Orientation FAQs

As an ANU Student, you will need an ANU Student Card to get around the University, and as a form of ID when you are on campus! During O-week, Student Central will have a dedicated area for students to go get their ANU Student Card. For times and locations, visit the Orientation Week Event Page.

Student Central will take your picture when you arrive to get a student card so look sharp! There is no option to upload a preferred photo for your Student Card.  

Note: You must be enrolled into your courses to be eligible to receive a student card. You student status of full-time or part-time on your student card will be based on the number of enrolled courses you have at the time of the student card being printed.  

Not sure if you have enrolled? Check the Enrol for the first time as a coursework student page for more information or contact Student Central. 

You can contact your academic college/s for enquiries related to your program, courses, and study plan. For fees-related questions, and general administration questions, contact Student Central at student@anu.edu.au.  

You can find your Academic College contact details by following the below links:

• ANU College of Arts and Social Sciences (CASS)
• ANU College of Asia and the Pacific (CAP)  
• ANU College of Business and Economics (CBE)
• ANU College of Engineering, Computing and Cybernetics (CECC)
• ANU College of Health and Medicine (CHM)
• ANU College of Law (ANU COL)
• ANU College of Science (COS)

MyTimetable is the ANU official timetabling system used to enable students to view their timetable for their enrolled courses, browse, and self-allocate to small teaching activities/tutorials that allow for better planning of their time.  

Visit Access and Support for MyTimetable for helpful information to assist you with understanding MyTimetable. 

There are plenty of opportunities to meet people on campus! To get you started, have a look at the following:

• Register and attend Orientation Week events  
• Join ANUSA clubs and societies
• Attend your classes
• Join Set4ANU
• Attend events throughout the year  

For most residential halls, your room will come with a wardrobe and sometimes some storage space under your bed. You will be able to find information on the Accommodation page for an indication of room space, pictures, or floor plans for a standard room.  

Canberra is an easy city to get around without needing a car. However, for students who plan to drive or have your car on campus, it is important to know the Conditions for Parking at ANU. ANU offers various parking options that you can choose from to best suit your circumstances.  

Parking options include hourly parking, surface permit parking, and parking station permits. For more information on the different parking options visit the Parking options on Acton campus page.  

If you have a permit, be sure to check where the permit allows you to park. Be sure to come in early as there are limited parking spaces on campus.

Students with a Government Disability Parking Permit can apply for ANU Disability Parking Permit in order to use accessibility parking spaces on campus, free parking, and extended parking times. 

There is a regular schedule for the public bus and light-rail in Canberra. To use public transport in Canberra, you will need to obtain a MyWay card. You may be eligible for student concession fares, check the page for the current fare prices and any other related fees.  

Other shared transport options that are available include:  

• E-scooters  
• Bike Share

Ensure that you check out the information about e-scooters and bike riding rules across campus here.  

It is against the law to ride a bike anywhere in the ACT without a helmet, including ANU campus. You could be fined if caught. Visit here for more information.  

ANU offers a number of initiatives, programs and resources to that will support your physical, social, spiritual and mental health to help you maintain a healthy lifestyle during your studies. For more information on these, visit the Health, Safety & Wellbeing page.  

The Accessibility team supports students within the ANU community whose participation in academic studies is impacted by physical and learning disability, mental health conditions, chronic medical conditions, and short-term illnesses/conditions. The Accessibility teal also supports elite athletes.  

For more information and to get in touch with the Accessibility team. 

If you are feeling unsafe walking on campus, there are several options that you can utilise:  

• Request a Unisafe escort by calling (02) 6125 2249
• Walk with a friend or group especially at night
• ANUOK app has quick access to security, emergency information and current alerts 

Follow the directions of fire wardens and evacuate the building as directed. 'If in doubt get out'. If there is smoke in the building, 'get down low and go! Go! Go! More information can be found on Fire Safety.

The Police are always available and willing to assist in public and personal safety matters. Police can come onto campus and enforce any breaches of the law including driving offences, drug offences and offences against persons. There are no special treatments or considerations given to ANU staff or students.

Lost Property

If you have lost an item, check the location and/or contact the event host (if appropriate) to see if anything had been found. You can then report a lost property by following the instructions on this page.    

Found Property

If you have found property, the procedure that you should follow can be found on this page.

For information on how long a found item is kept or timeline for disposal, please refer to the lost property guideline.   

There are a range of specialised stores as well as chain stores that are located on campus or nearby. The closes shopping centre to ANU campus is Canberra Centre.  

Other major shopping centres include:

• Canberra Outlet Centre
• Majura Shopping Centre
• South Point Tuggeranong  
• Westfield Belconnen/Woden

There are also local shops in the suburbs across Canberra.

There are several options to travel between Canberra and Sydney. You can travel by:

• Air – the flight from Canberra to Sydney is approximately one-hour  
• Bus – both Murrays Coaches and Greyhound Australia travel from Canberra Jolimont Centre to Sydney Central Station and Sydney Airport
• Train – there is a train that departs from Kingston location  
• Car – depending on where you are travelling to in Sydney, the easy drive between Canberra to Sydney can take a minimum of 2.5 hours  

There are several options to travel between Canberra and Melbourne. You can travel by:

• Air – the flight from Canberra to Melbourne is approximately one-hour  
• Bus – both Greyhound Australia and V/Line travel from Canberra Jolimont Centre to Southern Cross Station and Sydney Airport
• Train – there is a train that departs from Kingston location  
• Car – the drive between Canberra to Melbourne takes approximately 8 hours  

The information is being collected by the Australian National University, to engage with students of the University, and to promote University activities, including events, programs, newsletters and fundraising initiatives. The information may also be used for analysis, quality assurance and planning purposes and to ensure your interests are met.

The information collected will not be shared with contracted service providers or other third parties. We will not disclose your personal information to anybody else, unless you have given consent, or we are authorised or required to do so by law.

If you choose not to your personal information we may be unable to engage with you or provide you the services requested.

ANU recognises that your privacy is very important to you. As an 'agency' within the meaning of the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth), ANU complies with the obligations of the Privacy Act including the Australian Privacy Principles (APPs) which govern the way we collect, use, disclose, secure and dispose of your personal information.  A copy of the APP's may be obtained from the website of the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner at www.oaic.gov.au.

The ANU Privacy Policy outlines the personal information handling practices of ANU. You have a right to access personal information that ANU holds about you, subject to any exceptions in the Privacy Act.

If you wish to seek access to your personal information or inquire about the handling of your personal information, or make a complaint about how we have handled your information, please contact the ANU Privacy Officer by email at privacy@anu.edu.au.