Prior to 2005 the SSU published an independent student newspaper called Tabula Rasa, this publication ceased production due to lack of funding in 2005.
In 2006, SSU terminated the employment of its executive officer, Balrama Krishnan for alleged gross and willful misconduct.
2009 - 2011 The situation at Swinburne remained largely unchanged although in early 2009 it was hinted by the university they would be willing to give back some control of advocacy to the Union if the organisation was prepared to negotiate.
The situation did not change until a council meeting on 1 September 2010 a motion was successfully passed to freeze the wage of all office bearers.
The Union’s main issues with the SSAF were that Swinburne chose to implement it before many other universities, yet did so without planning or consulting the students as to what the fees would be spent on.
This campaign was re-launched in 2016 after the University took in an additional $1.5 million in SSAF but neither The SSU or SSAA saw more than a CPI increase in funding.
With Lilydale closing within the year and Prahran’s design courses being moved to the Hawthorn campus, there were concerns for the impact of this disruption upon students.