On the ballot paper,
all parties are equal.
Petitions can, and often do, get ignored. A single issue political party gets space on the ballot paper. Registering Free TAFE Free Uni creates direct electoral pressure. It strengthens independents, and reform minded MPs inside the major parties, to act on education.
In the upper house, where representation is proportional, a party does not need a majority to matter. A credible share of the vote is enough to win a seat and influence legislation. Even without winning seats in the lower house, preference voting means support for Free TAFE Free Uni flows to pro-education candidates, shaping outcomes across the parliament. No vote for education is wasted; this is how public support becomes leverage, and leverage becomes change.
On the ballot paper,
all parties are equal.
On the ballot paper, all parties are equal.
Politicians respond to only two external forces: electoral and media pressure. This is why we registered Free TAFE Free Uni, as a single issue political party that puts education investment on the political agenda ahead of the 2026 election.
HOW WE DID IT
HOW WE DID IT
It took four months standing outside train stations.
Returning to Australia after a few years overseas, I was keen to finally get a university degree. A Bachelor of Commerce at UniMelb seemed sensible, until I went to their open day and learned how much it would cost.
Around the same time, I reconnected with my old high school friends, who were in the process of graduating. Most of them were struggling to find jobs, or were working in hospitality instead of in the industry they studied.
They told me that the degree just wasn’t worth it anymore. That it just wasn’t worth the debt.
I realised that the system needed to change. I didn’t really know what to do with that.
Four months. Thousands of conversations. $100 budget.
Turns out all we needed was duct tape, foam boards, and a trestle table from Bunnings. I printed out a hundred membership forms, worked out the name (Free TAFE Free Uni, doing what it says on the tin), and stood outside a train station. I got a lot of weird stares that first ten minutes. But then two ladies came over, and told me about how they went to university for free during the Gough Whitlam era. They became the first members, and told me to ‘keep up the good work’. Over the coming weeks we built up a team of volunteers, and soon got to our first 100 members. It took a while, spoke with a lot of different people from many walks on late, and on January the 7th 2026 we finally had enough members to register the party.
WHAT HAPPENS NEXT
WHAT HAPPENS NEXT
It’s time for the boring stuff.
Registration was the first step, not the end goal. The next phase is more boring, less visible, more procedural.
Free TAFE Free Uni is going to be here for a long time, at least until we have actually made university free. So we’re building up a kickass team of education loving volunteers.
We want to ensure we get our facts right. I’m no policy expert, so we’re going to be reaching out to academics, teachers and administrators, asking for their perspectives, people who know which questions to ask.
How can we improve education standards? How can we fund free education again? How can we better allocate funding? How can we improve working conditions for teachers and lecturers?
WHAT HAPPENS NEXT
It’s time for the boring stuff.
Registration was the first step, not the end goal. The next phase is more boring, less visible, more procedural.
Free TAFE Free Uni is going to be here for a long time, at least until we have actually made university free. So we’re building up a kickass team of education loving volunteers.
We want to ensure we get our facts right. I’m no policy expert, so we’re going to be reaching out to academics, teachers and administrators, asking for their perspectives, people who know which questions to ask.
How can we improve education standards? How can we fund free education again? How can we better allocate funding? How can we improve working conditions for teachers and lecturers?
We’re looking for volunteers.
We got Free TAFE Free Uni to registration. But to be an effective political force, we’re going to need your help. This is an open call for volunteers: we need you. We have a real chance of making change happen. We’d love to hear from you.
So we started standing outside train stations.
Apparently free education isn’t impossible.
Apparently free education isn’t impossible.
Armed with some trusty duct tape, foam boards, and a trestle table from Bunnings. I printed out a hundred membership forms, worked out the name (Free TAFE Free Uni, doing what it says on the tin), and stood outside a train station.
Turns out all we needed was duct tape, foam boards, and a trestle table from Bunnings. I printed out a hundred membership forms, worked out the name (Free TAFE Free Uni, doing what it says on the tin), and stood outside a train station.
I got a lot of weird stares that first ten minutes. But then two ladies came over, and told me about how they went to university for free during the Gough Whitlam era. They became the first members, and told us to ‘keep up the good work’.
And finally, we could register the party.
Over the coming weeks we built up a team of volunteers, and soon got to our first 100 members. It took a while, spoke with a lot of different people from many walks on late, and on January the 7th 2026 we finally had enough members to register the party in Victoria. The next step is federal registration!
Why do we want education to be free?
Returning to Australia after a few years overseas, I was keen to finally get a university degree. A Bachelor of Commerce at UniMelb seemed sensible, until I went to their open day and learned how much it would cost. I just couldn’t justify a perpetual debt of $45,000, especially knowing that for my parents’ generation, tertiary education was fully state subsidised.
Around the same time, I reconnected with my old high school friends, who were in the process of graduating. Most of them were struggling to find jobs, or were working in hospitality instead of in the industry they studied. My cousins, who are in their 30s, told me about how student debts were affecting their friends’ ability to put down payments on their first house.
The common consensus was that unless you wanted to be a doctor or a lawyer the degree just wasn’t worth it anymore. That the benefits of an education just weren't worth the debt.
I realised that the system needed to change. I didn’t really know what to do with that.
