Help/FAQ

The scholarships are for applicants who have spent at least 5 consecutive or 8 cumulative years, since the age of 5 residing in a rural or remote area classified ASGC-RA 2-5 which is a geographic classification system that was developed in 2001 by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS), as a statistical geography structure which allows quantitative comparisons between 'city' and 'country' Australia.

Applicants must be enrolled, intending to enrol or have applied to enrol as a full-time or part-time student in a university course that is, accredited/approved by the professional body for the particular health profession, or its specific course accrediting organisation.

The course selected must lead to the student, upon graduation, being able to practise in their chosen allied health or oral health profession as a fully qualified, registered (where applicable) practitioner, able to obtain full membership of the relevant professional association. The practitioner (other than graduates of optometry, oral health, and medical radiation science degrees) must also be eligible to be registered under the Medicare Allied Health and Dental Care Initiative as required.

 Eligible Allied Health Undergraduate Professions for 2012-13

(This List is not negotiable for the 2012-13 allocation round)

• Aboriginal Health Worker (Cert IV and above only)
• Audiology
• Chiropractic
• Dental & Oral health
• Dietetics & Nutrition
• Exercise Physiology (ESSA Exercise & Sports Science Australia approved course)
• Genetic Counselling (Postgraduate/CPD only)
• Medical Radiation Science;

• Occupational Therapy
• Optometry
• Orthoptics
• Osteopathy
• Paramedics
• Physiotherapy
• Podiatry
• Prosthetics and Orthotics
• Psychology (Postgraduate only in Health, Counselling, and Neuro Psychology) Bachelor degrees are not eligible for Psychology
• Social work (AASW Australian Association of Social Workers approved courses only)
• Speech Pathology, and
• Sonography

For information about other Australian Government scholarship programs, please visit the Department of Health and Ageing website at www.health.gov.au

Other sources of financial support may be available from your State/Territory Department of Health, your professional organisational body, community groups, or your university.

No; If your course is not listed you will be unable to submit your application form. This list is indicative, if your course is not listed please email your course details to undergrad@sarrah.org.au  or the relevant professional organisation to confirm if your course is approved or accredited.

The course selected must lead to the student, upon graduation, being able to practice in their chosen allied health or oral health profession as a fully qualified, registered (where applicable) practitioner, able to obtain full membership of the relevant professional association. The practitioner (other than graduates of optometry, oral health, and medical radiation science degrees) must also be eligible to be registered under the Medicare Allied Health and Dental Care Initiative as required.

The list of eligible courses is completed by the professional body for the relevant health profession or a specific course accrediting organisation. SARRAH is then advised of any changes before the opening of each application round.

Please check the list of eligible courses before completing your application form, to confirm your course is approved/accredited and eligible for the scholarship.

No, applicants can apply in any year of their course of study.

You may attend the Australian university or tertiary institution of your choice provided that the course you are studying is approved and accredited by the professional body for the particular health profession, or its specific course accrediting organisation, and is on our list of eligible courses.
 

ASGC-RA stands for Australian Standard Geographic Classification – Remoteness Area.
ASGC-RA (or RA for short) is the classification system used in NAHSSS: Allied Health Undergraduate to determine your rurality.

Only ASGC-RA 2 to 5 communities are eligible for scholarship support.

Go to www.doctorconnect.gov.au to check the ASGC-RA classification for any location within Australia, click the tab “Search the Map”, and type in your suburb.

In determining rurality for the NAHSSS Scholarship Scheme, the Australian Government acknowledges that universities within Tasmania and the Northern Territory do not provide oral health or most allied health courses. For the purpose of this scholarship program, all of the Northern Territory and Tasmania will be considered eligible. 

Please note: As social work is offered at the University of Tasmania and the Charles Darwin University, students living in non-rural areas of Tasmania or the Northern Territory wishing to study these courses are not eligible to apply for a scholarship.

Yes, your application will be assessed, please refer to "how to complete application form" for more information.

If your application is successful you will be required to produce proof of enrolment.

Yes. you will need to complete your application with your first preference only.  You will be required to submit course enrolment details if you are awarded a conditional offer.

Please ensure the course you are enrolled in is on the eligible course list.

Five consecutive years means residing in a rural area continuously for five years. Eight cumulative years means residing in a rural area for a total of eight years.

Applications should be submitted online, if this is not possible or you are having difficulties please contact the NAHSSS: Allied Health Undergraduate "Scholarship Stream Manager" via email,  undergrad@sarrah.org.au for assistance.

It depends on your particular course of study.

Under the Scheme, study at honours level is covered by the scholarship only if the honours component is an integral part of your undergraduate degree. 

Because there may be more applications than there are available scholarships, it may be that not all eligible applicants will receive a scholarship. 

Scholarship holders will receive up to $10,000 per year during their undergraduate or graduate entry full-time professional studies.

Part-time students will receive up to $5,000 per year. These funds are a contribution toward the cost of study incurred by the student.
 

The scholarships are not bonded. 

Submitted applications will be assessed against the eligibility criteria with scholarships offered only to eligible applicants.

Stage 1:

Please refer to the “How to fill in your application” which is available on the website.

SARRAH will advise all eligible applicants of the outcome of their application with a message sent to the email address provided on the application form. Please ensure that the contact details provided on the application form are true and correct, and that you can actually be contacted via the email and address details provided.

This process will be finalised by no later than the 23 November 2012.

Applicants who are awarded a conditional scholarship must return the signed acceptance form by the date advised in the letter. If an applicant fails to contact SARRAH by the stated date the conditional offer will be automatically revoked and offered to the next applicant in the order of merit.

A conditional offer is provisionally awarded to an applicant based on the information provided in the application form, (this is not an offer of a scholarship and cannot be deferred).

You must correct this information prior to the closing date of the scholarship application period. Discrepancies in information provided may result in your application being ineligible.

Certified copies of ATO assessment notices will be required. If you have not completed ATO lodgments for any of the previous 2 financial years you will need to provided an estimate from your accountant until you can provide ATO Assessment notices. If there are discrepancies between the estimate from the accountant and the ATO assessment notice, your conditional offer will be reassessed and may be withdrawn.

You must put a zero on the application form. If you are made a conditional offer, you will be required to submit supporting documentation i.e. a Statutory Declaration stating that you have not completed a tax return for a given period.

You will need to submit ATO assessment notices for the previous 2 financial years, so you will need to show both parents income if the separation occurred after the 30 June 2011.

You can fill out the extenuating circumstances section of the application form to state that the financial situation has changed and the financial income submitted will not be reflecting your current situation.

If your parents are divorced or separated before June 30 you will need to provide the income details for the parent that you currently live with for the majority of the year.

No. Please refer to “How to fill out the application” for list of Australian Government Pensions.

Scholarship applicants and recipients are encouraged to seek advice from the Australian Taxation Office and/or Centrelink about any impact the awarding of a scholarship may have on their financial situation.  

Depending on the scholarship and your mode of study, scholarship payments may be taxable.

Information is available from the Australian Taxation Office at www.ato.gov.auand from Centrelink at www.centrelink.gov.au.

No assets test will apply, but eligibility for this scholarship does include predetermined maximum limits for assessable income, above which the applicant will become ineligible for the scholarship).

Financial need will be assessed on the basis of assessable income averaged over the last two financial years. An applicant will be assessed as either dependent or independent. If the applicant is assessed as dependent, both personal and parentalATO assessment notices will be used to determine financial need. For those assessed as independent, personal and partner (if applicable) ATO assessment notices will be used to determine financial need. (As the financial criteria forms part of the order of merit selection process, income limits will not be disclosed publicly).

Yes but only if you are in receipt of another scholarship or bursary funded by the Department of Health and Ageing.

Information on other scholarships and Bursaries is only collected to enable the short and long term evaluation of the Nursing and Allied Health Scholarship and Support Scheme.

No.

It is imperative that applicants contact SARRAH to request an extension if they require more time to provide documentation, this must be approved by the office in writing.

Failure to return all required documents by the due date will result in the conditional offer being automatically revoked.

The scholarship cannot be deferred in the first year it is awarded for, however requests for special circumstances may be considered on an individual basis if the scholarship holder has commenced their course of study and is in receipt of scholarship payments. The decision made by SARRAH as the administrators will be final and there cannot be an appeal.