Nursing & Midwifery Scholarships,2016 Rural Undergraduate Scholarships For Australia Students

Scholarships of up
to $5,000 per year are available for people from rural NSW who are undertaking
a Bachelor of Nursing or Bachelor of Midwifery degree in 2016.

For the purposes of
these rural NSW is defined by the following boundaries: Berry, Maitland and
Lithgow.

These scholarships
are for those students living in Rural NSW undertaking their Bachelor of
Nursing or Midwifery degree. The awarding of scholarships is a competitive
process, since the number awarded is subject to funds being available.
Preference will be given to applicants living in locations with the greatest
workforce needs, which may change from year to
year.

Applications for
these scholarships can be made for each year of study, up to a maximum of six
years for part-time students.

Applicants may apply
annually, however, each application will be reviewed on its merits. It should
not be assumed that successful applicants in one year will be successful in
subsequent years.

Applications
open 1st September 2015 and close 20th November 2015. Late applications will not be
accepted.

Terms
and Conditions

The scholarships
target applicants who reside within a geographical boundary that is
experiencing an inability to recruit and retain nurses and midwives.

Rural NSW is defined
by the boundaries: Berry, Maitland and Lithgow.

Am
I eligible to apply?

Are you
an Australian citizen or permanent resident living in NSW?
Will
you be commencing or continuing your Bachelor of Nursing or Bachelor of
Midwifery degree in 2016?
Are you
currently living and have you have lived in a rural location (as defined
for the purposes of these scholarships) in NSW for more than five years,
within the last ten years?
Are you
intending to practice in a rural location as a registered nurse or midwife
when you complete your studies?
If
successful, are you willing to participate in an evaluation or telephone
survey about the Nursing and Midwifery Scholarship?

If you answered
‘yes’ to the above questions you are eligible to apply for this scholarship.

Application
requirements

To apply you are
required to provide an essay of 250 – no more than 500 words and the four
supporting documents. All of the following must be submitted and received by
20th November 2015. Please note: different essay questions apply depending on
whether you have already commenced your nursing or midwifery degree.

All of the following
must be included:

Essays

For applicants not
yet commenced in a course:

Why do you
wish to become a nurse or midwife and what could you offer your own rural
community?

For applicants
already enrolled in undergraduate degree programs:

Describe how
the knowledge of nursing or midwifery practice you have gained so far in your
course could be applied in your rural community.

It is advisable that
you type your essay in a word document and save it to your hard drive, then
copy and paste your essay into the required field in the online application
form.

Supporting
Documents

The following four
documents supporting your application are to be sent to the Health Education
and Training Institute and received by 20 November 2015:

Official
confirmation of your enrolment in an Australian undergraduate Nursing or
Midwifery course in 2016.

This document must include:

your
name
the
name of the course
the
year of study and a list of the subjects you have enrolled in for 2016.

Please note:
If your enrolment confirmation is unavailable at the time of application,
please provide official confirmation of your application for entry into an
undergraduate Nursing or Midwifery course. As soon as available, please forward
your enrolment confirmation so that your application can be progressed. Generic
information about course subjects will not be accepted. All enrolment
confirmation must be received by 4th March 2016.

Letter
of Support

You must include a letter from a person who knows you which reflects your
rural background, your character and desire to practice nursing or
midwifery in a rural setting in the future. An appropriate person could
be:

your
most recent employer
your
high school principal or senior teacher
a
health professional or minister of religion who knows you
an
office bearer in a community or sporting organisation that you are
involved in this letter cannot be completed by a family member

A
completed Health Education and Training Institute Electronic
Fund Transfer (EFT) payment form. Unsigned and/or incomplete forms
will not be processed and your application will be deemed to be
unsuccessful. Please note that payments cannot be made into credit card
accounts.

Supply
of Documents

It is preferable that
you send your supporting documentation by Express Post so that you can
track its delivery status by going to: http://www.auspost.com.au/track/

Please send your
completed documents to:

Attention: Donna Fong
Health Education and Training Institute
Locked Bag 5022
Gladesville NSW 1675

Application

Please read the
entire terms and conditions above and the frequently asked questions below
before proceding to the online application form.

Online
applications open on 1st September 2015 and close on 20th November 2015.

Applications
must be submitted online. Applications received by any other means (eg. post or
email) will not be processed.

You need to complete
your online application in one session. Once submitted your application cannot
be changed. Therefore it is strongly recommended that you write your essay in a
Word document before you fill out the online application form. Save the essay
to your hard drive, then copy and paste it into the required field in the
online application form. When your application is lodged electronically you
will be sent a unique ID number via email. It is advisable to keep a record of
this number to submit with supporting documents or make enquiries.

Frequently
asked questions

When
will I know if my application is successful?

Applicants will be
notified about the outcome of their application by the end of January 2016.

Can
I apply for a scholarship each year of my study?

Provided you meet
the eligibility criteria for this scholarship, you can apply for a scholarship
for each year of your study. Being successful in one year does not guarantee a
scholarship in subsequent years.

Selection

Scholarships are
awarded by a selection panel. Decisions are final and no correspondence will be
entered into.

What
happens next?

If successful, and
all your supporting documents have been received in the Health Education and
Training Institute, you will receive confirmation of your scholarship offer via
email by the end of January 2016. Payments will not be processed until
enrolment confirmation has been received.

If you are
unsuccessful, you will also be notified via email by the end of January 2016.

If
successful, how much money will I receive?

Scholarships are
valued at $2,500 for students studying part time and $5,000 for students
studying full time.

The amount of
funding will be based on your enrolment information supplied. The EFTSL on your
enrolment will indicate whether you are a full time or part time student. To be
considered to be a full time student your EFTSL must add up to 1.00.

Funding will be
adjusted if money is received for your course from another source.

When
will I receive my scholarship payment?

It may take up to
five weeks to process payments into nominated bank accounts. Please note
however that unexpected delays sometimes occur. Payments cannot be made into
credit card accounts.

What
can I use my scholarship funding for?

Scholarship funding
is provided to assist students with educational expenses directly associated
with their undergraduate nursing or midwifery degree. The Health Education and
Training Institute does not require receipts, however these should be retained
by the scholarship recipient for taxation purposes.

What
if I defer, withdraw or change my subjects in 2016?

Successful
applicants who defer or withdraw from their course or change the number of
subjects being studied during 2016 must notify the Health Education and
Training Institute in writing within seven days. Full or partial repayment of
scholarship funding may be required after review of individual circumstances.

What
if I fail a subject in 2016?

Scholarship funds
are available to cover all subjects in your course once only. No funds are
available if you fail a subject and need to repeat the subject.

What
if I owe money from a previous Nursing and Midwifery scholarship?

If a student owes
outstanding money from a previous scholarship the offer of the new scholarship
will be withdrawn until the funds are repaid.

Refunds

A refund of
scholarship funding will be requested should an overpayment be identified, or
if you do not continue with your course (subject to individual review).

Income
Tax Advice

Full time students –
scholarships are considered to be tax exempt income for students who are
studying full time at university.

Part time students –
generally, scholarship funding provided to part time students, regardless of
their employment status, is not considered to be tax exempt income. However, as
long as the scholarship funding is used for non-tax deductible expenses it may
be classified as exempt income.

Please seek
independent taxation advice regarding your personal circumstances where
required.

Fringe
Benefits Tax (FBT) Advice

FBT issue arises
with employees in the public health system who receives funding from the Health
Education and Training Institute. Please note the following:

If the
course being studied directly relates to current employment duties, the
taxable value of the benefit will be reduced to nil. If there is a nil
taxable value there is a nil FBT liability.
If the
course being studied does not directly relate to current employment
duties, the full scholarship payment will attract FBT.
Please
seek independent taxation advice regarding your personal circumstances
where required.