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2012-2013 Applications
The Queensland Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Foundation (QATSIF) was created to give Queensland’s Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander families increased educational choices and life opportunities.
QATSIF recognises the vital role that successful completion of schooling and the availability of opportunities through higher education have in building a foundation for employment and better quality of life. However, it is equally aware that education is a resource not easily accessed by many Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, with the proportion of Indigenous young people achieving the Queensland Certificate of Education (QCE) significantly lower than their non-Indigenous counterparts.
Under this program, QATSIF will provide two-year scholarship funding to a number of selected secondary schools across Queensland to support students commencing Year 11 in 2012. In this round of applications, schools may also apply for students completing Year 12 in 2012 who may not previously had the opportunity to be considered for a QATSIF Scholarship.
In essence, the program operates by providing funds to schools who successfully apply for scholarships. The schools then use the funds to provide support to the individual students nominated in the school’s application across the two years of their QCE studies.
Applicants should note that the intention of the program is to increase Indigenous student retention rates in Years 11 and 12 rather than simply sustain existing retention rates. Further, QATSIF is committed to ensuring that funds are used to complement and build on existing school and community programmes to provide support for individual students, not replace nor reduce these programmes. Core school costs such as staffing, school building programmes and ICT hardware cannot be funded in the QATSIF Scholarship Program.
What is QATSIF?
QATSIF is an independent public foundation established to serve Queensland’s Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples by providing a secure funding source for bursaries and scholarships. The foundation will fund educational and developmental opportunities for generations of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and young people.
QATSIF was established with initial capital which represented the toil of previous generations of Indigenous Queenslanders who laboured under past control, laws and policies. This initial capital has been invested by QATSIF’s Trustee, the Public Trustee of Queensland, with the interest earned annually providing the income stream from which scholarships and bursaries can be paid. This means that the initial capital is preserved as the basis for ongoing investment and support, with the result that QATSIF will stand as a permanent and positive legacy for the future.
By providing support, QATSIF will contribute to turning around the inter-generational legacies of past policies and practices, and help close the gap in educational and employment outcomes between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Queenslanders. More information on QATSIF and its activities can be found at www.qatsif.org.au.
Are My Students Eligible?
Schools can nominate a student for a QATSIF QCE Scholarship if the student:
- is an Australian citizen or permanent resident who has lived in Queensland for at least the last three years; and
- is enrolled at that school as a student in 2012; and
- intends to undertake their Queensland Certificate of Education during the school years 2012-2013; and
- can confirm future school attendance of 85% or more in the senior years; and
- is under age 35; and
- is a person of Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander descent who identifies as an Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander, and is accepted as such by the community in which they live.
QATSIF Scholarships are not targeted at those students nor schools whose students are outstanding in any one field, but certainly welcomes applications from these students as possible future leaders. The highest performing students academically or on the sporting field will be given no higher priority than students seeking to pursue a trade or creative career, however it is expected that the QATSIF Scholarship program will be designed internally by each individual school and have some attainable selection criteria for applicants to consider when applying.
Secondary schools across Queensland with students meeting the eligibility criteria are encouraged to apply. If your school does not offer a QCE program, your students are not prevented from receiving scholarships – please refer to the document on the QATSIF website called QCE Scholarships for Transitioning Schools.