NPILF Career Ready Grant

Am I Eligible?

To be eligible for this grant you must be:

• currently enrolled as an active student, with ongoing subject enrolment;
• an Australian citizen, a New Zealand citizen, a permanent Australian resident or a student with an Australian permanent or humanitarian visa;
• enrolled in one of Charles Sturt University's work-integrated learning (WIL) subjects (must be a minimum of 105 hours or 15 working days of compulsory WIL, can be combined, eg WIL units that accumulate to a total of or greater than 105 hours);
• full or part-time student;
• have not received a Professional Placement Equity Grant exceeding $2,000 for the same placement(s);
• able to share how the scholarship helps you complete your WIL experience in 2024;
• starting/started your placement(s) in 2024;
• placement(s) to be listed as confirmed in InPlace, or able to provide confirmation of placement from Workplace Learning Officer.
Please note:
• if your application includes multiple placements, please put the details for both in your application, and ensure your start and end dates are the start of the earliest placement, and end of the latest placement respectively
• priority consideration may be given to applicants from low socio-economic backgrounds (SES), rural/regional/remote areas, individuals with documented disabilities or mental health challenges,  single parents, those with caregiving responsibilities, and those experiencing financial hardship. (Refer to the Guidelines for further details)
• students must nominate which session they will be enrolled in for the WIL unit.
• students can only receive this grant once per main session.
• preference will be given to students who have not received prior funding for this grant during the current academic year.
• if you are receiving any other scholarships or grants for placement, you may not be eligible for this grant.
• to be eligible for this grant, students must reside in Australia.  Students who are undertaking their studies whilst residing abroad or taking placement abroad are not eligible to receive funding.

Guidelines

1. The NPILF Career Ready Grant funding will be disbursed after the census date upon proof of continued enrolment and engagement in your course.
2. The value of this grant is a one-off payment of $1,000.
3. If your placement is not in InPlace, please provide evidence of placement, such as an email or letter from Academic Workplace Coordinator or Workplace Learning Officer, with confirmation it is an WIL, the placement subject code, start/finish dates and placement location.
4. The following may be provided in regards to priority consideration:
   
   Financial Hardship:
   - Centrelink Income Statement dated within 45 days (see table below for accepted benefits), OR
   -  Health Care Card (example below), OR
   
   
   - A signed Supporting Financial Declaration form* ,WITH either:
   3x latest payslips for yourself and your partner (if applicable), or your parents/guardians if under 22 years old
   2x latest ATO Notices yourself and your partner (if applicable), or your parents/guardians if under 22 years old
   * If you do not supply this form with your payslips/ATO Notices of Assessment, your application will not be considered for Financial Hardship
   
   Carer Responsibilities*:
   Students who provide carer services for another need to provide the following:
   - Centrelink Income Statement with Carer payments, or
   -  Medical Certificate/Letter from a Treating Party confirming carer status
   
   Disability*:
   Students who have a proven disability may provide:
   - Centrelink Income Statement with Disability payments, or
   -  Medical Certificate/Letter from a Treating Party confirming disability
   
   Mental Health Challenges*:
   Students who are facing recent/ongoing mental health challenges may provide:
   -  Medical Certificate/Letter from a Treating Party confirming current/ongoing mental health issues
   * Please note that medical information provided will remain with your application/will not be provided to any other sources within/outside of Charles Sturt University without student's permission

The following are considered as eligible means tested Centrelink Benefits
ABSTUDY – Secondary/Tertiary	Parenting Payment
Age Pension	Partner Allowance
AUSTUDY	Sickness Allowance
Carer Payment	Special Benefit
Disability Support Pension	Widow Allowance
Farm Household Allowance	Widow B Pension
Job Seeker Payment	Wife Pension
Low Income Health Care Card	Youth Allowance
Newstart Allowance

5. The grant is payable in cash (EFT) to the personal bank account that you have registered with Charles Sturt University. Payment will be processed within 7 business days of offer acceptance and can be made in advance or retrospectively for the previous session only.
6. Your payment may be delayed if active engagement with course content is not able to be validated.  In this situation the Scholarship Team will work to investigate your circumstance and either withdraw your offer or process payment at a later date.  We will let you know if your payment is delayed.
7. To be eligible for this grant, applicants must have met all of the eligibility criteria by the closing date. Applications received after the closing date will not be considered. Grants cannot be deferred.
8. The University receives a high volume of applications for grants; meeting the eligibility criteria may not guarantee applicants a grant offer.
9. The University reserves the right to recoup grant payments if your circumstances change and you no longer meet the eligibility criteria.
10. The Scholarships Office will be responsible for the assessment, allocation and administration of this grant.

Terms and Conditions

By accepting the grant offer you agree to:

1. fulfil all requirements as set out in these guidelines;
2. provide up-to-date and truthful information in your submission;
3. consent to Charles Sturt University accessing your student records for the purposes of assessing and administering the grant;
4. provide any change of individual circumstances in writing to the Scholarships Office scholarships@csu.edu.au;
5. provide information and participate in surveys for promotional purposes and review of this grant;
6. accept the terms and conditions of this grant.

The University reserves the right to undertake audits of individual student’s records to ensure adherence to these guidelines.

Policy

Charles Sturt University will treat any information provided by the applicant within the terms of relevant privacy legislation. See Charles Sturt University’s privacy policy for further information

Due to privacy laws, any discussion of a grant application or recipient will only take place with the grant applicant/recipient.

The information collected will be used by authorised University staff to assess eligibility and administer the scholarship program. The information may also be used for assessment purposes for other scholarships, grants and equity programs across the University. Recipient names and email addresses may be made available to departments within the University for marketing and research purposes. No details will be used externally for any reason without the recipient’s consent. Students should be aware that they provide information of their own free will.

Personal and health information provided by the applicant will not be made available to any person within the University or external organisation for any other purpose without the applicant’s consent, except where it may be a legal requirement of the University to provide information.

How to Apply

Forms and Documents

Download and save any forms you may require for your application.

• Statutory Declaration
• Supporting Financial Declaration form

Application

• Complete an online application form, noting the following:
• Attach a completed placement form/s signed by your workplace learning officer OR have your placement confirmed in 'InPlace' by your workplace learning officer
• If applicable, attach evidence of the following (as outlined in the eligibility criteria); financial hardship, disability/mental health challenges, single parent, caregiver.
• Attach any other documents to meet criteria as appropriate
• Applications will be assessed in accordance with the eligibility criteria and supporting documentation.
• Applications with incorrect or no supporting documentation will be deemed ineligible.
• You may be assessed as eligible but not receive an offer due to quota restrictions.
• There are no interviews required.

Outcome

• All applicants will be informed in writing of the outcome of their application.

Acceptance

• Successful applicants are required to accept their grant/scholarship offer.
• Offers not accepted by the offer expiry date will be withdrawn.