Two university student clubs have reached out to Craccum to explain their clubs’ financial regulations, following a story revealing that there was little oversight for student clubs that receive student-funded grants.
However, the Football and the Goju-Ryu Karate Clubs, two of the largest grant recipients, are still yet to respond.
Earlier this month, Craccum reported that $358,000 of grants funded by the student-paid Student Levy went to 153 clubs. The story also revealed there was very little regulation of student club finances and information relating to it was not easily accessible by the student body.
Out of the 94 clubs that Craccum reached out for a comment, 77 did not respond.
Since the publication of the article, the Equal Justice Project and the Concert Band responded to initial queries.
Neil Lindsay, the Acting President of the Concert Band (UniBand Inc), said their $4,495 grant was spent on large instruments that were too expensive for individual students to own, including bass clarinets, baritone saxophones, and xylophones.
However, despite their name, Lindsay said the club is not an incorporated society as they were still undergoing the process.
He also said there were no procedures in place for the student body who are not part of the club to check their expenses.
Equal Justice Project Director Sophie Vreeburg told Craccum that out of $1,700 granted to the club, most was directed to social events for volunteers and group training days.
She also said she was satisfied with the current level of financial regulation.
“The current process for applying for funding and grants through the Engage platform is very rigorous.”
“We are not only required to show proof of receipts for all the money we spend but also provide commentary on how we spent the money in previous years and whether there are any improvements we can make.”
“Personally I think this regulation is great.”
The Equal Justice Project’s yearly financial reports could be accessed on the Charities Register under its name.
Although this information was not shown on the club’s social media accounts and website, the club’s constitution required the treasurer to file financial documents “promptly” with the Charities Office.
As of this story’s deadline, 75 student clubs that were granted $1,000 or more have yet to respond to Craccum’s query on their expenses and financial regulations, including the Football and the Goju-Ryu Karate Club, which received $10,000 and $9,000 of grants respectively.