FUSWA

FUSWA is the Flinders University Social Work Association, the academic association for students at Flinders University. It is student-run and student-led and has the primary goal of being a strong voice for the rights of and voice of social work students at Flinders. Membership is free and is open to all social work students regardless of the degree that you are doing.

FUSWA started in 2018, and the students who have come through and been involved with FUSWA find it a rewarding experience and a good complement to their studies, particularly for learning more about the university and talking to different students that they may not normally interact with. If you were on campus last year, you might have seen FUSWA speaking out about the changes to the social work degree on behalf of students, which has led to a regular meeting between the College staff and FUSWA, where a number of issues have been raised and resolved on behalf of students. We also have a direct line of communication to senior academic staff and have used this to advocate for students where they have needed our help.

FUSWA's primary source of communication is Facebook Messenger. We have a Messenger chat where primary messages go out to interested students, which are notifications of meetings or opportunities to get involved in our advocacy or events. 

Please also follow FUSWA on Facebook and Instagram, as these are the primary ways we communicate to students (in addition to our website - www.fuswa.com). 

Who are the executive team?

Anna Kennett - President

Lucas Clayton - Vice President 

Lisa Kennewell - Treasurer

Delsha Wickramaarachchi - Secretary

The executive team meets regularly, usually on a Tuesday night, and is the primary contact for the Association. All of us can be accessed, and we speak regularly to manage issues as they arise.

You need to remember that none of the executive team are paid for their roles; all of us are students, and most of us have other responsibilities like work and family outside of our roles with FUSWA. Given this, if you have a situation that is urgent, please indicate this to us in your correspondence.

The best way to get a hold of us urgently is to email the FUSWA President email - fuswa.president@gmail.com - and Anna will respond and help as much as she can. 

How can I get involved with FUSWA?

There are heaps of ways, from nominating to be a council or executive member (see our website for details) to volunteering as a one-off at an event to working with us on advocacy and system change with the College. There are also heaps of events on the go, and you can attend an event to help you understand more about what we're doing and learn about our work if you're not sure what the right fit is for you.

Where is FUSWA on campus?

We're in an office in the Social Sciences South building (Room 118, straight off the courtyard). The office isn't always staffed, so if you want to call in and chat to someone, we suggest you email first to make sure someone is going to be in the office.

What would the executive team like to know from me?

We ask you how you want to be involved! The options that we'd like to understand from you are

1. Would you like to be advised of FUSWA meetings? At the moment, these occur every 3-4 weeks on a Tuesday night at 6 pm. You can attend in person or online. At meetings, we talk about events, make plans to assist students, and work through group issues that students have asked us to advocate around.

2. How do you think is the best way for FUSWA to promote our work to students? This might be social media, emails, or chats (e.g., Messenger, WhatsApp).

3. What do you think FUSWA needs to focus on to best help students in 2025?

4. Would you come to a FUSWA drop-in session where the exec members are present, we have some food, and we talk together about what FUSWA can do in 2025? This is likely to be in the evening in the FUSWA office. Feel free to reach out to us: fuswa.team@gmail.com We would love to see you!