National Union of Students National Tertiary Student Wellbeing Survey 2016

The National Union of Students (NUS), with the support of headspace: National
Youth Mental Health Foundation, conducted a National Tertiary Student Wellbeing Survey in the second half of 2016 to provide a snapshot of the key stressors and factors affecting the wellbeing of AustraliaÔs tertiary students. The survey investigated how the academic, financial and mental health experiences of university and TAFE students impact their time at university.
The survey was undertaken in recognition of the lack of research regarding the wellbeing of tertiary students, but increase in risk factors among the tertiary student population. A specific focus was placed on mental health and the use of health and counselling services by students for mental health issues, given the apparent increased need in this area. There were 3303 participants in the survey from 40 universities and 30 TAFEs. The results are considered separately for 16-25 year old students (n=2637) and 26-50+ year old students (652), to consider separately the findings for emerging/young adults and mature adults in the tertiary education system.