Indigenous Commonwealth Education Costs Scholarships

Am I Eligible?

To apply, you must:

1. be an Australian citizen or permanent resident
2. be an Indigenous Australian
3. not have previously received the Indigenous Access Scholarship (IAS)
4. be enrolled full time in your first undergraduate degree
   (if you are studying part-time you may be eligible if you have extenuating circumstances preventing fulltime enrollment)
5. provide proof of low income:

• a copy of your statement of income of a means tested Commonwealth Support Payment (eg, Youth Allowance, Austudy, ABSTUDY, Parenting Payment, Disability Support Pension)
  OR
• long term low income and demonstrated proof of this by being able to provide ATO Notice of Assessment and Pay Slips.

Preference will be given to if you relocate to attend University from regional, rural or remote area of Australia

Ongoing Eligibility

To continue to receive the first and subsequent scholarship payments, you must continue to meet the enrollment criteria and low income eligibility, plus for the 2nd payment, have obtained a Grade Point Average (GPA) of 3.0 and above

Guidelines

Download the 2014 Commonwealth Scholarship Guidelines [PDF]
(includes Indigenous Commonwealth Education Costs Scholarships)

Frequently Asked Questions

Why does the VTAC application deadline is earlier than UAC's?

The VTAC applications do close approximately 6 weeks earlier than UAC due to different administrative structures.

Applicants, who thought they would apply via VTAC for the scholarship and missed the deadline are also eligible to apply via UAC.

How and when do I know if I was successful or unsuccessful?

Applying through UAC?

• Main Round - UAC will advise your application outcome mid to late January with a Scholarship offer or unsuccessful letter.
• Second Round - UAC - To be advised.
• Your Offer letter will explain how to Accept your scholarship offer online.

Applying through VTAC?

• VTAC will advise of your application outcome in late December or early January with a Provisional Offer or an unsuccessful letter. You do not accept this Provisional Offer at this stage.
• Your Scholarship offer will be confirmed by CSU once you accept your course offer and enrol with CSU.
• The confirmation offer from CSU will explain how to accept your offer online.

I applied last year and was unsuccessful, can I apply again?

Yes, as long as you meet the eligibility criteria you should apply again.

I already am a recipient of an ICECS and/or ICAS with CSU - do I need to reapply through UAC or VTAC for next year?

You don't need to reapply as your continued scholarship recipiency is ongoing and your ongoing eligibility is checked by the Scholarship Office.

I have received an Indigenous Commonwealth Education Costs Scholarship (ICECS) before, can I apply for another ICECS?

If you have received the full 8 periods of payment of the ICECS, you cannot have another allocation of this scholarship.

What if I am studying part time?

• A full time student is one who is enrolled to undertake an amount of study of at least three quarters (or 75%) of an equivalent full-time study load (EFTSL). This equates to three (8 point) subjects or more or 24 subject points or more per semester.
• Students who are enrolled to undertake less than this amount of study are not eligible unless there are exceptional circumstances that prevent the student from studying full-time.
• CSU will take into account factors such as disability, long term illness, indigenous community responsibilities and significant carer responsibilities in determining your inability to study full-time.

When and how do I get paid?

You will be paid half the Scholarship amount within 3-4 weeks of the Census date 1st Session and the other half within 3-4 weeks of Census in 2nd Session.

Will my Scholarship affect my CentreLink payment?

The Indigenous Commonwealth Scholarship is not considered as income under the Social Securities Act and will not affect your Centrelink payments.

How do I know if my home address is rural or not?

Check your home postcode listing

What happens if I defer my course?

Your offer for the ICECS will be cancelled and you must reapply next year when you commence your course.

How Many times can I suspend my Scholarship?

As an enrolled CSU student, if you take an approved Leave of Absence from your course, you can suspend your scholarship for a maximum of 2 sessions and it is automatically re-activated next session.

How to Apply

Applications for the Indigenous Commonwealth Education Costs Scholarships are submitted via the Universities Admissions Centre of NSW (UAC) or the Victorian Tertiary Admissions Centre (VTAC).