How to spend Club Funds

'Club funds', 'generic Club funding', and 'Society finances' are terms the USU uses to refer to all funds that a club receives and uses, regardless of the source of income. Clubs may receive income from membership fees, USU-provided grants, faculty funding, ticket fees, sponsorships and more.

Clubs are required to report on all of their financial activities annually during the Treasurer's report at their Annual General Meeting, and as part of the Financial Review.

All use of club funds must abide by relevant University of Sydney Union (USU) and University of Sydney policies. 

The primary place that Clubs, executives, and members should refer to regarding the use of society funds is the Finance Handbook, and the C&S Handbook. The 2026 Finance Handbook is linked here — this article provides a basic summary of the 'Use of society finances' section.

Clubs are not-for-profit

Clubs and societies in the USU C&S program are not-for-profit organisations , meaning they do not operate for the profit or gain of particular people, such as its individual members. This applies both while the organisation is operating and when it ceases operation. Any profit made by the Club goes back into the operation of the Club to carry out its purposes and is not distributed to any of its members, except as compensation for out-of-pocket expenses as defined in their Constitutions.

Club funds may only be used to further the aims and objects of the society

Clubs may not use any of their funds for unrelated purposes. Clubs must only use their funding in a manner that benefits the common aims and activities of the club and its members.

Clubs must abide by the 'ethical use of funds' defined in the Handbook

Regulations particular to funding provided by the USU

Funding provided by the USU is subject to additional rules beyond those that apply to generic club funding. This includes the grants listed in the Clubs Funding Criteria.

The 2026 Finance Handbook (pp. 8–18) contains the most up-to-date information regarding the rules for spending USU funding, including the rules for grant use. The entire rules for grant use can be found in the Handbook, but to summarise a few of the most common rules

• USU funding cannot be used for any form of prizes, gifts. This includes speakers' gifts. This also include gift cards, vouchers or any form of cash prize.
• USU funding cannot be used for donations or affiliation fees.
• USU funding can only be claimed for events where those events are registered with the USU.
• USU funding cannot be used for items that become the personal property of members, with the exception of club-branded merchandise that is sold by the club.
• Budgeted expenses related to the purchase of alcohol will only be eligible for funding in instances where an event is held on campus, in a USU licensed premises, for approved + registered events.

Clubs must complete the acquittal process for all grant funding received by the USU.

Advice for executives

• Read the C&S Handbook and the Finance Handbook thoroughly.
• Don't forget to incorporate the current USU Clubs logo — downloadable from the Club Hub — on all your printing, merchandise, and advertising materials.
• Retain all tax invoice receipts for every expense. We need a tax invoice that includes the seller's ABN/tax registration ID. If the seller does not have this, ask them to complete a statement by supplier form.   
• Register every club event with the USU. Be sure to submit pre-event forms 14+ days in advance to ensure event approval by our office. 
•  Complete your acquittals and applications by the specified deadline, which will be provided to you via email and across C&S newsletters and notices.

If anything is unclear, or if you are unsure if an expense can be claimed under USU funding, reach out to the Clubs Office at [email protected]. 

This article was last updated on March 2 2026