Office of Student Life and Learning

Commonwealth Scholarships

Applications for Semester 2 2009 are now closed. Students will be informed as to the outcome of their application via their student email by 18 September

IMPORTANT NOTICE:

The recent Federal Budget has had some important repercussions for the future of Commonwealth Scholarships:

• There will be no NEW Commonwealth Scholarships awarded from 1 January 2010.
• Students who currently receive a Commonwealth Scholarship will continue to receive their full entitlement
• As from 1 Jan 2010 a new scholarship scheme will be enacted and administered via Centrelink for students receiving Austudy or Youth Allowance and who do not already receive a Commonwealth Scholarship (Student Start-up Scholarship and Relocation Scholarship). Enquires regarding these scholarships should be directed to Centrelink

Whilst there will not be many new Commonwealth Scholarships available to allocate in Semester 2 this year, the good news is Murdoch has picked up some of the shortfall with increased numbers of Murdoch Senate Scholarships.

Students who apply unsuccessfully for a Commonwealth Scholarship will automatically be considered for a Murdoch Senate Scholarship.

COMMONWEALTH SCHOLARSHIP APPLICATIONS

There are four types of Commonwealth Scholarship available for application using ONE ONLINE APPLICATION FORM. If you are successful in your application for a Commonwealth Scholarship, the type most appropriate to your situation and ranking will be awarded to you by the Selection Committee.

Due to the extremely low number of Commonwealth Scholarships Murdoch has been allocated, and the overwhelming number of applications received each semester, students may only receive ONE type of Commonwealth Scholarship at any time.

Applications will be scored and ranked according to a comprehensive assessment of the following criteria:

• Overall eligibility;
• Equity groupings (for example students with disabilities or medical conditions, Indigenous students, and students from regional and remote areas);
• Responsibility for others and living arrangements;
• Personal circumstances;
• Financial circumstances;
• Australian Bureau of Statistics indicators of disadvantage.

Please see the Selection and Review Policy here

These are the four types of Commonwealth Scholarship:

Commonwealth Education Costs Scholarships

Many students from low socio-economic status backgrounds and Indigenous students face particular challenges in meeting their education costs. Commonwealth Education Costs Scholarships (CECS) were introduced to provide such students with a scholarship of $1,103 per semester for a maximum of eight semesters (indexed annually) to assist with their education costs. Students in financial hardship are encouraged to apply.

National Priority Scholarship

National Priority Scholarships (NPS) were introduced to provide students in financial hardship with a scholarship of $1,103 (indexed annually) per semester for up to eight semesters to assist with their education costs.

NPS are for students to undertake study in national priority disciplines such as teaching, nursing, chiropractic, mathematics, natural and physical sciences, engineering and accounting. NPS may also be awarded for students undertaking post graduate study required for initial registration for the purposes of practicing in the relevant profession.

Commonwealth Accommodation Scholarships

The cost of accommodation can be a significant burden for students from regional and remote areas who need to move away from home to commence higher education. Commonwealth Accommodation Scholarships (CAS) provide selected students from low socio-economic backgrounds from regional and remote areas (please see eligible areas below) with a scholarship of $2,207 (indexed annually) per semester for up to eight semesters to assist them with accommodation costs when they move to undertake higher education.

National Accommodation Scholarship

National Accommodation Scholarships (NAS) provide selected students from low socio-economic backgrounds with a scholarship of $2,207 (indexed annually) per semester for up to eight semesters to assist them with accommodation costs when they move more than 100 kilometres to undertake a specialist course not available near their own home.

The complete Commonwealth Scholarships Guidelines (Education) 2008 (DEEWR) can be found here.

Eligible Areas

To determine whether you have relocated from a regional or remote area please access the Rural/Regional Postcode Guide (note: this external link is to a Microsoft Excel file). Simply enter your home postcode into the pink shaded box in the Guide.

Once you have entered your 'home' postcode, if it displays “Major Cities of Australia (MC)” you are not eligible to apply for a CAS.

Eligible areas for a CAS include: -

• Inner Regional Australia (IR)
• Outer Regional Australia (OR)
• Remote Australia (R) and
• Very Remote Australia (VR).

Frequently Asked Questions

• How do I prove that I lived in a regional or remote area?

  When you have indicated in your online application that you are also applying for a Commonwealth Accommodation Costs Scholarship you will be asked to provide evidence that you lived in a regional or remote area for 3 out of the 4 years prior to your enrolment. You need to provide 3 pieces of correspondence sent to you at your regional or remote address with three different dates from the last four years. If you boarded at high school because you were from a regional or remote area and you are a school leaver, copies of your school reports are sufficient. Copies of your school reports are also sufficient if you completed your final two years of school in a regional or remote location and you are a school leaver.

  If you boarded at high school because you were from a regional or remote area and you are a school leaver, copies of your school reports are sufficient. Copies of your school reports are also sufficient if you completed your final two years of school in a regional or remote location and you are a school leaver.

• How do I prove that I am in financial hardship?

  When you apply for a Commonwealth Scholarship you will be required to provide us with your Centrelink Reference Number (CRN) and we will verify the status of your Centrelink Income Support Benefit. If you are awarded a Commonwealth Scholarship we will then use your CRN each semester to check with Centrelink that your benefit is still current.

  If you don't receive a Centrelink Income Support Benefit we need to be provided with evidence that you are in financial hardship in the form of your most recent Notice of Assessment (or that of your parents if you are under 18 and still live at home) from the Australian Taxation Office. Please be aware that preference is given to students on a Centrelink benefit.

• Am I eligible to apply if I already have a degree?

  The Commonwealth Scholarships are only available to students enrolled in their first undergraduate Bachelor's degree (except where another degree is a prerequisite for your current undergraduate course of study).

  To determine whether your completed Bachelor's degree is a prerequisite to your current Undergraduate Degree, please view the Admission Requirements for your current degree in the Handbook.

  For example, admission into the Bachelor of Laws (Graduate) program requires a student to have a recognised degree in any discipline whilst admission into the Bachelor of Chiropractic course only requires a student to have successfully completed secondary education with Physics, Chemistry, Applicable Mathematics and Biology as highly recommended subjects.

  Students enrolled in a Graduate Diploma of Education or Nursing are eligible to apply for a Commonwealth Scholarship because these have been identified as areas of National Priority by the Federal Government.

• I can't study full time, but I still need a Scholarship. What do I do?

  Students enrolled in less than 9 credit points need to provide evidence of exceptional circumstances that prevent them from studying full-time. These may be:

  • A medical condition
  • A disability (for which you need to be registered with the Disability Support Officer or have supporting documentation from a medical practitioner);
  • Significant carer responsibilities for a child/children/spouse/family member (statutory declaration or letter from medical practitioner); or
  • Other extenuating circumstances.

  You will need to complete this Change in Circumstances form to explain your extenuating circumstances:

  Download Form

  If your extenuating circumstances are related to a disability or medical condition you will also need to have this Verification of Change in Circumstances form completed by your health care provider (unless you are receiving a Disability Support Pension which can be verified with your Centrelink Reference Number):

  Download Form

  These forms need to be returned to the Scholarships Office, or the Student Service Centre at your Campus.

• I have less than 9 points remaining to complete my degree. Can I still receive a final payment?

  If you have less than 9 points remaining to complete your degree in your final semester you will still be eligible to receive a final payment, providing you haven't already received the maximum eight payments.

• Will my application be treated confidentially?

  Yes. All information and documentation supplied by you will be treated confidentially and in accordance with Murdoch's privacy policy. It will only be disclosed to those Murdoch staff who are directly involved in the selection process.

  Information on how Murdoch manages students' personal information, and our practices for disclosure, is available at:

  Download Privacy Policy

  Murdoch is also required to notify the Commonwealth Government of scholarship recipients.

• How will my application be assessed?

  Eligibility for Commonwealth Scholarships is assessed AS AT THE CENSUS DATE (Friday of Week 4 each semester).

  All applications are scored and ranked according to the following criteria: -

  • Overall eligibility
  • Equity groupings
  • Responsibility for others and living arrangements
  • Personal and Financial circumstances
  • Australian Bureau of Statistics indicators of disadvantage
  • Current enrolment status (students enrolled in 8 credit points or less will be assessed on a pro-rata basis)

  A panel consisting of the Scholarships Officer, a representative from Equity, Access and Diversity, and a representative from the Office of Central Student Administration convene to consider each application. The selection process is completed against a formal selection criteria and each application is ranked according to disadvantage. Eligible students who are ranked below the number of Scholarships available are automatically considered for a Murdoch Senate Scholarship (known formerly as the Murdoch Equity Scholarship).

• How will I know if I am successful?

  All correspondence by the Scholarships Office is conducted via email. Both successful and unsuccessful applicants for a scholarship will receive notification by email by the end of Week 7 of Semester. Please ensure that your contact details in MyInfo are up to date and check your Murdoch student email regularly.

• How and when will I be paid?

  All Scholarship recipients are paid by Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT). Students are asked to register their bank details at this secure address:
  http://www.murdoch.edu.au/oss2/scholarships/bank/
  Please note it is the student's responsibility to ensure their bank records are accurate and up to date. Records can be updated at any time during semester. Payments will no longer be made by cheque.

  Eligibility for Commonwealth Scholarships is assessed AS AT THE CENSUS DATE (Friday of Week 4 each semester). Eligibility is confirmed from Week 5 and all payments to all eligible students will be made by the end of Week 7.

• Will I be able to keep my scholarship if I transfer to another University?

  Commonwealth Scholarships awarded by Murdoch University are only valid while you are a student at Murdoch.

  If you wish to transfer to another University you will have to re-apply at that institution under their application procedures. If you have transferred to Murdoch University from another University and were a Commonwealth Scholarship recipient at your previous University, you will be required to re-apply for a Commonwealth Scholarship at Murdoch.

  Students applying for a Commonwealth Scholarship must declare any previous Commonwealth Scholarship support received and will only be eligible to receive any outstanding payments (to maximum of eight payments).

• Will I be able to keep my scholarship if I defer my enrolment or take approved leave of absence?

  Yes. Commonwealth Scholarships can be deferred for the period of your approved leave of absence from your course, usually 6-12 months.

  Please send an email to cls@murdoch.edu.au outlining how long you plan to defer and when you plan to return to your studies.

• Will the income from these scholarships affect my Centrelink benefits or tax?

  Commonwealth Scholarships are not considered as income under the Social Securities Act and should not affect your Centrelink payment.

  Commonwealth Scholarship income will not be taken into account when applying the Personal Income Test for Youth Allowance, Austudy, or the primary payment of students receiving a Pensioner Education Supplement. Income from these scholarships will also be exempt for ABSTUDY students.

  As a recipient of Commonwealth Education Costs Scholarship or Commonwealth Accommodation Scholarship you are recommended to make your own enquiries with Centrelink and the Australian Tax Office about how the payment may affect you.

• What happens if my enrolment changes?

  Students who are approved for either a Commonwealth Accommodation Scholarship or a Commonwealth Education Costs Scholarship as a full-time student must remain enrolled as a full-time student (minimum of 9 credit points) throughout the duration of their scholarship. Part-time enrolments may be approved in exceptional circumstances.

  Students who were originally approved for a scholarship on a full-time basis and subsequently enrol as a part-time student are required to complete an Application for Change in Circumstances form detailing the reasons for enrolling part-time.

  If a student's part-time enrolment is due to illness or disability a Verification of Change in Circumstances form will also be required to be completed by an appropriate medical practitioner/health professional, recording the medical nature of the exceptional circumstances.

  Failure to advise the Scholarships Office may result in the late payment or termination of the scholarship. Students who are not approved for part-time study will have their scholarship deferred (for a maximum of 12 months) until such time as they return to full-time study.

  If you have less than 9 points remaining to complete your degree in your final semester you will still be eligible to receive a final payment, providing you haven't already received the maximum 8 payments.

• Can my scholarship be terminated?

  Yes. Your CS will be terminated if:

  • You cease to meet the eligibility criteria; or
  • Once the full quota of 8 payments of the scholarship have been paid; or
  • If you are found guilty of academic misconduct; or
  • If you fail to maintain satisfactory academic progress as defined in the University Academic Progress Rules.
• Can I appeal the selection decision?

  A student who is aggrieved with a decision of the Commonwealth Scholarship Selection Panel should in the first instance seek explanatory feedback from the Scholarships Office.

  Where a student is dissatisfied with that explanation, an appeal against the non award of a scholarship must be made within 14 days after the date of notification of the CS Selection Panel's decision via the Student Appeals Committee.

  Further information on the Student Appeals Committee can be found here.

  An appeal will only occur in the following instances: -

  • Whether or not information in the student's application, as submitted, was correctly assessed, or
  • Whether or not the scoring of the student's application was correctly aggregated.

  A student cannot add or change information on their application form when applying for an appeal.