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Catalyst
Type	student magazine
Format	Magazine
Owner	RMIT Student Union
Founded	1944
Language	English
Headquarters	Melbourne, Australia
Circulation	15,000
Official website	Catalyst

Catalyst is a student magazine published at the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology in Melbourne, Australia. The magazine is produced by the RMIT Student Union.

Catalyst appears eight times a year and claims a readership of around 15,000.^[1] The implementation of voluntary student unionism in 2006 had a significant impact on the viability of student newspapers across Australia, compulsory student union membership fees having been the major source of income for most. Today, Catalyst's funding is drawn from the university and advertising revenue.

Catalyst benefits from its proximity to the RMIT School of Media and Communication, which runs a highly-regarded journalism program. In turn Catalyst alumni are active in the Australian media. Recent past editors of Catalyst include The Age journalists Dewi Cooke and Dan Harrison.^[2]

The first edition of Catalyst, published by what was known then as the RMIT Students’ Representative Council (later, the RMIT Student Union) appeared on May 18, 1944. Editions have also appeared under the names Revolution Catalyst and The Unaustralian.

Prior to funding losses, due to the onset of Voluntary Student Unionism, a womyn's edition caled Havoc, a queer edition called Mutiny and an environment edition called Eccocentric were also published, between 1995 and 1998.^[3]

[edit] Art of Shoplifting controversy

In 1995, Catalyst reprinted a controversial article from Rabelais Student Media, its La Trobe University counterpart, entitled The Art of Shoplifting – one of seven student newspapers to do so. Although the Rabelais editors responsible for the original article were prosecuted for ignoring the ban on its publication issued by the state's Chief Censor; the editors of the other seven newspapers were not targeted by the authorities. Charges against the Rabelais editors were later dropped.^[4]