Fresher Handbook: Housekeeping

Housekeeping

Like every good welcome, there’s some housekeeping points to cover to make sure your transition into uni life is as smooth as possible. O-Week is a LOT of info to take in all at once from all different directions and can be a little overwhelming.

Here’s a few useful bits and pieces that aren’t necessarily covered during orientation, but are essential knowledge if you’re on or off campus:

Campus services & Guild Village

Guild Village has all your essential services right here on campus! Located right in the centre of campus, you’ll find:

Ground floor:

• IGA X-Press for all your supermarket essentials plus a killer range of snacks and meals made in-house.
• Matilda Bay Pharmacy for prescriptions and medications, plus your standard range of chemist ~things~ like cosmetics and sunscreen.
• Vlad’s Shoe Repair, a little black door next to the Pharmacy where Vlad will repair shoes, bags and leathergoods plus other odd fix-it jobs for extremely reasonable prices.
• Good Sammy’s pop-up shop, with a curated range of op-shop treasures to browse in your breaks between classes (limited time only)
• Special-Eyes Optometrist – they’ll bulk-bill for students!
• Winthrop Australia for tech repairs
• Westpac ATM

1^st Floor

• Guild Bookshop – UWA x Champion exclusive merchandise, second-hand books, unit readers, stationery and lab coats
• UniPrint, for all your printing and binding needs, plus UWA merchandise.

Transport & parking

There are heaps of ways to get to UWA, but with parking at a premium by far the easiest way is to catch public transport.

Starting from February 27, a new Purple CAT bus route will commence from Elizabeth Quay to UWA via Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital & QEII. Best of all – it’s completely free!

You’ll need a Smartrider to get concession fares (and make life generally easier); you can pick one up at the Guild Bookshop in Guild Village.

If you prefer to drive to uni, there’s paid parking all along Hackett Drive and a few other spots around campus. Full time students who have completed 48 credit points towards their degree may be eligible for a parking permit; see the UniPark Handbook for the requirements.

Be aware – a permit doesn’t guarantee you a parking space! Parking generally fills up pretty early in the day, so factor that into your commute time. You may want to look into carpooling with a pal, or the University is trialling Liftango, a free ridesharing app for UWA staff and students.

If you’re on a motorbike or scooter, you’re in luck – parking for those is free!!

For an enviro-friendly commute with no parking fees, try cycling to campus. There’s plenty of bike cages and racks around (bring a lock!) as well as end-of-trip facilities.

Common lunch hour

Every Tuesday during semester from 1-2pm is the common lunch hour for all students, meaning no classes are scheduled during this time (unless with express permission from the Guild President). This allows time for fun Guild activities and club stalls!

Head to Oak Lawn and Guild Village for the common lunch hour to buy tickets to club events, check out whatever activities are on, hit up a cake stall or sausage sizzle, or grab lunch at the Ref with your squad – you’ll all have a break then anyway.

Guild Student Centre

The GSC is a great place to start when you’re not sure where you should be/what you’re meant to do/what day of the week it is.

At the GSC you can:

• Collect your Guild & student stickers, diaries and wall planners
• Check on your lost property (all lost property handed in on campus will eventually make its way here!)
• Borrow a calculator for an exam or test
• Ask for directions
• Pick up club equipment hired out through LibCal
• Pick up club tenancy keys
•  Sign out table tennis equipment to play a set or 2 on the tables at James Oval

Check out the rest of our Fresher Handbook!

Getting Started

Food on Campus

Get Involved

Study at UWA

Wellbeing