Of the just over 11,000 employees at ANU, 6,929 are casually employed (ANU Athena Swan Bronze Award accreditation). Many of these casuals have achieved great things and contributed to the excellent teaching and research at ANU as well as invested their service into the University.

Yet many non-casual ECAs have little knowledge of their casually employed peers and the contributions they make to the University. Myths and misunderstandings of what it means to be a casual are common. To be casually employed means not having access to any form of leave including sick leave, contracts as short as 4 months and lack of access to most forms of institutional funding, training or support.

Today you can learn more about some of the passionate and dedicated ECAs in casual positions at ANU who share their 2019 highlights and their unique contributions to the University. In doing so, we do not mean to overlook the challenges that casual staff face. Rather, by showcasing their stories, we celebrate the outstanding work being done by casual staff and seek to show the diversity of ECAs employed at ANU. And we hope that increased understanding of the experiences of casual academics will help lead to a more inclusive community at ANU.