The UQU operates most of the campus's student eateries, cafes, bookshops in addition to the university bar and cinema.

Clubs play a vital role on campus, with the majority of social events at UQ being run by these student groups.

It has been published continuously by the University of Queensland Union (UQU) since 1932, when it began as a fortnightly newsletter of only a few pages, produced by one editor.

The UQU executive have predominantly been run by groups of students aligned with the major political parties of Australia and their historical predecessors.

In 2023, APS became an incorporated entity and a registered charity under "Association of Postgraduate Students Inc., The University of Queensland".

Representing minority, special interest and other community groups on campus, UQU’s collectives serve as advocacy and social organisations for students.

[4] The collective has rooms on campus as well as online communities which provide safe spaces for students to ask questions, connect with others, and access support and advocacy.

[4] It offers a platform to share ideas and contribute to UQU policy and encourage sustainable practices on campus, promoting greater awareness of, and increasing students’ interaction with Queensland’s native flora and fauna.

Goorie Berrimpa meaning "Meeting Place" in the Turrbal language, is a UQU collective representing Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students at the University of Queensland.

[4] Goorie as the collective is commonly known by, aims to provide a sense of belonging for all Indigenous students studying at the University of Queensland and bring culture and education together.

Goorie Berrimpa holds a number of events throughout the year including the annual NAIDOC Ball with guest speakers and performers; as well as NITESG (National Indigenous Tertiary Education Student Games) as well as beginning and ending Semester Socials.

All UQ Students who identify as Indigenous or Torres Strait Islander have access to automatic membership to the collective.

In addition, the Women’s collective regularly hosts events such as the annual International Women’s Day Breakfast, small social events, and networking opportunities and run campaigns to engage students on campus and educate people in regards to current feminist issues.

In May 1967, the Union’s Civil Liberties Coordinating Committee formed to fight restrictive sections of the Traffic Act.

On 12 September 1977, the UQ Union marched on campus and was stopped at the gates of the University by 300 Queensland police officers.

Maris, a young student and member of the CLCC, organised a defence for all the arrested people in the courts and a few were acquitted.

An early campaign sought to get the Student Union to adopt policy supporting women’s abortion rights.

Liberal students regained full control for a single year in 1996 and won a majority of the split executive in 2003.

2014–2017, the Union was run by Reform (a coalition of Labor's left and right factions), during which significant opposition came from Lift (independents) and Thrive (LNP).

[6] On 14 September 2017, after intense divisions between Labor's Left and Right factions, the Reform ticket announced their disbanding.

After the errors made during the nomination process, the Reform ticket announced on Facebook that they intended to withdraw from the contesting the 2017 Student Union Elections.

The referendum was thus postponed, and held instead during the last week of exams, and a regulatory amendment made to allow voting online.

Labor were supported in defending against this appeal by their former Focus allies in 'Real', but the Electoral Tribunal found against both the major parties, and in favour of 'Together', finding that the regulations did not grant the Returning Officer the power to extend the nomination window.

This marked the first time in 6 years that no member of the Australian Labor Party held an elected position on the University of Queensland Union Executive.

Other allegations were made against NLS for intentionally breaking down communication to force the hand of Labor Right to concede positions to the other faction.

The original Instagram page made posts claiming that the name 'Taco Tuesday' had been stolen by members of Labor Left and would run a campaign to inform students of this alleged fraud, noting that no appeal for the naming rights of 'Taco Tuesday' had been filed with the Electoral Tribunal.

[20] The 2012 union president stated that members of the Pulse party "can complain all they want" but had 12 months notice on the introduction of new regulations on the use of registered ticket names, and that the 'last-minute' changes to the regulations were to different provisions (namely the timing of the electoral process to reduce it from 4 weeks to 3 as well as adding an entirely new process/form for nominations).

[22] Graeme Orr, Professor of Law at the University of Queensland, has pointed out in a radio interview that the power of the electoral tribunal convened to assess whether the elections were held properly was limited only to whether or not the electoral rules were violated, not whether they are valid or were created in accordance to union policy.

[24] On 29 August, hundreds of students gathered at UQ's great court to protest against Fresh and call for democracy.

An outgoing Vice-President, who had defected to an opposition political ticket, spoke briefly about the conduct of FRESH, raising concerns that the locking out of the opposition tickets was an act of hypocrisy given that FRESH made multiple electoral reforms early in their term to improve electoral participation.