Information for Current Scholarship Recipients

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Find a Scholarship

Commonwealth Scholarship Recipients

Commonwealth Education Costs Scholarships (Ordinary - CECS)
Commonwealth Accommodation Scholarships (CAS)
Who is not eligible?
Who is eligible to apply for a CS?
What is your regional or remote postcode?
Frequently Asked Questions
Related Documents

Each year the Federal Government offers Commonwealth Scholarships (CS) to encourage participation in tertiary education by students who are traditionally excluded or disadvantaged by financial hardship, with priority for Indigenous students and students who relocate from regional and remote areas to study.

Commonwealth Education Costs Scholarships (Ordinary - CECS)

This scholarship is available for undergraduate students experiencing financial hardship, in particular Indigenous students and students from disrupted backgrounds who are in financial hardship.

In 2008 students who are awarded a CECS will receive $1 081 per semester (indexed annually), for a maximum of 8 semesters, to assist them with general education costs.

Commonwealth Accommodation Scholarships (CAS)

This scholarship is designed to provide assistance for accommodation expenses to undergraduate students who relocate from a regional or remote area in order to study at UWS.

In 2008 students who are awarded a CAS will receive $2 162 per semester (indexed annually), for a maximum of 8 semesters.

Who is not eligible?

You are not eligible to apply if you:

Are a New Zealand Citizen or a permanent resident not specified as at the Census date;
Are an International student or full-fee paying student;
Are a postgraduate student (excluding Masters in Education students);
Already have received a CS for the maximum duration

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Who is eligible to apply for a CS?

To be eligible to apply for a Commonwealth Education Costs Scholarship you must:

Be an Australian citizen or the holder of a Permanent Humanitarian Visa;
Be enrolled at UWS in an eligible undergraduate course of study;
Be a Commonwealth Supported (HECS-HELP) student;

and

Be currently in receipt of a Centrelink Income Support Payment (such as Austudy, ABSTUDY, Youth Allowance, Parenting Payment, Disability Support Pension, etc )

or

Provide comprehensive information demonstrating financial hardship such as taxation Notices of Assessments (NOA) and any further documentation as required.

Be enrolled as a full-time student (a minimum of 30 credit points) or have demonstrable exceptional circumstances that prevent you studying full-time;

and

Be enrolled in your first Bachelor degree unless your first Bachelor degree was a prerequisite to your current undergraduate course of study.

To be eligible for a Commonwealth Accommodation Scholarship you must be able to meet all of the requirements above, as well as ALL of the following requirements.

Students must:

Either:

Have lived in a regional or remote area of Australia for at least three of the previous four years prior to enrolling at UWS;

Have completed the final two years of schooling at a high school/college in a rural/regional area immediately prior to coming to UWS;

Have lived away from their regional or remote home to complete the whole or majority of their secondary schooling at a high school or college in a Major City;

and

Have moved from a location that is outside of a capital city (see below);
Have needed to move away from the rural or regional area in order to undertake your course of study;

Be enrolled as an On-Campus student (that is be enrolled in a minimum of 1 internal unit) unless there are demonstrable extenuating circumstances preventing them studying on-campus;

and

Not be living with either your natural or adopted parents.

What is your regional or remote postcode?

To determine whether your regional or remote postcode is eligible in your application for a Commonwealth Accommodation Scholarship please access the Rural/Regional Postcode Guide. 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. All other responses mean you are eligible.

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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 three out of the four years prior to your enrolment. You need to provide three 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).

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

Students enrolled in less than 30 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:

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):

Form

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

I have less than 10 points remaining to complete my degree. Can I still receive a final payment?

If you have less than 10 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 UWS’s privacy policy. It will only be disclosed to those UWS staff who are directly involved in the selection process.

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

Privacy Policy

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

How will my application be assessed?

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

How will I know if I am successful?

All correspondence by the Scholarships Office is conducted via mail. Both successful and unsuccessful applicants for a scholarship will receive notification.

How and when will I be paid?

All Commonwealth Scholarship recipients (new and continuing) will be paid by Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT). New recipients will be asked to register their bank details with their scholarship acceptance form.

Scholarship payments will be made AFTER CENSUS DATE (Friday of Week 4 each semester).

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

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

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 UWS 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 UWS.

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.

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 30 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 10 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 (GPA 4)

Can I appeal the selection decision?

A student who is aggrieved with a decision Scholarships Unit should in the first instance seek explanatory feedback from the Scholarships Unit.

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 Scholarships Unit’s decision via the UWS Academic Senate.