The Session will showcase the Finalists of the Best Welfare & Wellbeing Initiative in the 2025 Student Experience Network Awards.
Arc@UNSW – Check Point
Check Point is a wellbeing initiative that helps UNSW students meet their basic needs and reconnect with themselves through care, nourishment, and reflection. Centred on two programs—Brekkie Club and Night-Time Nibbles—it provides free nutritious meals and simple wellbeing prompts designed to encourage self-awareness and healthier habits. Brekkie Club runs four days a week during term, offering breakfast and gentle wellbeing reflections, while Night-Time Nibbles supports students studying late with snacks, calm spaces, and peer connection during high-stress weeks. Powered by 50 student volunteers, Check Point served more than 14,600 breakfasts and reached over 6,000 students through Night-Time Nibbles between June 2024 and June 2025. Surveys show that 83% of students agreed the program improved their wellbeing. More than just free food, Check Point has become a trusted, student-led movement fostering compassion, connection, and resilience across campus.
FUSA – Be a Better Human (BABH)
Be a Better Human (BABH) is a student-led campaign at Flinders University that promotes consent, respectful relationships, bystander education, and awareness of reporting and support services for sexual harassment and assault. Originally created in 2018, the campaign was updated in 2025 with refreshed messaging, accessible digital and physical resources, and a series of campus activations and events across multiple sites. It focuses on five core messages—understanding consent, setting boundaries, safely calling out inappropriate behaviour, and accessing support services—delivered through workshops, social media, signage, and interactive activities. Partnering with health, counselling, and student leaders, BABH fosters a safer campus culture, empowers students to intervene and report, and builds knowledge and leadership skills, with early outcomes showing strong engagement, increased awareness, and a reinforced commitment to a respectful university environment.
RMIT University Student Life – Kirrip Peer Support Program
The Kirrip Peer Support Program at RMIT provides a comprehensive, student-led approach to supporting international and new students, addressing challenges such as social isolation, cultural adjustment, and wellbeing. Through initiatives like Meets & Eats, Friends Lunch, Kirrip Place drop-in spaces, Peer Chats, and Explore Melbourne trips, the program creates low-barrier, engaging opportunities for students to connect, build confidence, and access support services. Structured around continuous feedback and student co-design, Kirrip also develops leadership and employability skills among volunteers. In 2024, the program hosted 128 events engaging over 2,800 students, trained 120 volunteers, facilitated 58 peer chats, and achieved high satisfaction rates, demonstrating its effectiveness in fostering belonging, peer connections, and wellbeing awareness across the student community.
The USU Food Truck Exam Ready initiative at the University of Sydney provides free, nutritious meals to students during high-stress exam periods, directly outside Fisher Library, the campus’s main study hub. Running across two three-week blocks in June and November, the program addresses food insecurity, reduces financial and emotional stress, and supports student wellbeing and academic focus. Through careful planning, partnerships with sponsors, student volunteers, and digital tracking systems, the initiative served 12,500 meals—including breakfast, lunch, snacks, and dinner—surpassing its original target of 10,000. By bringing meals directly to students, the program fosters a sense of community, enhances accessibility, and demonstrates USU’s commitment to holistic student support during one of the most demanding times of the academic year.
