This study examines the conceptualisation of student-staff partnership in Australian higher education from the perspective of student partners, based on their practices in a Students as Partners (SaP) program at the University of Melbourne. Employing a collaborative autoethnographic approach, three student partners (SPs) reflect on their experiences within a university SaP program focused on academic skills services. They acknowledge the program’s success in amplifying student engagement in some activities but also identify challenges to address to foster a more balanced power relation that features genuine partnerships. Three themes are seen as essential by the authors for effective partnerships: (a) an equal contribution from students and staff, (b) students’ full involvement in each stage of the collaborative work, and (c) recognition of students’ time and effort with remuneration. This study recommends that SaP programs can improve student-staff partnerships by compensating students, extending program timeframes, and offering conceptual training in the principles and goals of SaP. These insights can help guide SaP program providers in developing and transforming programs grounded in genuine partnership that can enhance the learning community for all its members. This study enriches SaP literature, which has been predominantly shaped by staff viewpoints, by offering valuable insights into partnerships from the student perspective.