Page last updated 4/11/2026.
2026 elections of the Monash Student Association
Disclaimer: no guarantees of factual accuracy. Some claims are based on best evidence.
Updates on this page in reverse chronological order.
Polls are open Monday 7th September to Thursday 10th September. Students will vote in elections of MSA office bearers, Monash Student Council General Representatives, committees, Lot’s Wife Editors and National Union of Students delegates. MSA office bearers and MSC General Representatives alongside MSA divisions are voting positions in the Monash Student Council, the MSA’s governing body.
Election timeline
Procrastination
Update 4/11/2026 - elections completed
Almost 2 months after the MSA elections, an appeal remains oustanding at the electoral tribunal. The returning officer had received a complaint that Change authorised officer Leroy, who was elected as National Union of Students delegate in the elections, could not be a participant in the election. Under the the elections regulations 721(2)(e), NUS officers are banned from being an election participant, including as a candidate, authorised officer or campaigner.
The ban on NUS officers was introduced by Change’s Monash Student Council in 2025, understood to be intended to block a Labor Right leader, at the time the NUS Victorian state branch president, from participating in the 2025 MSA elections.
As the incumbent president of the MSA, an NUS member organisation, Leroy would have automatically held a position on a State Executive of the NUS, making him an NUS officer unless he had a representative to hold the position instead. In the 2026 MSA elections, Leroy was an election participant as a candidate for NUS delegate, authorised officer of the Change ticket and a campaigner, among other election activities.
The consequences if Leroy is found to have been banned from being an election participant are difficult to predict beyond any personal bans. It throws into question the Change ticket as a whole since Leroy was the ticket’s authorised officer. Leroy being authorised officer, as opposed to another person, was unlikely to have been solely responsible for Change’s win in the elections given the margin of victory.
The returning officer ruled that Leroy was eligible to participate in the elections as Leroy had nominated Jay, C&S president and former Change authorised officer, as his representative to the NUS Victorian State Executive. Instead of Leroy, Jay was banned from participating in the 2027 MSA elections since he had been a Disabilities & Carers Committee candidate in the 2026 elections while an NUS officer.
The returning officer’s ruling was appealed to the electoral tribunal, which invited additional evidence.
The lack of an appeal decision is believed to have delayed the election report, which the election regulations dictate is due within 14 days of polls closing. The 2025 election report was inexplicably 10 months late.
A series of six appeals to the electoral tribunal against returning officer decisions were dismissed without hearings, with the decisions made on 10th September and all delivered on 11th September, the day after polls closed. The appeals were
- By Party in the MSA’s People of Colour department candidate, after candidate and ticket lists were released, against RO decision to uphold ticket signatory requirements.
- By Change’s authorised officer, after the list of nominations received and positions elected unopposed were published, against RO decision to declare the 2026 Monash University International Students Service president elected as Residential Community Officer.
They had been declared elected as the sole Residential Community Officer unopposed after the Party in the MSA slate withdrew and their co-nominee on the Change ticket was disqualified for not being a student.
- By Party in the MSA’s authorised officer, against promotion of MSA initiatives.
Party in the MSA had complained about a video promoting the expansion of the 24/7 study space first secured by Change’s MSA, posted a week before polls opened to official MSA social media and exclusively featuring all Change candidates for 2026-2027 MSA Executive. The Party in the MSA authorised officer also claims that there was paid advertising.
- By Party in the MSA’s authorised officer, against material clearance ruling by Returning Officer.
The returning officer refused to provisionally approve this full pamphlet.
- By the independent Lot’s Wife Editor candidate, on the second day of polling, against suspension for breach of campaign material rules.
- By the independent Lot’s Wife Editor candidate, on the fourth day of polling, against suspension for potentially misleading and deceptive conduct.
The 2027 division presidents have been confirmed, who each hold a vote on the Monash Student Council and will together elect one member of the MSA Executive. The elections for the Mature Age & Part-time Students division of the MSA were uncontested, with the Labor Left-linked incumbent president re-elected. At the AGM of Radio Monash, an MSA division, the independent incumbent president was re-elected unopposed. The Monash University International Students Service elections saw the only ticket Mosaic win all positions, defeating independent candidates to win a majority of votes for president.
Normally, the Clubs & Societies president becomes the divisional representative on the MSA Executive. At the C&S Council’s Annual General Meeting of affiliated club and society presidents, the 2025-2026 C&S president Jay, stepped down after two terms. His preferred candidate, the outgoing C&S treasurer, won election as C&S president in a contested election. Jay won election as vice president, defeating the incumbent.
Change’s 2027 People of Colour Officer easily won the election for undergraduate student member of the Monash University Academic Board, with 48% of the primary vote in a relatively small field of candidates. She benefited from an active campaign by Change social media. Change’s 2027 President was initially listed as a candidated for coursework graduate student member but withdrew soon after nominations were published, before voting opened.
A milestone victory for Change
Update 12/9/2026 - polls closed
Voters have rewarded the Change ticket with a fourth year in power, following another term of popular service and advocacy wins. For the first time, Change has won an absolute majority of the primary vote against all other tickets.
With Change and Free Palestine allied again, Party in the MSA was the only opposition to the incumbents. The major opposition ticket Elevate did not contest these elections after a disappointing performance last year, ostensibly due to Labor Right organisers prioritising the imminent state election. Autonomous tickets defeated by Change with the help of electoral regulations changes in 2025 did not return.
Since the founding of Party in the MSA as a joke ticket concentrated on a Mannix College base two years ago, they have roughly doubled their vote share each election. Despite a far smaller volunteer base and on-the-ground campaigning presence than Change, Party in the MSA’s results show that it is credible opposition winning voting positions at the Monash Student Council and National Union of Students.
The Party in the MSA leader and mastermind will be representing the opposition to Change in the 2027 MSC and will be attending the NUS National Conference in December. However, his announced retirement from student elections makes the future of the ticket uncertain.
With turnout falling three percentage points to 7.65%, Change received fewer primary votes than in the 2025 MSA elections but improved on their 2026 University Council election vote count. Conversely, Party in the MSA gained voters from last year’s MSA elections but won fewer primary votes than in the university-wide University Council election 2 weeks ago.
Change won all office bearers and the Lot’s Wife Editor election with a slate of 6 new editors. The ticket will hold a majority of the votes on the MSC and will control the MSA Executive.
Socialist Alternative members, elected on the Change and Free Palestine tickets, have secured one of the Environment & Social Justice Officers, both Education (Public Affairs) Officers, an MSC General Representative and 2 NUS delegates.
Party in the MSA candidates elected included a MSC General Representative, an NUS delegate, and one position on each committee except the uncontested Queer Affairs Committee.
Committees formally have the power to direct their respective office bearers under the MSA Constitution. In practice, they are usually either inactive or advisory.
One of the unopposed Indigenous Officers is Change, the other independent. An independent was elected to the Student Affairs Committee at the expense of Free Palestine. A solo Residential Community Officer nominated on the Change ticket, the 2026 President of the Monash University International Students Service, was declared elected unopposed despite an appeal by the Change ticket. The independent candidate for Lot’s Wife Editor won an impressive 81 votes (2%) in the two-ticket election that attracted the most votes.
National Union of Student delegates went 4 to Change (predominantly Labor Left aka National Labor Students), 2 to Free Palestine (Socialist Alternative) and 1 to Party in the MSA.
Campaigning bans included two 24-hour bans for the independent Lot’s Wife Editor candidate and two ~4-hour bans for the Party in the MSA authorised officer and presidential candidate.
Change, not regime change
Update 10/9/2026 - polls closed
Change has won the 2026 MSA elections.
According to provisional results, Change received 3208 votes (81%) against Party in the MSA’s 774 votes (19%) in the election for President.
In the Environment & Social Justice Officer race, the only major three-way ticket contest, Change won 57% followed by Free Palestine’s 26% and Party in the MSA’s 17%.
Party in the MSA has had a breakthrough in the Monash Student Council, gaining one MSC General Representative for its first ever MSC voting position. It will also be sending a delegate to the National Union of Students, whose first mission will be the NUS National Conference in December.
Change received fewer votes than the 3726 they won in 2025, while Party in the MSA increased its vote count from 575.
Turnout was 7.65%, down from 10.9% last year.
Polls closed
Update 10/9/2026 - polls closed
Voting in the 2026 MSA elections has ended.
In recent years, the returning officer has issued provisional results around 7-8pm.
Party in the MSA leader banned again
Update 10/9/2026 - 3 clear hours until polls close
Turnout tally around 12pm Thursday sat at 3098 votes, including 391 for Disabilities & Carers, 1297 for Women’s, and 944 for People of Colour Departments.
The authorised officer and presidential candidate for Party in the MSA has been issued another campaigning ban 12-4pm today. He filmed and published a campaign video in Sir John’s Bar in which he spoke the Party in the MSA slogan to “don’t vote for Change, vote for regime change”, eliciting unauthorised cheers from Liberals in the vicinity. This got him banned for soliciting votes in-person while inside a building.
Two days in the abyss
Update 9/9/2026 - 18 clear hours until polls close
Turnout tally around 10am Tuesday sat at 1330 votes, including 165 for Disabilities & Carers, 533 for Women’s, and 412 for People of Colour Departments.
Turnout tally around 9pm Tuesday sat at 1843 votes, including 233 for Disabilities & Carers, 754 for Women’s, and 575 for People of Colour Departments.
Turnout tally around 5pm Wednesday sat at 2581 votes, including 321 for Disabilities & Carers, 1066 for Women’s, and 791 for People of Colour Departments.
Turnout is well below last year’s 4164 votes on the third evening of polling.
The authorised officer and presidential candidate for Party in the MSA was issued a campaigning ban today Wednesday until 12pm. This was caused by publicising a supposed payment amount for University Council student representatives, which they allegedly heard from a senior Change member and the returning officer deemed to be incorrect.
Party in the MSA has also been forced to cut off the top of their pamphlets, containing wording regarding the increase in this year’s office bearer honorariums passed by the 2025 Monash Student Council that was alleged to have breached the election regulations.
An independent candidate has been issued a second 24-hour campaigning ban by the returning officer.
Turnout down on day 1
Update 7/9/2026 - 2 clear days until polls close
1086 votes were received by 5pm Monday, down from 1366 at the same time last year.
On a partly rain-affected and windy first day of campaigning, Change followed by Free Palestine had strong presence on the ground comparable to previous years, while Party in the MSA’s small team of volunteers expanded since 2025.
An independent candidate has been issued a 24-hour campaigning ban by the returning officer.
Election week begins
Update 7/9/2026 - 2 clear days until polls close
Students are expecting voting links sent to them by 10am this morning. Polls will close 5pm Thursday.
Posters are starting to go up on campus, pitching policies and achievements.
Change wins University Council race
Update 3/9/2026 - 3 clear days until polls open
Change’s representative in the University Council election, the MSA President, has been elected as the student member of University Council.
Student turnout was 6400 votes, up from 5052 in the last University Council election in 2024. The Change victor won 2520 primary votes (39%), with Party in the MSA coming second with 1020 (16%) and an international candidate a close third at 910 (14%). After the distribution of preferences, Change won the two-candidate preferred vote with 64% against Party in the MSA, excluding exhausted votes.
With a credible vote count against Change, this is a very positive result for Party in the MSA ahead of the MSA elections next week.
Election Guide released
Update 1/9/2026 - 5 clear days until polls open
Lot’s Wife has released the Election Guide, although it is not yet linked on the MSA website. The delay in publication was caused by waiting for the returning officer’s approval.
The only missing statements are the independent candidate for Lot’s Wife Editor, Change’s Residential Community Officer (elected unopposed), and Party in the MSA’s statements for the ticket, Education (Public Affairs) Officer, Activities Officer and Women’s Affairs Committee.
Party in the MSA candidate statements are mixed in tone and content, but all critical of the MSA under Change for lacking transparency, neglecting campus experience, using their positions for political career advancement, and increasing office bearer honorariums.
The list of nominations is hopefully finalised. There have been several “final” iterations released with substantial differences between each, so my numbers below might be slightly off. Notably, the two independent candidates for President have been rejected apparently for trying to submit a joint nomination to share the position, making the election for President a head-to-head between Change and Party in the MSA.
Voting for the University Council elections closed today. Results are expected by Thursday.
Voting opens for University Council
Update 25/8/2026 - 1 clear week until polls open
Voting opens today and will close at 5.00pm (AEST) on Tuesday 1 September 2026.
There are 13 student candidates, among them the 2026 MSA President and Change authorised officer, the Party in the MSA candidate for Lot’s Wife Editor (and various other positions), the two independent candidates for MSA President, and a member of the Labor Right.
Change and the 2026 MSA President should easily win the University Council election. If this is the case, it would not have any major direct implication on the MSA elections.
All candidates have provided candidate statements (although an earlier release was missing one for an unexplained reason).
The candidates
Update 20/8/2026 - 2 clear weeks until polls open
The provisional-but-final list of nominations received has been released.
The tickets running are the incumbents Change (organised by the Labor Left), allies Free Palestine (Socialist Alternative), and Party in the MSA (registered as Party in le Redacted). Notably, Labor Right ticket Elevate has sat out the elections this year, leaving the joke ticket Party in the MSA as the only serious opposition. And following annihilation last year, autonomous tickets are no more.
Almost every position will be contested. Change has secured the Queer and Residential Community Departments unopposed.
All tickets have nominated candidates for office bearers and committees. Only office bearers have power and a vote at the Monash Student Council, while committee election outcomes are not terribly meaningful. However, committee elections are important for tickets to engage supporters and the overall number of candidates is an indication of their campaigning strength come election week.
Free Palestine has nominated 11 unique candidates for the Environment & Social Justice Department, NUS delegates (including a Labor Left/NLS member at the top of the ticket) and the Student Affairs Committee.
Change is running 77 unique candidates, including for all office bearers, MSC General Representatives, NUS delegates and Lot’s Wife Editors. Its ticket includes Social Alternative members for several MSC and NUS positions.
Beyond touting its 2026 achievements, Change’s major policy proposals include:
- Abolishing graduation fees.
- Permanent free parking during Mondays, swotvac and exams.
- 40% cap on final exams.
- Extending SURLY (MSA library) hours until 7:30pm.
Party in the MSA is running 14 unique candidates, including for all office bearers except Indigenous Officer and Residential Community Officer, MSC General Representatives, NUS delegates and Lot’s Wife Editor. This is the ticket’s largest ever slate of candidates and would give it control of the MSC if it wins the elections.
Party in the MSA’s announced policy proposals include:
- Building the third runway at Clayton (and the first two).
- Reversing all increases to office bearer pay passed by Change.
- Deducting money spent on Sir John’s Bar beers from SSAF fees.
- Holding a royal commission into whether to have a royal commission.
Effectively, the contest for MSC control is a choice between incumbents Change and opposition Party in the MSA. As the only opposition in the absence of the Labor Right and Elevate, Party in the MSA has a shot at the highly prized proportionally elected National Union of Students delegates and Monash Student Council General Representatives, which would give it a foothold in national student politics and the MSA’s governance, respectively.
Independent candidates have nominated for Indigenous Officer, Lot’s Wife Editor and Student Affairs Committee. There were also 11 independent nominations rejected due to failing signatory requirements, including disqualified candidates for President (two!), Secretary, Education (Academic Affairs) Officer, People of Colour Officer, MSC General Representatives, Student Welfare Committee, Creative & Live Arts Committee and Women’s Affairs Committee. I do not know any explanation for the unusually high number of independent nominations or the rejection of nominations from nearly all independent candidates.
For more MSA election coverage, see Khoa Tran on Instagram. Khoa is the leading student politics commentator in the country, including for the MSA as a former Monash student, and has been a major news source for me since the early years.
Lot’s Wife unbanned
Update 13/8/2026 - 3 clear weeks until polls open
The Election Tribunal has overturned the Returning Officer’s ban of Lot’s Wife edition 4 on appeal, ruling that there was no breach of the Election Regulations.
Exclusive - the banned Lot’s Wife paper
Update 11/8/2026 - 3 clear weeks until polls open
Lot’s Wife edition 4, printed and released later than originally planned, was briefly on stands on 5/8/2026 but subsequently confiscated and banned by the MSA elections’ Returning Officer.
The Election Regulations give an appointed returning officer the power to ban Lot’s Wife from circulation if it would advantage or disadvantage any candidates or tickets, or contain any misleading or deceptive information about the election or any candidates or tickets involved in the election, or general prohibited conduct.
Background
The Labor Left’s Change ticket won a third year in charge of the MSA in the 2025 elections, with almost a majority of the primary vote and a sweep of all office bearers for the first time. Assisted by revised Election Regulations, the elections saw Change and their allies Free Palestine (Socialist Alternative) vanquish their main rivals in Labor Right ticket Elevate and the last standing autonomous ticket Access & Pride, while holding off an insurgent Party in the MSA.
The 2026 MSA term was outwardly characterised by remarkable stability compared to the tumultuous 2024-2025 (although if tensions simmer throughout the year they tend to blow up in public after election season). Internal machinations over the past few years have this year confirmed a dominant subfaction in the Labor Left faction, the Change ticket (and thus the MSA) and the Monash ALP (Labor) Club. Meanwhile, the MSA’s official magazine Lot’s Wife has been unusually openly critical of the MSA, particularly its Executive.
University elections
Voting for University Council elections, including for a 2-year term for a new student member, will be conducted Tuesday 25th August to Tuesday 1st September.
Voting for Academic Board elections, including for 2-year terms for an undergraduate student member and a coursework graduate student member, will be conducted Tuesday 6th October to Wednesday 14th October.