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Round 1 of the Commonwealth Regional Scholarship Program
- Applications open from Monday October 23, 2023 and will close on Sunday 26 November 2023
- Assessment of scholarship applications will take place from November 2023 to January 2024.
- BUSY At Work will advise of scholarship application outcomes no later than January 2024.
- Successful applicants will enter into Scholarship Agreements with BUSY At Work from Term 1 2024.
The Commonwealth Regional Scholarship Program is an initiative of the Australian Government that delivers scholarships to students from regional, rural and remote communities to assist with the costs of attending a boarding school.
The Commonwealth Regional Scholarship
has been designed to provide:
- Assistance to students from rural, regional and remote areas with a contribution towards boarding fees, in order to provide a quality education option where local alternatives may not exist or be suitable.
- Additional financial support to families who are unable to afford the full cost of boarding school fees and associated costs even with existing government support, with the intention to reduce families’ financial contribution towards boarding school fees.
- A supported boarding experience for students and families from low socioeconomic status backgrounds or experiencing financial hardship.
The following scholarships will be available from 2024:
Scholarships of up to 6 years are offered to successful applicants.
- Tier 1 - Scholarships of $20,000 p.a. per student, for students from low-income families - refer eligibility below (30 scholarship available)
- Tier 2 - Scholarships of $10,000 p.a. per student, for students from low-to-middle income families experiencing financial hardship - refer eligibility below (40 scholarship available)
Eligible boarding schools/facilities
Scholarship Applicants must be enrolled in either:
- A boarding school that is recognised by the state or territory education authority as secondary level; or
- A boarding facility or hostel that is either covered by the Bilateral Management Agreement between Aboriginal Hostels Limited and Services Australia, or who have signed the ABSTUDY Standard Hostels Agreement with Services Australia
Demonstrating financial need for Tier 1 Scholarships – $20,000 p.a.
(Support for low-income families)
(Support for low-income families)
Scholarship Applicant (student or parent/guardian) receives an eligible Centrelink benefit or concession card at the time of application.
- Assistance for Isolated Children – Additional Boarding Allowance received for the Scholarship Applicant (student) or another child in the same family
- ABSTUDY Living Allowance received for the Scholarship Applicant (student) or another child in the same family.
- Age Pension
- Austudy
- Carer Payment
- Department of Veterans’ Affairs income support payments
- Disability Support
- Pension
- Low Income Healthcare Card
- Jobseeker Payment
- Parenting Payment (Single or Partnered)
- Special Benefit
- Youth Allowance
- Farm Household Allowance
- Family Tax Benefit Part A (Please provide reconciliation outcome notice for the 2022-23 financial year)
- Pensioner Education Supplement
Note: Parents/guardians using Low Income Healthcare Card as evidence must provide a copy of their card (both sides) showing their full details and card expiry date.
Scholarship Applicant (student or parent/guardian) can indicate on their scholarship application form the Centrelink benefit or concession card they will apply for (the benefit or concession card must be on the above list).
These Scholarship Applicants can provide proof that they receive a Centrelink benefit or concession card on the above list after the scholarship application period has closed. If these Scholarship Applicants are awarded a scholarship, BUSY At Work will issue a conditional scholarship offer. To confirm their scholarship place, Scholarship Applicants with a conditional offer must provide appropriate evidence that the student or parent/guardian receives an eligible benefit.
Demonstrating financial need for Tier 2 Scholarships – $10,000 p.a. – (Support for low-to-middle income families experiencing financial hardship)
- Scholarship Applicant (parent/guardian)’s combined household income is at or under the combined parental income limit of $250,000.
- To confirm this, we will ask for a notice of assessment from the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) for the 2022-23 tax year, demonstrating income of parents/guardians that the Scholarship Applicant (student) lives with, including stepparents.
- If parents are separated, the income of the parent that the Scholarship Applicant (student) spends the most time living with will be assessed.
- If the Scholarship Applicant (student) spends equal time living with each parent, the income of the parent that submits the parental scholarship application form will be assessed.
- In addition, Scholarship Applicants for Tier 2 scholarships should also provide proof of financial hardship. This can be one or more of the following:
- Financial hardship statement outlining the cause and impact of financial hardship, including why this impacts the family’s ability to meet the costs of boarding. (For example, this could include information about impacts of medical expenses or other causes of financial hardship on family income).
- Families with two or more dependent children: Statement outlining the number of dependent children in the family and how this impacts the family’s ability to meet the costs of boarding.
- Families affected by Australian disaster events, such as recent drought, flood and bushfire: Statement outlining the declared disaster event or other adverse environmental event (including when and where it occurred) and how this impacts the family’s ability to meet the costs of boarding.
When selecting Scholarship Recipients, the Selection Advisory Panel will assess eligible Scholarship Applicants against the selection criteria.
The Selection Advisory Panel will assess:
- the extent to which a student has demonstrated potential, effort, motivation and/or improvement in their schooling (Note: This scholarship is not just for high academic achievers, but for students who demonstrate appositive attitude to learning and a personal commitment to completing Year 12).
- the ability of the scholarship program to support a student’s aspirations, such as:
- enabling access to a quality school education or extracurricular activities not available in their home location
- a family’s demonstrated financial need for a scholarship
- the ability of families to support their child while living away from home, including:
- consideration of wellbeing
- (if relevant) ability to cover boarding-related costs not covered by this scholarship.
- the ability of the scholarship program to support a student’s aspirations, such as:
BUSY At Work requires Scholarship Recipients to meet certain requirements to continue to receive the scholarship, such as:
- Making adequate progress at school
- Remaining enrolled in school and continuing to board
- Satisfactory completion of required coursework
- Satisfactory attendance record and behaviour at school
BUSY At Work will also reassess financial need after a Scholarship Recipient has received a Commonwealth Regional Scholarship Program scholarship for 3 years.
This reassessment will focus on:
- Major changes in parent/guardian financial circumstances since the time of the scholarship application
- Ensuring schooling continuity for Scholarship Recipients.
Eligibility
To be eligible for a scholarship, the Scholarship Applicant (student) must
- Be commencing or undertaking secondary school education in Australia in 2024 (the time of scholarship commencement) and be able to provide proof of enrolment in an eligible boarding school or facility.
- Have a permanent home address in a regional or remote area as defined by the Australian Statistical Geography Standard (ASGS).
- Be able to demonstrate financial need (see below)
- Be an Australian citizen, permanent resident, holder of a permanent visa or a New Zealand citizen living in Australia.
How to check your regional eligibility
The Scholarships are available to students who have a permanent home address in a regional or remote area as defined by the Australian Statistical Geography Standard (ASGS) Eligible locations do not include Major Cities.
To check eligible locations:
Health Workforce Locator | Australian Government Department of Health and Aged Care
Eligible Regions
After clicking on the link –
Health Workforce Locator Tick the “2016” box against Remoteness Areas.
(This will ensure that the tool displays data from the 2016 ASGS Remoteness Index.)
Health Workforce Locator Tick the “2016” box against Remoteness Areas.
(This will ensure that the tool displays data from the 2016 ASGS Remoteness Index.)
Click ‘find address’.
A box will appear. Type your address into this box and tap ‘enter’ on your keyboard.
A box will appear. Type your address into this box and tap ‘enter’ on your keyboard.
The box will display information about the remoteness category of the chosen address.
For example, Wodonga VIC is classified as Inner Regional:
For example, Wodonga VIC is classified as Inner Regional:
Broome, WA is classified as Remote:
