The Incentive scholarships supported educators in rural or remote areas of NSW who were already enrolled and were completing an early childhood teaching degree. An initiative from Rural and Remote: A blueprint for action, Incentive scholarships were designed to address a shortage of early childhood teachers, increase the number of qualified teachers and support the delivery of quality preschool programs.

About the scholarships

The scholarships form part of the department's Rural and Remote: A blueprint for action. The action plan is designed to support educators working in rural and remote communities, and areas with an identified shortage of early childhood teachers.

The scholarships support the delivery of quality preschool programs, by increasing the number of qualified early childhood teachers, working in rural and remote preschools and long day care services.

There were 30 scholarships available, at up to $9,000 each.

Eligibility criteria

To apply for an Incentive Scholarship, applicants had to:

• work in a long day care service, or centre-based or mobile preschool in a rural or remote area of NSW
• hold an approved diploma qualification in early childhood education, recognised by the Australian Children's Education and Care Quality Authority (ACECQA)
• be enrolled in a bachelor's degree leading to a four-year university early childhood teaching qualification recognised by ACECQA
• not be receiving any other scholarship funding related to the course
• be an Australian citizen or permanent resident

Rural or remote services

Generally, services outside of Sydney, Newcastle or Wollongong are classified as rural or remote.

Services with an ARIA + classification of Inner Regional, Outer Regional, Remote or Very Remote are considered to be rural or remote services for this scholarship application. To check whether your service is located in a rural or remote area of NSW, use the Department of Health's remoteness search tool.

A remoteness description is also provided on the NQA ITS database.

The department assessed applicant locations and made the final decision about whether an applicant was eligible.

Scholarship guidelines

• Successful applicants were offered a scholarship of up to $9,000 to complete a four-year early childhood teaching degree qualification, such as a Bachelor of Education (Early Childhood Teaching)
• The degree must be recognised on ACECQA's Qualifications List of approved early childhood teaching degrees
• Successful applicants were required to sign a Deed of Agreement setting out the terms and conditions of the scholarship
• Payments will be made via EFT in instalments over the course of the degree
• After successful applicants provided official proof of enrolment, the signed Deed of Agreement, and other required documentation, scholarship funds were paid in instalments upon successful completion of 25%, 50%, 75% and 100% of the whole course
• Scholarship recipients can decide how best to use the funds to support their studies. This may include, but is not limited to, purchase or hire of textbooks and resources, costs associated with attending study sessions, technology to support study, or course fees
• Scholarship recipients could defer their study for a maximum of 12 months, with the department's prior approval.
• To retain the scholarship, recipients must maintain employment in a rural and remote early childhood education service in NSW.

Application process

Applicants were asked to supply:

• proof of your diploma in early childhood education
• a supporting statement
• a supporting statement from your employer
• details of the degree in which you are enrolled
• confirmation of enrolment and transcript of credits already completed
• certified proof of your Australian citizenship or permanent residency.

Eligible early childhood teaching degrees

Details of available courses in NSW and ACT are listed on the Universities Admissions Centre's (UAC) website and on the relevant higher education providers' websites.

The course had to be recognised on ACECQA's Qualifications List of approved early childhood teaching degrees.

Scholarship recipients had to be enrolled in a course offered by any registered Australian higher education provider located in another state/territory. To retain the scholarship, recipients had to be employed in and maintain employment in a rural and remote early childhood education service in NSW.

Payment request form

To claim a scholarship payment successful applicants had to complete and submit the payment request form (PDF 113KB) with required documentation.

More information

If you have questions about the 2018 Incentive Scholarships program, email the Early Childhood Directorate on ecec.scholarships@det.nsw.edu.au.