Election dates and times

  • Nominations open: 9am on Monday 15 September 2025
  • Nominations close: 5pm on Monday 29 September 2025
  • Election candidates announced: Thursday 2 October 2025
  • Voting opens: 9am on Tuesday 7 October 2025
  • Voting closes: 5pm on Monday 13 October 2025
  • Election results announced: Thursday 16 October 2025

This page lists the names of all election candidates who have nominated to represent staff and students in 2026. The nominees have been put forward for member representation of the following university bodies. 

Where the number of valid nominations did not exceed the number of vacancies, candidates were elected unopposed. This is indicated by an asterisk (*) alongside the candidate’s name.

Where the number of nominations exceeds the positions to be filled, elections will be conducted online through the University’s election services provider, BigPulse.

Where vacancies exist due to insufficient candidates, the Elections Regulations (Part 4. S13. Insufficient candidates) applies.  

University Council
Elected position Elected by and from Level requirements Term Elected candidates
One All University Staff All levels 1 January 2026 – 31 December 2027
  • Benny Rayner
Academic Senate
Elected positions
Elected by and from 
Level requirements
Term 
Elected Candidates
Five Swinburne higher education academic All levels 
1 January 2026 – 31 December 2027
  • Armita Zarnegar*
  • David Reid*
  • Weijie Hu*
One

School of Social Sciences, Media, Film and Education

Academic D or E

1 January 2026 – 31 December 2027
  • no nominations received
One

School of Science, Computing and Emerging Technologies

Academic D or E 

1 January 2026 – 31 December 2027
  • Karl Glazebrook
One

School of Health Sciences

Academic D or E 

1 January 2026 – 31 December 2027
  • Junhua Xiao*
Two

Vocational Education Training departments 

Senior Educator level or equivalent

1 January 2026 – 31 December 2027
  • Disha Nayyar*
  • Mohit Gupta*
University Council
Elected positions Elected by and from Level requirements
Term 
Elected Candidates
One
Students
All levels 
1 January 2026 – 31 December 2026
  • Bilal Ahmed
Academic Senate
Elected positions
Elected by and from
Level requirements
Term 
Elected Candidates
One
Students
AQF level 1 to 6 (Certificate to Advanced Diploma/Associate Degree) 
1 January 2026 – 31 December 2026
  • Theophile Kizungu
Two Students 
AQF level 7 to 9 (Bachelor to Master Degree) 1 January 2026 – 31 December 2026
  • Ahmed Ahmed Abdul Majeed
  • Md Sadman Isfar
One 
Students
Higher degree by research students
1 January 2026 – 31 December 2026
  • Mohammad Kamran Ikram
Changes to School Academic Committee (SAC) Representation

To strengthen the student voice in education, Swinburne is making changes in 2026 to how student feedback is represented at the school level.

In recent years, student membership on School Academic Committees (SAC) has not delivered the consistent, coordinated input required to influence decision-making effectively. SACs are primarily internal administrative bodies, and as a result students will no longer be elected to these committees.

To facilitate student representation in 2026, Swinburne will increase support for Staff Student Consultative Committees (SSCC), which have proven to be more active and effective in gathering student feedback. In addition to the SSCCs for each school, new SSCCs will be established for Vocational Education (VE) and Swinburne Online (SOL), and each school will now formally present SSCC feedback to SAC on a regular basis.

In addition, the Swinburne Student Association has launched a twice-yearly Education Forum. This forum brings together students from SSCCs, clubs, leadership groups and the wider student community to discuss key issues in education and wellbeing. Feedback from these forums will be formally communicated to university leaders.

Need to contact us?

Email the Returning Officer, University Elections via elections@swinburne.edu.au.  

Contact us