36th UQ Senate Elections

Results

Thank you to our UQ community who voted in elections for the 36th Senate of The University of Queensland. In accordance with the Senate and Academic Board Elections Policy, the following individuals have been elected to The University of Queensland’s 36th Senate:

1 member of the Academic Board (4 year term)	Professor Greg Hainge
1 full-time or part-time academic staff member (4 year term)	Professor Kristen Lyons
1 full-time or part-time general staff member (4 year term)	Dr Dino Willox
1 postgraduate student (2 year term)	Mr Richard Liu
1 undergraduate student (2 year term)	Mr Eric Yun
3 graduates of the University (4 year term)	Ms Sallyanne Atkinson AO Ms Annastacia Palaszczuk Dr Lee Duffield

Overview

Senate is the peak governing body of The University of Queensland. The primary role of Senate is to exercise oversight of the University and its affairs. Senate ensures that the appropriate structures, policies, processes and planning are in place for UQ to effectively manage its activities and achieve its goals.

There are 22 members of UQ’s Senate in official, appointed and elected capacities.

Further information about UQ’s Senate is available on the Senate web page.

Senate elections offer an opportunity for the UQ community to actively contribute to the governance of the university. All eligible individuals are encouraged to actively participate in this process, either through self-nomination or by voting in the elections.

Senate elections are overseen by the University’s Returning Officer and managed in accordance with the requirements of the University of Queensland Act 1998 (Qld) and the Senate and Academic Board Elections Policy.

2025 Election

Elections for the 36^th Senate will be conducted in 2025. Elected members of the 36^th Senate will be appointed effective 1 January 2026.

This election is to determine the following elected member positions:

1 member of the Academic Board (4-year term)
1 full-time or part-time academic staff member (4-year term)
1 full-time or part-time general staff member (4-year term)
1 undergraduate student (2-year term)
1 postgraduate student (2-year term)
3 graduates of the University (4-year term).

Key dates for election of the 36^th Senate are as follows:

Nominations open	9am on Tuesday 26 August 2025
Nominations close	4pm on Friday 19 September 2025
Voting opens	9am on Friday 26 September 2025
Voting closes	4pm on Wednesday 8 October 2025.

Eligibility

The Senate and Academic Board Elections Policy outlines who is eligible to self-nominate and vote in Senate elections.

The table below details all categories – or ‘classes’ – in which eligible individuals can self-nominate and vote.

Class	Description
Academic Board	All members of the Academic Board
University full-time or part-time academic staff	All members of the full-time academic staff; and Those members of the part-time academic staff employed under a contract with a term of employment of 6 months or more requiring at least 18 hours of work each week.
University full-time or part-time general staff	All members of the full-time general staff; and Those members of the part-time general staff employed under a contract with a term of employment of 6 months or more requiring at least 18 hours of work each week.
Undergraduate student of the University	All undergraduate students enrolled in a course or program leading to the award of an undergraduate certiﬁcate, degree or diploma of the University.
Postgraduate student of the University	All postgraduate students enrolled in a course or program leading to the award of a postgraduate certiﬁcate, degree or diploma, or a master's or doctoral degree, of the University.
Graduates of the University, other than persons eligible for membership under other classes	All graduates awarded: an undergraduate certiﬁcate, degree or diploma of the University or the former Queensland Agricultural College; or a postgraduate certiﬁcate, degree or diploma, or a master's or doctoral degree, of the University or the former Queensland Agricultural College.

It is important to note that:

An individual may belong to multiple classes.
An individual can self-nominate to run for election in any class they belong to, but only in one class.
- There is one caveat to the above: UQ graduates who are also a current UQ staff member and/or a current UQ student may only self-nominate for election in either the staff or student class. They cannot run for election as a UQ graduate.
Individuals who belong to multiple classes can vote in each class they belong to (i.e. they can vote multiple times).

Self-nominations

Self-nominations for the 36th UQ Senate Elections closed at 4pm on Friday, 19 September 2025.

Voting

Voting for the 36th UQ Senate Elections closed at 4pm on Wednesday, 8 October 2025.

Further information

The information on this page will be periodically updated throughout the Senate election process. For any enquiries related to the Senate elections, please contact the Returning Officer at uqelections@uq.edu.au.