The Council of Australian Postgraduate Associations is the peak representative body for postgraduate students in Australia. CAPA's members are 33 postgraduate associations and the National Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Postgraduate Association. CAPA provides member associations with representation to the Federal government, and peak bodies such as the Australian Research Council and Universities Australia, on issues affecting postgraduate students in Australia. In 2017, Australia had over 400,000 postgraduate students, representing one quarter of all tertiary students in Australia. Recognising the dual roles of many postgraduate students, CAPA works in collaboration with the National Union of Students where matters impact on all students, and with the National Tertiary Education Union regarding issues of employment in the tertiary education sector, particularly on the casualisation of the academic workforce. CAPA has an office located at the NTEU National office in Melbourne, Victoria. Its Annual Council Meeting, where organisational issues and policy directives are decided, is hosted by a different constituent organisation each year.
History
CAPA was founded in 1979 by a coalition of ten postgraduate organisations in order to protest taxation on postgraduate research scholarships. Historically, CAPA has been concerned with lobbying around fees on postgraduate degrees. In 1998, a separate organisation, the National Indigenous Postgraduate Association was formed within CAPA. This association became the National Indigenous Postgraduate Association Aboriginal Corporation in 1999, and was later restructured as the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Postgraduate Association in 2015.
Structure
CAPA consists of elected representatives on three committees: the governing Executive Committee, the Equity committee, and the Engagement Committee. The NATSIPA Liaison Officer sits on all committees. Each committee meets on a monthly basis. New committee members are elected at the Annual Council Meeting, which is held in November. 2020 National representative committee National President- Romana-Rea Begicevic Vice President- Bojana Klepac Pogrmilovic NATSIPA Liaison Officer- Sharlene Leroy-Dyer Media Officer- Anushka Kapoor Policy and Research Advisor- Errol Phuah International Officer- Devendra Singh Women's Officer- Aishwarya Singh Queer Officer- Shae Brown Disabilities Officer- Ashik Mathulla 2020 Board of directors Chair of the Board- Saira Khan Secretary of the board- Adam Red Scorgie Member of the board- Maimuna Majimbi Member of the board- Peter Watson Member of the board- Nithin Ponnaluru Member of the board- Aidan Cornelius-Bell NATSIPA Liaison Officer- Dr. Sharlene Leroy-Dyer
