Membership Details
Who can join UAU?
Any employee in an academic role at a NZ university can join the UAU, as long as there is an active branch at their institution. The UAU particularly welcomes those trying to establish themselves in an academic career. This includes tutors, research fellows, teaching fellows and lecturers on short term contracts (see below for membership discounts). Emeritus professors are also very welcome as members. (Membership is not open to undergraduates even if they are performing the roles listed above.)
How much does membership cost?
Fees are $550 annually or four quarterly payments of $150 each.
Annual membership is discounted to $500 for the first year if you sign up and pay by 31 July 2026.
Pro-rated fees are available for those working below 0.8 FTE. This means fees can be as little as $35 a year for tutors, contract lecturers and others on part-time contracts. Please contact admin@uau.org.nz for details.
UAU offers a 30% discount for academic staff on short term contracts of 3 years or shorter. Proof of your contract’s duration may be required.
Our bank account details are:
University Academics’ Union
06-0507-0929222-00 (Reference is last name plus first initial)
How do UAU’s membership costs compare to the TEU?
TEU membership is advertised as costing 80c for every $100 up to a cap of $1032 a year (from 1 Jan 2026).
On this basis, an employee earning $80,000 would pay membership fees of $640 a year to the TEU. Employees earning $129,000 or above would pay $1032 in membership fees.
How do I know my fees are safe with the UAU?
Can I be a member of UAU and the TEU?
Yes. There is nothing in the UAU constitution to prevent a person from being a member of both unions. But the TEU constitution makes it a condition of TEU membership that members agree to promote the interests of that union and to give TEU exclusive representation rights for bargaining and individual disputes with the employer.
If you are a member of both the TEU and UAU at the time of bargaining, you will therefore need to be represented by the TEU, not UAU. When registering for the UAU, people who wish to remain members of the TEU need to tick the box saying that they do not authorise UAU to negotiate on their behalf in bargaining with the employer.
The UAU is a registered incorporated society. It therefore has reporting obligations, including to share financial statements with the Companies Office annually.
How do I resign from the UAU?
A member who wishes to resign from UAU should write signalling that intention to admin@uau.org.nz The notice period for resignation is two weeks but membership will continue until the end of the membership period for which the member has paid.
Members can ask for resignation to take effect sooner but there will be no refund of membership fees in these circumstances.