Entitlements for ADS Awardees

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Scholarship entitlements include: a contribution to living expenses (CLE), tuition fees, airfares, establishment allowance, health cover and some overseas fieldwork travel costs.

Contribution to Living Expenses (CLE)
Students are responsible for all their own expenses in Australia including the expenses of any family members. A CLE is paid to Students as a contribution to assist in meeting every day living costs such as accommodation, food, entertainment, etc. The CLE rate for Students commencing 2009 is $25,000 per annum. The CLE is paid fortnightly, in arrears, to all eligible Students for the full period of their ADS. The Institution will pay the fortnightly CLE into the bank account nominated by the Student within five days of their arrival in Australia. The Institution will assist Students upon arrival to open a bank account. The CLE commences on the Student’s date of arrival in Australia and ceases five days after the Student completes their award. For coursework Students this is up to five days after examination results are released. For research Students this is up to five days after the submission of their thesis.

Tuition Fees
The scholarship covers the student’s academic fees and any compulsory fees. This payment is made directly by AusAID to the institution.

Airfares
The scholarships provide a return economy class air fare for the student from the home country to Australia. Fares are provided for the most direct route only and only for the student, not the family.

Establishment Allowance
Students are provided with a once only Establishment Allowance upon arrival in Australia to be used at the Students’ discretion. The Establishment Allowance is a contribution towards expenses such as rental bonds, text books, study materials, additional medical insurance, home contents insurance and excess baggage upon return home, etc. The full Establishment Allowance of A$ 5000 will  be paid into the bank account nominated by the Student upon arrival in Australia.

Reunion Travel
The reunion airfare is intended to give Students who have been separated from their spouse or children, for the purpose of undertaking studies in Australia, to be reunited with them once a year. Entitlement for an annual reunion airfare is limited to those students who do not have any of their immediate family (those eligible for an AusAID Dependant Visa) accompanying them to Australia. Students’ entitlement to the reunion airfare does not take effect until they have successfully completed their first year of study. Eligibility for the reunion airfare will be based on a scholarship being for a minimum of 2 academic years.

Overseas Student Health Cover
The Australian Government requires international students to register for Overseas Student Health Cover (OSHC), and maintain OSHC throughout their stay. Students under ADS will have this health insurance paid for them.

The OSHC does not provide full health cover and it is the students' responsibility to be aware of what it does cover and then to take out additional cover at their own cost if necessary.

A routine operation in Australia can add up to thousands of dollars in hospital charges and doctors’ fees. OSHC helps pay for these services, ensuring that students and their dependants have access to health care when they need it. OSHC covers doctors’ and specialists’ fees, pathology, prescription medicines and emergency ambulance transport, among other things. OSHC pays 85 per cent of Government-scheduled fees for services provided outside of hospital, and 100 per cent of the fees for services provided in hospital.

Students can choose to pay extra for extra cover, such as dental or optical services, but the student must pay these extra costs themselves.

Overseas Fieldwork
If research makes up at least half of the study program, a student studying a research program may receive one return economy airfare to their home country to undertake fieldwork that is essential to their research program.

Supplementary Academic Support
Students are entitled to funding from ADS for supplementary academic support if their institution considers that they need support in order to successfully complete their course, and if the student has already used existing institution facilities as much as possible but still requires more assistance. Supplementary academic support will only be funded if the student will probably fail without it. It will not be allocated simply to improve grades.

This provision may be used for thesis editing, but not for word processing. The institution will arrange the supplementary support.

Transport and other costs
Students should be aware that costs of daily transport to their education institution are not covered by the scholarship, nor are costs of text books and course materials normally included in the tuition fees. These items need to be budgeted for from the fortnightly stipend.

Accommodation
Institutions participating in the ADS scheme are required to meet new ADS students at the airport on arrival and take them to their initial accommodation.
Institutions are also responsible for arranging accommodation for students and their families for the first seven days they are in Australia. Students are responsible for the cost of this accommodation, but institutions will try to find accommodation that is reasonably priced, with appropriate furniture and facilities. Students are responsible for finding their own long-term accommodation.

Dependant Families Entitlements
Students may be entitled to bring their family with them to Australia. This will vary from country to country and depends on the policy of the home government.

More information about family entitlements is available from GRM. For further information about living expenses for families please go to the section titled: Life in Australia.

Entry to Australia (Visas) for Dependant Families
When family members want to visit for less than three months, they can apply for a visitor’s visa.
Students’ spouses and dependent children, who want to stay with them for a period of three months or more, are eligible for an AusAID student dependant visa. In order to qualify, students need to have a scholarship for at least one academic year with at least three months remaining by the time the family arrives. Applicants will be required to submit proof of sufficient funds to support their family while in Australia (e.g. bank statements). The amount of sufficient funds will be determined by Department of Immigration and Citizenship (DIAC) according to the number of family members.
For more information on the Department of Immigration and Citizenship (DIAC), please visit the website at: www.immi.gov.au

There can be advantages in students traveling alone to Australia in the first instance and bringing their families once they have established themselves.  The student’s  institution is required to confirm that they have “no objection” to the student’s family mobilising to accompany them, following discussions with the student.

Students arrange family entry through the Student Contact Officer at their institution and should allow about one month for the request to be processed. The Student Contact Officer will contact GRM to facilitate the family entry application in liaison with the Department of Immigration and Citizenship (DIAC).  The student must provide some or all of the following documentation before DIAC will issue the dependents with a visa: (i) proof of purchase of additional medical insurance (OSHC) to cover the family; (ii) proof of enrolment of school-age children; (iii) a letter of “no objection” from the University; (iv) proof that appropriate accommodation is available (e.g. copy of rental contract).

The student must be able to pay for the return airfares of all family members, and be able to support the family in Australia. Apart from the financial cost, it is worth considering the adjustment that dependants will need to make in their school, work and social environment.

Schooling for dependants:
Children will need to be provisionally enrolled in a school before leaving the home country. Children may attend school in all States and Territories free of school fees, but conditions vary among Australian States and Territories. There may be some charges for English language training, or schooling for children of non-compulsory school age.

Most schools provide after-school care and many universities provide childcare services on-campus. There are fees charged for these services.

Work conditions for dependants:
As of 1 December 2003 dependants of ADS students undertaking a Masters course may be permitted to work unlimited hours provided the ADS student has started their Masters course. This does not include pre-course English or other preparation courses before the start of their Masters studies. Additional information regarding ADS students work rights is available from the Student Contact Officer at each institution.

It should be noted that employment opportunities for dependants are limited, and it may take time to find employment. Also, adequate arrangements need to be made for childcare. Employment opportunities will also vary depending on the area the student chooses to live in. In general, larger capital cities will offer more opportunity than smaller rural towns. However, larger cities are also more expensive to live in.

Living in Australia
For detailed information about Australia, its history, culture, climate, cost of living and State and city information please go to Life in Australia.