TEQSA STUDENT ADVISORY PANEL
TEQSA STUDENT ADVISORY PANEL
Share your lived experience. Shape the future of Australian higher education.
Australia’s higher education regulator, the Tertiary Education Quality Standards Agency (TEQSA) is inviting expressions of interest from current higher education students to join its inaugural Student Advisory Panel (SAP).
This panel brings together domestic and international students from across the country to share their experiences and provide insight and advice on the issues that shape student outcomes and higher education quality.
As a student, your perspective is valued and, if selected, you will be paid for sharing your experiences. Your perspectives and lived experiences will help TEQSA better understand what’s happening on the ground (or in the cloud), and help identify and manage emerging challenges and long-standing risks.
If you want your lived experience as an Australian student to influence how quality and standards are strengthened for students now and into the future, we encourage you to learn more.
TEQSA is expanding the student voices they engage, beyond elected student representatives. The Student Advisory Panel will include students from diverse backgrounds and experiences, and from the full range of Australian higher education institutions. If you care deeply about having the opportunity to make a difference to other students’ experiences for the longer term, express your interest in joining TEQSA’s Student Advisory Panel.
ABOUT TEQSA
TEQSA is Australia’s independent national regulator of higher education. TEQSA protects the interests of students, and the reputation and standing of Australian higher education. Their work is guided by the Higher Education Standards Framework (Threshold Standards) 2021 and, where applicable, the Education Services for Overseas Students (ESOS) Framework. They take a risk‑based, standards‑focused and transparent approach to regulation and work in partnership with providers and stakeholders across the sector.
WHAT IS THE STUDENT ADVISORY PANEL?
The Student Advisory Panel is a lived‑experience advisory body that provides sector intelligence that helps TEQSA better understand systemic risks affecting students and higher education quality.
The panel:
- provides advice only
- does not take part in regulatory operations or decisions
- complements TEQSA’s engagement with student representative bodies.
Through structured discussion and collaboration, panel members share their perspectives as students to help TEQSA:
- identify emerging or enduring sector‑wide risks
- inform educative materials and engagement activities for the sector.
WHY STUDENT VOICES MATTER
Students are key stakeholders in Australia’s higher education system. Your lived experience offers unique insight into issues such as:
- provider governance and decision making that affect students
- access, inclusion and support for diverse student needs
- academic integrity and learning quality
- safety, wellbeing and campus culture
- the impacts of emerging technologies, including AI
- affordability, resourcing and engagement in teaching and learning.
By partnering with students, TEQSA strengthens its understanding of risks and its ability to respond in ways that improve student experience across the sector.
WHAT PANEL MEMBERS DO
As a panel member, you will:
- participate in collaborative discussions with other students
- reflect on and share your lived experience of higher education
- contribute to identifying sector‑wide risks
- provide feedback and recommendations to TEQSA
- help shape risk profiles and educative materials that may be shared with the sector.
Panel members will participate in the panel as individual students, and not represent other organisations or groups advocating for individual complaints.
HOW THE PANEL WILL WORK
- Membership: 8–10 students, including a student co‑chair
- Term: initially 1-year. At the conclusion of the first year, you’ll be invited to express interest in extending your term for a second year.
- Meetings: 4 per year (2 in Melbourne, 2 online)
- Time commitment: 4 full‑day meetings (6 hours per meeting, and a mix of online and in person)
- Support: Secretariat support, training and onboarding provided
- Payment: Members are paid an honorarium under TEQSA’s Community Stakeholder Paid Participation Policy
- Travel: Travel and accommodation are covered for in‑person meetings.
WHO CAN APPLY
We are seeking Expressions of Interest from students who are currently enrolled with an Australian higher education provider listed on the National Register.
You do not need previous policy or regulatory experience. We are seeking students with diverse backgrounds and experience, and from a range of higher education institutions.
We are looking for students who:
- are interested in upholding the quality of Australian higher education
- can reflect on and share their student experience
- communicate clearly and listen actively
- can contribute to thoughtful discussion and problem‑solving.
TEQSA strongly encourages applications from students with diverse backgrounds and experiences, including students who can contribute one or more of these perspectives:
- students from regional and remote areas, or who are using a University Study Hub to do their studies
- Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students
- international students
- first‑in‑family students
- students with lived experience of disability, mental health or neurodivergence
- LGBTQI+ students
- mature‑age, part‑time or returning‑to‑study students
- students doing course work or research.
STUDENT CO‑CHAIR OPPORTUNITY
TEQSA is also seeking a postgraduate student co‑chair to jointly chair the panel alongside a senior TEQSA staff member.
The student co‑chair:
- supports panel leadership and meeting facilitation
- works closely with members and TEQSA staff to set priorities
- oversees the development of the panel’s deliverables.
Eligibility requires:
- a minimum of 9 months postgraduate study in Australia at the time of application
- an expectation of continued enrolment for the term of appointment.
Full details are available in the co‑chair position description.
FIND OUT MORE AND APPLY
Before applying, we encourage you to download:
- the Student Advisory Panel Position Description or Co‑Chair Position Description, and
- the Terms of Reference, which outline the panel’s purpose, scope, expectations and deliverables in full.
The final step is to lodge your application.
Click the link below to register your interest in the Student Advisory Panel.
EXPRESSIONS OF INTEREST OPEN WEDNESDAY 15 APRIL TO THURSDAY 30 APRIL 2026
Student Advisory Panel Position Description – (Download PDF)
Student Advisory Panel Position Description – Co-Chair (Download PDF)
