Scholarship Terms and Conditions

All references to:

“Scholarship Conditions” means these conditions of nomination for the applicable Premier’s Teacher Scholarship

“the Departments” in these terms and conditions mean both the NSW Premier's Department and the NSW Department of Education

“the Program” means the Premier’s Teacher Scholarships program

“the Scholarship” means the applicable Premier’s Teacher Scholarship

“the Secretariat” means the Premier’s Scholarships Secretariat, NSW Department of Education

“the Panel” means the Scholarship selection panel

“the State” means the Crown in right of the State of New South Wales, whether acting through the Premier's Department, the Department of Education or otherwise

“You” means the applicant for the Scholarship

“Your Proposal” means the study proposal You have submitted with your application for the Scholarship.

1. Applications. You must submit a completed Scholarship Application Form, agreeing to the Scholarship Conditions and all supporting documentation by the advertised closing date (or any later closing date subsequently advised to applicants by the Secretariat).

2. Individual Applications. Applications submitted jointly by more than one person will not be considered. Scholarships are awarded to an individual and cannot be shared.

3. Refused applications. If Your Application is received after the closing date or does not meet the requirements set out in these conditions it will not be considered.

4. Applications not returned. Your Application will not be returned and will become the property of the Departments.

5. Application costs. You must meet all Your costs associated with applying for the Scholarship.

6. Scholarships on offer. The Department may cancel any of the Scholarships on offer, whether or not advertised, or reduce their advertised value, or reduce the period of the study tour. You will be advised of any cancellation or variation and where the advertised value or other aspect of a Scholarship has been varied will be asked if You wish to continue with Your application.

7. Eligibility criteria. To be eligible for a Scholarship You must be an Australian citizen or permanent resident. You must be permanently (full time or part time) employed or on a temporary contract in a NSW school, early childhood centre or TAFE NSW campus unless otherwise stated in the Scholarship.

8. Minimum years. You must have a minimum of 2 years of teaching experience and You must be qualified to teach or have particular experience in the category applicable to the Scholarship.

9. No age restriction. There is no age restriction applicable to the Scholarships.

10. Multiple applications. You are only eligible for one Scholarship per year, however You may apply for more than one Scholarship provided the applications are submitted for different categories. Each application must be on a separate form.

11. Other Scholarships. If You currently hold any scholarship, grant or bursary You are not eligible for the award of a Scholarship.

12. Past Recipients. Unless a Scholarship has been forfeited in accordance with clause 16 or clause 26, past Scholarship recipients are ineligible for Scholarships in any category.

13. Non-metropolitan Schools and Institutes. Where stated, a proportion of the Scholarships will be designated for applicants from non-metropolitan Schools, Early Childhood centres and TAFE NSW Campuses. The Departments at their sole discretion will determine the eligible Schools, Early Childhood Centres and TAFE NSW Campuses and the number of designated Scholarships.

14. Place and Duration of Study. The Scholarships are for overseas study (or studies within Australia where designated) for up to five (5) weeks. The proposed study must be completed within this five week period. In special cases, extensions of time may be granted upon written request to the Secretariat.

15. Proposed study. Subject to the specific requirements of an advertised Scholarship, You must undertake study, which may include a formal study tour, visiting people and institutions or consulting with leading experts in a particular focus area. Where applicable, a component of the study may be conducted in Australia.

16. Overseas study. You must be eligible to travel to the country or countries specified in Your application and to complete the study. Applications for study in any country or countries in relation to which the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade ("DFAT") has advised against all travel or non-essential travel may be considered at the absolute discretion of the Panel. However, no Scholarship must be undertaken while any such travel warning is current. If after 12 months from the date of notification of the Scholarship being awarded DFAT travel warnings have prevented the Scholarships from being undertaken, the Scholarship will be forfeited.

17. Budgets. Your application must include a budget estimating the cost of the study and the proposed use of the Scholarship funds. Only reasonable costs associated with the study should be budgeted for, including the cost of one return economy airfare, or one round the world economy fare or specified economy air travel within Australia. Scholarship funds must not be used for the purchase of equipment, such as computers, cameras, video or DVD equipment, tape recorders, mobile telephones, materials, supplies and costs associated with a spouse or family member.

18. Referees. You must provide the name and contact details of two referees. One referee must be Your current School principal, Early Childhood Centre or TAFE NSW Campus line manager.

19. Reference checks. You hereby consent for reference, security and probity checks to be conducted and for the personal information provided in Your Application Form to be used and disclosed to third parties to check the accuracy of the information provided and to determine Your suitability for the Scholarship.

20. Nomination for award of Scholarships. The Departments are responsible for the selection of the Panel. The Panel may change with no notice to applicants. You may be required to attend an interview before the Panel. The Panel will assess applications based on the criteria set out on the application form. The panel will choose a successful applicant and a reserve for each scholarship. The Premier will be asked to endorse the panel's decision for each Scholarship.

21. Casual relief. Scholarship recipients will need to negotiate relief with their employer. Scholarship funds cannot be used for relief.

22. Leave. You must apply for leave through Your School principal or TAFE NSW Campus line manager, or employing authority for the duration of the Scholarship. Applicants from Government Schools require approval from the Minister for Education.

Ministerial approval to travel will be requested on behalf of Government School applicants by the Secretariat. DoE cannot give assurance that Ministerial approval will be granted. You must agree to be bound by any conditions attached to Ministerial approval. If approval is not granted You will not be eligible for the award of a Scholarship.

23. No deferral. Unless otherwise approved by the Secretariat, You must commence Your study by the date specified in Your final Proposal forwarded to the Secretariat following notification of the award of a Scholarship. A later commencement date will only be granted in exceptional circumstances.

24. No transfer. The Scholarship and Scholarship funds are not transferable.

25. Itinerary. You must provide the Secretariat with a final itinerary eight (8) weeks before the anticipated departure date. The itinerary must include all information and supporting documentation specified by the Secretariat. Changes to the itinerary must be approved by the Secretariat.

26. Withdrawal from Scholarship. You must immediately notify the Secretariat of any decision to withdraw from the Program.

It is expected that You would not seek to withdraw from the Program after You have accepted Your award of a Scholarship on these conditions, other than in exceptional circumstances, such as:

  • You are no longer teaching or eligible to teach in NSW;
  • You wish to cancel Your travel due to DFAT warnings following submission of Your application in relation to Your proposed destination;
  • other circumstances beyond Your control that prevent You from pursuing Your Proposal.

27. Payment of Scholarships. Payment of the Scholarships is at the discretion of the Departments. The Scholarship funds are paid as a lump sum directly into Your nominated bank account approximately 6 to 12 weeks before the commencement date of Your study. Payment may be withheld until confirmation is received that You have finalised Your itinerary, and have secured any necessary consents and approvals to conduct the proposed study.

28. Scholarship amount. The Scholarship value at the time of payment may be less than the amount advertised. You will be given prior notice of any variation and the opportunity to consider if You wish to accept the varied amount. You must confirm Your acceptance of the varied Scholarship amount before payment. All Scholarships are in Australian dollars.

29. Expenditure of Scholarship funds. The Scholarship funds must only be used for the purposes outlined in Your Proposal. You are responsible for all expenses additional to the Scholarship funds provided.

30. Summary of expenses and receipts. You must keep receipts for all expenses in excess of (AUD)$30.00. A copy of the receipts together with a summary of expenses must be provided to the Departments within fourteen (14) days of Your return to Australia.

31. Tax. The Departments cannot give You advice on any tax consequences of receipt of Scholarship funds. You may wish to seek Your own advice.

32. Travel and health advice. Before departing, You are expected to keep up to date with travel and health advice for Your destination issued by the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade ("DFAT") at www.dfat.gov.au. Further travel and health information may also be made available at www.smartraveller.gov.au and www.health.nsw.gov.au.

You must obtain the approval of the Secretariat for any proposed cancellation of travel in light of advice issued for Your destination. If You cancel Your travel You must refund the Scholarship funds to the Departments as required by these conditions.

33. Air Travel arrangements. The Scholarship must not be used to purchase business or first class fares, beyond contributing to the cost of a business class fare to the value of an equivalent economy class ticket in accordance with item 19 of these Scholarship Conditions. You are responsible for making Your own travel arrangements.

34. Passports and visas. You are responsible for obtaining all necessary passports, visas and other travel documentation.

35. Travel at own risk. You accept that:

  • You travel at Your own risk and in Your own time;
  • the State and Your employer are in no way responsible for You or Your conduct whilst You are overseas; and
  • You are solely responsible for Your own health, safety and well-being while overseas. This includes (but is not limited to) taking account of DFAT travel and health advice and arranging for any recommended inoculations and medication for Your proposed travel destination.

36. Insurance. You must take out comprehensive travel and medical insurance recommended for overseas travel to the country or countries of destination. The Scholarship funds may be applied towards the cost of insurance.

37. Conduct whilst on Scholarship. Whilst a beneficiary of the Program You will make every reasonable endeavour to:

  • at all times be a good ambassador for the teaching profession and the Premier of NSW;
  • avoid any act (including making any oral or written communication) that could damage the State's or any sponsor's reputation, be misleading, result in victimisation or harassment, lead to criminal or civil liability, or be reasonably found to be offensive, obscene, threatening, abusive or defamatory; and
  • comply with all laws, rules, regulations, policies and standards applicable to the teaching profession in Australia and the overseas country or countries and institutions which will be visited by You as a beneficiary of the Program.

38. Final report. You must submit to the Secretariat a detailed final report in the format specified by the Secretariat within ninety (90) days of the completion of the study tour.

The final report should initially be submitted to the Secretariat, who may require revisions to be made. The copy of the final report submitted will not be returned.

You must ensure that the final report:

  • does not infringe any other person's intellectual property rights;
  • does not contain material that is defamatory of others;
  • is original or, to the extent that it incorporates others' copyright works, that You do so with their permission. You must ensure that this permission extends to the State exercising its rights under the copyright licence granted to it below. All copyright works of other persons included in Your final report must be expressly acknowledged and attributed.

39. Repayment of Scholarship funds. You must repay unspent Scholarship funds to the Departments:

  • within fourteen (14) days of Your return to Australia upon completion of Your study; or
  • within seven (7) days of Your notice to the Secretariat that You have withdrawn from the Program.

You may also be required to immediately repay Scholarship funds (including, if requested, the value of any forfeited deposits and other payments of scholarship funds to the Departments if:

  • You leave the teaching profession or become ineligible to teach before departure on Your Scholarship-funded travel.
  • You have not spent the Scholarship for the purpose of Your Proposal;
  • there has been a failure on Your part to comply with any of these conditions; or
  • You have provided incorrect information or withheld relevant information in Your application.

It is anticipated that repayment of the value of spent Scholarship funds would not be required where You have withdrawn from the Program in circumstances that are essentially beyond Your control. However, You should be aware that the final decision as regards repayment in all cases rests with the Departments.

40. Liability for withdrawal from Scholarship. The State will not be liable for any loss or damages (including consequential loss, loss of opportunity or loss of income and even if the State has been advised of the possibility of such loss or damages) suffered by You which is caused by or arises from a required repayment of all or part of the Scholarship funds in accordance with these conditions.

41. Privacy. You consent to the Departments and associated third parties using the information, including personal information, provided in Your application and final report, for the purposes of assessing Your compliance with these conditions and of publicising the Program.

42. Access to records. You agree to give the Departments and their appointed auditors access to all financial records (including bank and credit card statements) to verify payment of the Scholarship funds and to assess compliance with these conditions.

43. Copyright licence. You hereby grant a non-exclusive, royalty-free copyright licence to the State to exercise and sub-licence all rights of copyright (including rights to reproduce the work and communicate it to the public) in the final report and any other material produced by You that is funded by the Scholarship (with or without amendment) for any non-commercial purpose. This licence includes, without limiting its generality, permission to post the final report or parts of it on the Departments' websites or make the report available to professional associations for dissemination for non-commercial purposes.

44. Promotion of the Program. You are expected to provide reasonable support to the Departments in publicising and promoting the Program, including participation in media interviews. You may, for example, be requested to write articles and make presentations in relation to Your experiences. The Departments may request a copy of any material that You wish to release referring to the Program, for their prior approval. You must comply with any such request and comply with any conditions of approval. You must make clear that the views you present are your own and not those of the Department, employing authority or sponsoring organisation.

You hereby consent to the publication and/or use in any form of media of Your name and/or Your photo and/or any material that You have produced that has been funded by the Scholarship for the purpose of publicising the Program without payment or compensation.

Any public lectures, media releases, films, publications and/or other work resulting from the Scholarship must contain the following acknowledgment: This work was produced by [insert recipient's name], a recipient of a [insert full name of the Scholarship and year], awarded by The Premier of NSW.

45. Return to the profession after completion of Scholarship. You are expected to return to the teaching profession in NSW for at least twelve (12) months on completion of Your study. You must not take further leave during this 12 month period.

46. Information requests. You must comply with reasonable requests by the Secretariat for additional information and documentation and provide any required information together with documentation by the dates requested.

47. Non-award of Scholarships. The Departments may upon recommendation of the panel not award any or all of the Scholarships in a given year if they decide (in their absolute discretion) either that there are no suitable applicants for the Scholarships or that there are insufficient applications.

48. Feedback. Successful applicants will be informed by the Secretariat. Unsuccessful applicants will be informed by email and may request feedback on their application from the Secretariat.

49. Exceptions. These Scholarship Conditions are standard for all applicants. However, exceptions may be granted to applicants based on their individual needs and circumstances.

50. Subject to change. These Scholarship Conditions are subject to change at any time without prior notice.

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