mr Tony Milic

Mr Ian Robert Muchamore

Mr Thomas Peachey

Mrs Elizabeth Anne Ritter

Mr Gordon Ritter KC, SC

Mr John Rophael

Mr Nelson Rufatt

Ms Emma-Mae Rufatt

Mr David Alan Russell Wood

Mr Thomas Sinclair

Mr Peter Singer

Mr Michael Sloane

Mr Julian Lee Tuke Smith

Dr Massoud Sofi

Professor Jane Southcott

Dr Eleanor Spencer-Regan

Ms Nana (Selina) Sun

Mr Ron Tiffen

Mr Anura Vyagurunathar

Ms Francesca Waters

Mrs Amanda R Watson

Mr Xiangzhe Weng

Ms Mary Bernadette Whitehead

Mr Wilson Wong

Mr Martin James Yarwood

Mr Xinhao (Jerry) Zhao

Mr Xin Yu Zhuo

Associate Members

Miss Joan Benjamin

Mr Yang Li

Professor Tiffany Morrison

Mr Kristan John Oud

Mr Joseph Santamaria

Ms Cherry Santos

Mr Richard Watson

Resident Members

Graduate House is one of the most international residential colleges worldwide. Every year hundreds of graduates from all over Australia and the world choose to stay in our great College, creating a truly multicultural environment. We extend warm welcome to Residents who stayed with us in 2023.

Ms Elizabeth Addie

Ms Kate Adnams

Mr Arvin Jake Amago Adovo

Miss Edelweiss Angelita

Ms Laura Elizabeth Atkinson

Mr Desson Au-Yeung

Ms Gayane Babayan

Mr Edward John Bannister

Mrs Cristina Maria Barbosa

Professor Solowiej Bartosz

Mr Darius (Vincent) Becher

Mr Muhammad Nabil Asyraf Bin Rustam

Dr Michael Roger Bird

Ms Cassandra Buenafe

Dr Emalee Jade Burrows

Ms Barbara Susan Bynder

Dr Emma Carter

Mr Marco Cassani

Ms Hsu Chia (Reese) Chang

Professor Igal Charney

Miss Yi Lin Chen

Mr Lei Chen

Mr Feng Cheng

Dr Ho Yan (Yannie) Cheung

Mr Wonseok Choi

Mr Ryan Shi-Kai Chong

Mr Eunico Cornelius

Mr Cameron Cross

Mr Jeffery Cruz

Mr Thomas Curtain

Mr Mohammad Dalla

Mr Paul Delaney

Mr Michael Devami

Dr Garry Deverell

Mr Sabino Di Trani

Ms Stefanie Dietl

Ms Pixie Dobbs

Ms Caroline Sophia Brigitte Duex

Miss Jacqueline Therase Dysart

Ms Michelle Evans

Mr Haoran (Tony) Fan

Miss Qian Feng

Miss Tingyu Feng

Miss Jennifer Flynn

Mr Nicola Fraschini

Mr Yann Gérard Léon Frémaut

Ms Nathalie Frey

MsCadinia Funganitao

Mr Miles Gibson

Mr Masahiro Goto

Dr Kasimir Gregory

Mr David Hay

Ms Yaolan He

Miss Rebecca Emily Heath

Ms Michelle Hernández

Ms Heather Holmes

Ms Maria Honecker

Miss Karen Nicole Horta Lagunas

Mr Dongli Hu

Ms Ruihong Huang

Professor Minna Huotilainen

Mr Dikha Escodianto Haposan

Hutabarat

Mr Andrew Irvin

Mr Shoichi Ishii

Mrs Anna Jaromin

Ms Akshaya Jaya Prakash

Miss Thirangie Radhini Jayatilake

Ms Yu Joyce Ji

Miss Yee Lok Constance Jim

Miss Joyce Yuetong Jin

Mr Jakob Skjerning Johansen

Dr Lewis Alexander Jones

Mr Pei-Hsiu Edward Kao

Associate Professor Justyna

Karakiewicz

Mrs Asha Karki

Dr Pratibha Gopal Kavle

Mr Adam Kelly

Ms Eleanor Kettle

Mr Minoru Kimoto

Mr Joshua Jay Kleinman

Ms Sayaka Koga

Ms Johanna Krukowski

Ms Ying An Lai

Dr Guillaume Laplante-Anfossi

Ms Anne Elgaard Hoff Lassen

Ms Tsz Wing Lee

Ms Eun Hye Lee

Mrs Ying-Hsuan Lee

Ms Pey Yen Lee

Ms Miyuki Leong

Ms Yinhui Li

Miss Ruochen Liao

Mr Hao Li

Miss Julie Emma Lloyd

Mr Lorenzo Lopez-Nunez

Ms Beatriz Losilla Rodriguez

Mr James Maala

Ms Hana Makas

Ms Sidra Mariyam

Ms Seren Marsh

Ms Yady Martínez

Ms Jennifer Kemarre Martiniello

Ms Rusila Matea

Ms Towano Matsuura

Dr Aastha Mehta

Dr Alessio Mentani

Mr Conor Milner

Mr Yuta Steven Miyajima-Paterson

Miss Chulan (Nikki) Mo

Dr Asa Ingrid Mogren

Mr Saul Daniel Morrison

Miss Tiare Murphy

Ms Amritha Nair

Ms Momoe Nakajima-Kikuya

Miss Thi dung (Grace) Nghiem

Ms Maria Rosaria Nucera

Mr Takuo Oda

Miss Marion Kathleen Orchison

Miss Lucy Eleanor Osborne

Ms Yamuna Panchkoti

Miss Chinmai Patil Pandappa

Mr Alexandre Pons

Miss Yasmin Potts

Ms Ribka Putri

Ms Manling Qian

Mr Oier Quincoces

Ms Neshat Rahimpoor

Ms Jessica Faye Rainford

Dr Infant Arockiya Raj

Mr Kasun Rajamanthrilage

Mr Saravanakkumar Rajamma

Ms Elisabeth Rakozy

Ms Fitriani Revanda Maria

Ms Rosaria Nucera

Mrs Stephanie Rose

Ms Aakriti Ahuja Rozario

Ms Filippo Sanfilippo

Ms Sanjana Santosh

Mr Aakash Sanjeev Saraf

Miss Hikaru Sato

Mr Tim Schuelke

Miss Jodi Kim Seet

Mrs Nusrat Sharmin

Mr Carl Govert Sik

Mr Chi Ping (Francis) Sim

Mr Kwangsuk Song

Mr John Sullivan

Mr Jiahui (Jake) Sun

Dr Linda Sunny

Mr Sruthi Suresh

Ms Frances Paulleen Sutherland

Mr Pearse Sweeney

Mrs Tomoko Takayoshi

Mr Fan Rui Tan

Mr John Tearle

Mrs Ru Yueh Tham

Professor Joanna Tkaczewska

Ms Yuzuka Tsuboi

Miss Jihan Ubaid

Mr Orlando Mauricio Valarezo

Rivera

Mrs Sophia Louw Van Greunen

Mr Simon Vandestadt

Ms Rashmi Venkatesan

Miss Mar Ventulà Ruiz

Mr Martin Richard Stafford Veron

Mr Robert Vicari

Mr Guilherme Scabin Vicinansa

Mr Hogan Xinyue Wang

Miss Lei Chun Wang

Mr Callum James Ward

Dr Kelly Ann Weir

Ms Yee Chen Wong

Miss Sze Han Wong

Mr Xinyu Wu

Ms Rizky Amalia Wulandari

Mr Yuhao Xiao

Mr Reiya Yamamoto

Miss Tzu Ching Yen

Mr Shengkai Yin

Mrs Luciane Schwarcz Zanetti

Mr Liqian Zhang

Ms Xiao Zhang

Miss Yan Zhang Mr Xiangyu

Mr Richard Zhang

Miss Shasha Zheng

Miss Haoyan Zhu

COLLEGIATE EVENT SPEAKERS

In 2023, we welcomed the following guest speakers at our GU Collegiate events.

Monthly Luncheons/ Dinners

March Speaker: Dr Harry Blutstein

Topic: How can they call it murder?

April Speaker: Dr John V Basarin OAM

Topic: Gallipoli Campaign; The Middle Eastern Connection

May

Speaker: Associate Professor Rosalie Hudson

Topic: Living in a nursing home: a fate worse than death?

June Speaker: Victor Perton

Topic: Building Optimism in the midst of crisis

August Speaker: Associate Professor Graham Parslow

Topic: Vintage Radio

October Speaker: Professor Mary Galea, AM FAHMS

Topic: Advances in stroke rehabilitation and the continuum of care.

November Speaker: Brigadier Bob Slater AM

Topic: George Selth Coppin: a Shaper of Victoria

AGM Dinner

May

Speaker: Gail Southwell

Topic: Community Radio and in particular, 3MBS and the evolution of the station over its forty-seven year history.

Fundraising and Benefaction subcommittee

Culture of Giving

This past year was a period of reflection on our approaches to fundraising in the past and possibilities for new ways of reaching out to our members for financial and other support. This resulted in our 2023 mid-year appeal conducted in conjunction with the Membership and Marketing subcommittee with the aim of attracting new members – including those who have recently graduated. The appeal asked for members to nominate and sponsor a new member, or contribute a membership fee to enable us to locate possible new members. The benefits of this appeal supported the goals of both subcommittees and resulted in us welcoming several new members across the age spectrum, and especially those in a younger age group. The possibility of sponsoring a new member continued for the remainder of the year – it was not limited to the traditional mid-year appeal only.

The end-of-year appeal was designed to support our most recent initiative – a pilot mentoring program for Graduate House residents. This commenced at the start of Semester 1 this year. The program is not primarily for career mentoring (universities themselves have several specific career mentoring programs), but for resident mentees to have an opportunity to meet with a mentor as a means of enhancing their experience of living in Graduate House and, for many residents, living for the first time in Melbourne given, especially, that several residents staying here are from overseas. We hope to extend the program after we have assessed this pilot scheme. In future, we will consider possible mentoring programs for young graduate members who are not residing in Graduate House. And we are also exploring possibilities for peer mentoring by ‘established’ residents with new residents. I am

particularly grateful to Wally Reid, a member of the Fundraising and Benefactions subcommittee, for urging us to embark on this path.

Another fundraising endeavour has been our Pin Design Competition, which is taking place during Semester 1 this year. After discussions with The University of Melbourne and RMIT University in 2023, we came up with a proposal for a student competition for the design of a Graduate Union pin. Ideally, we envisage that the winning design can be sold not only to raise funds – but as something that members can wear with pride, signifying their membership of our association. We are extremely grateful to an anonymous donor for graciously donating the very generous prize money.

We continue to appeal for donors to the 110th anniversary of Graduate House and our 60th Jubilee Anniversary Appeal.

As mentioned in last year’s report, we continue to seek better ways of attracting benefactor support, and this implies the importance of us as an organisation being united with respect to future directions for The Graduate Union and Graduate House. Our extremely successful Strategic Planning Day in the middle of 2023 was pivotal in assisting us to move forward with renewed optimism for our future. One of several benefits of this was the decision to ‘bring together’ both the Fundraising and Benefactions subcommittee and the Membership and Marketing subcommittee. The resultant new committee will be known as the Advancement Committee: it will not only encapsulate the intent of the former two subcommittees, but also open-up new possibilities for us to expand and enrich our activities as we move towards the positive future that we envisage.

It is with some sadness that I acknowledge the departure in 2023 from the Fundraising and Benefactions subcommittee of Shelley Jones, a Co-Vice Chair, whose contributions over several years to this committee, and The Graduate Union more broadly, have been greatly appreciated. More recently, at the beginning of this year our erstwhile member Wally Reid, to whom reference has already been made, made the decision to ‘retire’. We will always be indebted to both members.

In addition to the contribution of Shelley Jones and Wally Reid, I extend my heartfelt gratitude to the Vice Chair Fausto Marasco, and committee members

Vincent Mirabelli, Rhys Watson, Dr Max Stephens and Janet Hocking (who joined the subcommittee last year) for their ongoing support.

We thank our generous donors for their support in 2023 towards:

The Mid-Year Annual Appeal sponsorship of new members (membership fees as a donation)

End-of-Year Annual Appeal towards establishing a GH Mentoring Program for 2024

Donation towards the William Berry Post-Graduate Student Trust to fund refurbishment and upkeeping of building projects.

Ongoing 110th Jubilee Anniversary Endowment

All other donations

Martin Comte OAM Chairperson of the Fundraising and Benefactions Subcommittee

Building and Facilities subcommittee

The Buildings and Facilities subcommittee is pleased to submit this report for the year 2023. The roles and responsibilities of this subcommittee are provided in regulation 30.2.

Occupancy

2023 saw Graduate House returned to close to precovid occupancy levels. Demand grew throughout the year with confidence returning and international students being directed to attend on campus studies. The noise of over 120 residents in the dining room each day was beautiful to hear.

As shown in the bar graph below, occupancy remained high during the semesters with the months of September, October and November all breaking the 90% mark. The average occupancy for the year was 84.5%, compared to 58.9% in 2022.

Undergraduates were again accepted into the college with between 10-12 residing at Graduate House.

This year’s result only bodes well for 2024 and the college accommodating greater numbers of graduate students.

Master Planning and Terrace Redevelopment

At the 2023 Annual General Meeting held on the 16th May 2023, the Council presented an update on the Master Plan and the Stage 1 redevelopment. The Chair of Council reiterated the three principals committed by the Council when exploring alternative options for the project. These being: Retain current operation, Retain ownership and Enter into discussion with potential partners.

Work continued throughout 2023 with discussions held with several parties, including The University of Melbourne, discussing the Stage 1 project plus precinct wide development and then alternative partnership arrangements. The Council is considering all options for the Stage 1 Project.

Parkville Rail Station

Construction of the Parkville Station (one of five new stations of the Melbourne Metro Rail Tunnel) has seen great progress with the major construction works on the below station close to finished; and 2023 saw the start of the surface legacy works throughout Grattan Street. All station entrances and above ground service structures were completed.

Graduate House saw the footpath and surroundings at the corner of Grattan and Leicester Street revamped and completed in the first half of the year. This will mean very little disruption to areas close to the Graduate House buildings from now onwards.

Meeting with the Cross Yarra Partnership continued throughout the year on any works that might affect Residents (noise, vibration and accessibility). The station is due to be operational in 2025.

It will be tremendous when the station is open as this will allow greater access to the entire University of Melbourne and Royal Melbourne Hospital precinct, with Graduate House in the heart of the area.

University of Melbourne Estate Master plan

In July, The University of Melbourne released its Estate Master Plan for the Grattan Street precinct, revealing its long-term vision for the Parkville Campus. This aspirational blueprint aimed at ensuring that it met with the University’s long-term educational and research needs. The Plan centres on a long-term vision for the historic Parkville campus where more than 22,000 square metres of green space would be created for students and the community to share. The Grattan Street entrance to the University will become a major entry point where a new parkway will improve pedestrian access, safety and connection to the city and its residents.

The vision at the heart is an aspiration to open up the University’s campuses, to make them more accessible for our staff and students and to transform them into shared places that are more welcoming for all communities.

Several buildings along the stretch of Grattan Street will be removed and replaced with newer facilities opening the entire length of the promenade. Graduate House will then be in the most central position in these newly opened spaces.

Major projects, repairs and maintenance

Repairs and maintenance saw a spike in the first half of 2023 with greater occupancy of all accommodation rooms.

The Buildings and Facilities subcommittee, together with the Finance and Audit subcommittee, prioritised a capital works plan for 2023 with the upgrade of the audio visual systems in both the Ian Potter and Stillwell rooms being completed in April; and minor works on accommodation rooms being achieved. Projects not achieved in 2023 have been prioritised for 2024.

In conclusion, I thank the members of the Buildings and Facilities subcommittee for 2023 — Cr Natalie Gray (Co-Vice-chairperson), Cr Max Stephens (CoVice-chairperson), Cr Vincent J Mirabelli (until June 2023), Mr Robert Heaton (until June 2023), Cr Lawrence Grima and Mr Michael Lynch.

I extend appreciation on behalf of this subcommittee also to the management, accommodation, housekeeping, building services and culinary teams who make Graduate House a welcoming and vibrant home and gathering place.

Cr Mary R Kelleher Chairperson of the Buildings and Facilities subcommittee

Meet the Team

My sincere gratitude to the wonderful team for their hard work and dedication.

To the staff who worked and have left the team - Anne Ladkins, Michelle Wan - a big thank you - your hard work is recognised and very much appreciated.

Daniel Clark General Manager

Office Administration

Accommodation and Reception

Building services

Iris Forero-Ramirez Accommodation Officer

Michelle Wan Accommodation Officer

Anne Sterling Social Media Membership

Rosie Ellul Hospitality Manager

Punam Kunwar Finance System

Shirley Ho Editor GU Collegiate Membership

Greg Carter Secretariat for Council & Governance meetings

Wendy Pang Website Maintenance

Connor Hadley Technican and Maintenance

Aaron Edwards Technican and Maintenance

Functions and Guest Services

Culinary Team

Housekeeping Team

Janine Seludo Melissa Angwin Rysa Quinquiño Karla Akiatan Alejandra Becerra

Nelson Hu co-Head chef

Basma Tantawy co- Head chef

Justine Tolosa Chef Michael Noone Kitchen Services

Dinesh Adhikari Kitchen Services

Daniele Massa Kitchen Services

Nachiketa Kukreja Guest Services

Jihan Ubaid Guest Services

Gabriel Chan Guest Services Richard Xiao Guest Services

Marwa Tantawy Manager Bill Mihelakis Manager

Olivia Pititto Guest Services

Sobia Masood Guest Services

Daqlan Lee Guest Services

Finance and Audit subcommittee

The Finance and Audit subcommittee is pleased to provide this report on its activities and the financial performance of the Association in 2023. The roles and responsibilities of this subcommittee are provided in regulation 31.2.

The 2023 year saw the close return to income levels seen prior to the COVID pandemic. This was a comforting sight for the association after 3 years (2020-2022) of difficult financial result years. The demand for both Accommodation and Meeting Services slowly grew throughout 2023 with the second half of the year seeing good income levels.

The subcommittee continued working with the Council and the executive to ensure a positive outcome to the financial situation of the Association with the return of residents for the college, members re-engagement and attendees to meeting.

The Association’s borrowings saw Bank Australia extend interest-only payments until April 2023. Furthermore, interest-only quarterly payments for the National Australia Bank (NAB) facility continued. Notwithstanding, interest expenses rose in line with repeat interest rate rises implemented by the Reserve Bank of Australia. These rate increases have impacted the financials however had been anticipated in the 2023 budget.

Auditor

At the annual General Meeting held on the 16th May 2023, Mr Wayne Tarrant of JTP Assurance was appointed as the Auditor for the independent audit of the financial year ending 31st December 2023.

Financial Performance

For the year ending 31st December 2023, the Association delivered a net Comprehensive Income surplus of $8,084,906, compared to the deficit of $125,982 in 2022.

Operationally after forecasted land and building revaluation the Association’s net deficit was $39,397 compared to a deficit of $125,982 in 2022.

Operating revenue in 2023 totalled $3.5M, $2.569M (36%) higher than the result for 2022. The primary sources of revenue were accommodation ($2.186M) and catering ($1.192M). These two sources were respectively $606K (38%) and $302K (34%) higher than the 2022 year. Donation revenue totalled $69,842, a slight decrease from the previous year. Investment income of $35,363, 4% increase compared to 2022. An unrealised gain in market value of investments (reported separately) was $92,162 (2022: loss of $84,042).

Total operating expenses of $3.99M were 34% higher compared to the 2022 year ($2.964M). Except for depreciation (which decreased by 3%) all remaining expense line items were higher than the 2022 year: employment expenses by 28%, catering by 39%, interest and bank fees by 75%, repairs and maintenance by 50%, rates and government taxes by 5%, utilities expenses by 15%, communication expenses by 46% and insurance expenses by 29%. Majority of these increase were directly related to increase demand in Meeting Services and Accommodation.

Cash Flow from Operating Activities in 2023 was negative (-$33,710), $4K lower than the 2022 year.

Negative Cash Flow from Investing Activities of $105,598 was due to the increase in interest rates throughout 2023, Cash Flow from Financing Activities totalled $142,475 reflecting funds drawn down from the Association’s loan facilities. Cash and Cash Equivalents increased by $2,807 to $179,482 at year end.

Total Property, Plant and Equipment was valued at $48,35M in 2023, an increase in value of $8.5M compared to 2022 ($39.756M). Total Equity increased by $8,084,906 (28%) to $36.65M (2022: $28.57M). See note below for land and building revaluation.

Land and Buildings Revaluation

Note 9 of the Financial Report provides the explanation and figures on the adjustment to the values of land and buildings of the Association.

The properties at 234 Leicester Street Carlton, Level 7, 50 Barry Street Carlton and 24 Barkly Place Carlton were valued 29 May 2023; 232 Leicester Street Carlton were valued on 5 December 2023 for mortgage purposes.

The increase in the average square metre value of 232 and 234 Leicester Street Carlton since the valuation September 2018 has been applied to the other properties in Leicester Street.

Based on this a revaluation increase of $8,373,318 representing increased value of land and buildings was recognised in the Statement of Comprehensive Income for the year ended 31 December 2023.

This was accepted by the Auditor and Graduate Union Council.

Operating Income

A breakdown of operating income is shown in the pie chart below. Revenue from donations and bequests is not illustrated.

I thank the members of the subcommittee for 2023 — Leo Santalucia (Co-Vice-Chairperson), Rhys Watson (Co-Vice-Chairperson), Phillip Cobbin, Vincent Mirabelli, Nicholas Quinn, Keith Ryall, Jane Tisdall, Lawrence Grima as well as our accountant, Kay Gulenc, our auditor, Wayne Tarrant from JTP Assurance, and the dedicated and hardworking Management and Operations team.

Cr Muan Lim Chairperson of the Finance and Audit subcommittee

INDEPENDENT AUDITOR’S REPORT TO THE MEMBERS OF THE GRADUATE UNION OF THE UNIVERSITY OF MELBOURNE INC.

ABN 55 610 664 963

Report on the Audit of the Financial Report

Opinion

We have audited the financial report of The Graduate Union of the University of Melbourne Inc. (the Association), which comprises the statement of financial position as at 31 December 2023, the statement of comprehensive income, the statement of changes in equity and the statement of cash flows for the year then ended, notes comprising a summary of significant accounting policies and other explanatory information, and the certification by members of the Council on the annual statements giving a true and fair view of the financial position and performance of the Association

In our opinion, the accompanying financial report gives a true and fair view of the financial position of the Association as at 31 December 2023 and of its financial performance for the year then ended in accordance with the accounting policies described in Note 1 to the financial statements and the requirements of the Associations Incorporation Reform Act 2012 (Vic) and Division 60 of the Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission Act 2012

Basis for Opinion

We conducted our audit in accordance with Australian Auditing Standards. Our responsibilities under those standards are further described in the Auditor’s Responsibilities for the Audit of the Financial Report section of our report. We are independent of the Association in accordance with the ethical requirements of the Accounting Professional and Ethical Standards Board’s APES 110: Code of Ethics for Professional Accountants (the Code) that are relevant to our audit of the financial report in Australia. We have also fulfilled our other ethical responsibilities in accordance with the Code.

We believe that the audit evidence we have obtained is sufficient and appropriate to provide a basis for our opinion.

Emphasis of Matter – Basis of Accounting

We draw attention to Note 1 to the financial report, which describes the basis of accounting. The financial report has been prepared to assist the Association to meet the requirements of the Associations Incorporation Reform Act 2012 (Vic) and Division 60 of the Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission Act 2012. As a result, the financial report may not be suitable for another purpose. Our opinion is not modified in respect of this matter.

Responsibilities of the Council for the Financial Report

The Council is responsible for the preparation and fair presentation of the financial report in accordance with the financial reporting requirements of the Associations Incorporation Reform Act 2012 (Vic) and Division 60 of the Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission Act 2012 and for such internal control as the Council determines is necessary to enable the preparation and fair presentation of a financial report that is free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error.

In preparing the financial report, the Council is responsible for assessing the Association’s ability to continue as a going concern, disclosing, as applicable, matters relating to going concern and using the going concern basis of accounting unless the Council either intends to liquidate the Association or to cease operations, or has no realistic alternative but to do so.

Auditor’s Responsibilities for the Audit of the Financial Report

Our objectives are to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial report as a whole is free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error, and to issue an auditor’s report that includes our opinion. Reasonable assurance is a high level of assurance but is not a guarantee that an audit conducted in accordance with the Australian Auditing Standards will always detect a material misstatement when it exists. Misstatements can arise from fraud or error and are considered material if, indi vidually or in the aggregate, they could reasonably be expected to influence the economic decisions of users taken on the basis of this financial report.

As part of an audit in accordance with the Australian Auditing Standards, we exercise professional judgement and maintain professional scepticism throughout the audit. Further information about our responsibilities can be found at http://www.auasb.gov.au/Home.aspx This description forms part of our auditor’s report.

We communicate with the Council regarding, among other matters, the planned scope and timing of the audit and significant audit findings, including any significant deficiencies in internal control that we identify during our audit.

MVAB Assurance

Wayne Tarrant

Chartered Accountants Partner

Signed at Melbourne this 27th day of March 2024