SSAF stands for Student Services and Amenities Fee. It is a government grant set up by the Department of Education Skills and Employment which charges students a fee. That fee then allows the allocation of funds to higher education providers for clubs and societies. For further information, visit the official government website.

Any UNE Clubs and/or Societies. This includes academic study groups, cultural societies, sporting clubs, social groups and college JCR’s. 

Note: As decided by the Australian Government, SSAF revenue cannot be used to support a political party.   

There are two rounds of SSAF allocation per year. The first takes place at the start of trimester one (and is used for trimester one events) and the second is held at the end of trimester one (in anticipation for trimester two and to be used on trimester two events).  

Technically you can, but we highly advise against planning to do so.  Since SSAF is an application process with limited funds, you can’t be certain that when applying you will receive the full amount for any given event. 

If you apply for an allotted amount for reimbursement, we do reserve the right to deny funding to that event (given cause).

In planning for your clubs next calendar year, we suggest requesting your marketing budget a year in advance during round 2 of funding so that your club can start the year with a collection of marketing materials for early events, but to hold off on spending any money on any large events until the club has taken the time to sit down with the Student Programs Coordinator and discuss their approved funding.   

It depends. Once you’ve submitted your application, your request goes through two rounds of assessment.  If your request is reasonable, demonstrates well-thought out budgeting, fits within the laid-out limits and your club or society has demonstrated consistent effort in official procedures and community engagement, then there is a chance your application could be fully funded!

However, please understand that funds are limited so depending on the size and amount of requests for funding within a particular round, your request could be reduced to allow for equity amongst the full range of UNE clubs and societies.   

For the second round of funding we have two options.

Direct deposit into your club account 

You supply us with your bank details, and we will deposit your funding straight into your club’s account.   At the end of the year, we will ask you show evidence that the funds have been spent on the events or items you were approved for.

Grants to be used at UNE Life / SportUNE Facilities and Services. 

When you book the facilities, service or catering, let us know and we will arrange payment directly.

Before applying, make sure that your committee has put together an overview of events for the trimester, and that you’ve budgeted for each event. The more specific you can get with your budget, the more likely your request is to be approved! 

 Example: 

Writing: ‘We look to buy 20 packets of “Poppin Explosion Triple Butter Popcorn” from Coles at $1 each [This is cheaper than Woolworths at $1.75 each] therefore we require $20′  

is going to be more favourably looked upon than a general request like, 

‘$50 to run a Popcorn Stall .’ 

Note: the first request gave competitor prices, which lets us know you’ve done research. 

These detailed budgets and event rundowns (amongst other details) should then be placed into this excel spreadsheet.   

SSAF is not ‘free money’, we expect to see that you’ve put thought into budgeting your events and that your events are designed to benefit as many students as possible.

Show that you’re exploring other forms of funding 

Other avenues of funding could include: membership fees, ticket costs, partnerships with other organisations and so on. 

Make your descriptions clear and concise 

Remember, we are reading a lot of applications us a full description with as little colourful language as possible it makes our job a lot easier, it also helps us to see the important parts of your application more clearly.   

Include online student activities

Our online students are an enormous untapped resource for memberships !  What activities or events can your club do?  

Include an academic basis 

At the end of the day, we are a university and SSAF is there to help with student amenities.  So make sure to demonstrate if any of your events or initiatives assist in your memberships academic journey.   

Three things need to happen before you can get your funding:

• you’ve signed the appropriate agreements,
• provided the full and correct information for your club banking details.
• you’ve attended a meeting with our Student Programs Coordinator

At the meeting you’ll discuss what you were funded, why you were funded in the way that you were, and how you wish to receive the payment.

After that you should receive your funds within a week or two.   

No. If you are unable to hold a planned event, you are required to inform us and return those funds to the UNE Life bank account.  If this funding fell under any of the limited funding areas, that limit will be returned to its pre-allocation state. 

Example:  There is currently a $1000 limit per club per year for events.  Your club has asked for $200 in round one to set up a popcorn stall. However, the popcorn stall was unable to go ahead. Your club can still ask for $1000 worth of funding in round two.   

No. Any approved SSAF money needs to be spent as was specified in your club’s application.   

No. Any applications submitted after the designated cut-off date will not be considered for funding in the current round. Late applicants will have to wait until the next trimester for the next round of funding.  Late applications are only accepted in the rare circumstances that valid reasoning is provided and  explicit approval has been received from the Student Experience Manager at UNE Life.

No. At the end of trimester one (before round two) and at the end of trimester two, you will be asked to fill out a document known as an acquittal. Make sure you keep all your receipts and a record of your SSAF spending (we advise keeping a running document with all your receipts which can be exported to a PDF during the acquittal process).  During this time, we will ask you to fill out a form where you’ll evaluate: 

• What money you spent 
• What money you didn’t spend (and need to return) 
• What events you held 

• The number of people who attended 
• How the events went 
• What could be done differently 
• Advice for other students hosting events in this field 
• Publicity content from your events 

If you fail to present an acquittal your club WILL NOT receive funding in the next round.   

Your first point of contact is Nick Troon (UNE Life Student Programs Coordinator).

If you have any concerns that require the consultancy of someone else on the UNE Life Staff, he can make sure the request is directed to the right person.   

Email Nick at ntroon2@une.edu.au.  

Yes, we do.

You can download the example here.

If you need more help, email Nick at ntroon2@une.edu.au.