Welcome to Free Me, the campaign for Voluntary Student Membership.
Tertiary students are the only people in New Zealand who are still forced to join a union, otherwise known as a "students' association".
When you enrol at University you must also become a member of the students' association and pay a compulsory fee. If you do not, your enrollment will not be processed and you will not be able to begin or continue study.
Students must also pay a compulsory fee to the association, set by the student association itself, that ranges from $80 to $180 around the country.
The Education (Freedom of Association) Amendment Bill is currently at a select committee in parliament will make students' associations voluntary, so that each student can choose for themselves whether to join the student association at their university.
We hope the information on this site will convince you to support the bill and to help us make it into law.
