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Scholarship holding research students returning to The University of Western Australia this year will, for the first time, receive Top-Up Scholarships valued at $5,000 in response to the Australian Postgraduate Award (APA) falling below subsistence level.

"Our Scholarships Committee is strongly committed to equity and wanted to support both new and current postgraduate research scholarship students," UWA Vice-Chancellor Professor Alan Robson said.

UWA's new $2.3million ‘Safety-Net' Top-Up Scheme was introduced by the Scholarships Committee for 2009 in order to raise the basic postgraduate stipend at UWA above the current APA allowance of $20,427 per annum.

UWA postgraduate students have welcomed the boost as it helps them to focus on their research.

"I have been working part-time to the extent it has affected my research, because of the low amount presently available. The rise to $25,000 p.a. is a significant increase (i.e. it pays for my rent for a year) and so means I can put more time and effort into my research rather than working part-time," said post graduate Animal Biology student Alex Wells.

"This is excellent news. The email came at just the best time - when I was considering moving because my rent has just been increased - now I don't have to," said PhD student in Plant Biology Jillian Ooi.

To date some 140 new UWA APA and University Postgraduate Awards (UPAs) scholarship awardees and almost 400 current postgraduate research scholarship holders have been offered the Top-Ups.

UWA and other Group of Eight Universities continue to lobby the Federal Government to raise the APA stipend to at least $30,000 per annum to provide a living wage for postgraduate research students who are not eligible for any other forms of student income support.

Media references

Heather Williams (+61 8) 6488 4740/2807 / (+61 4) 32 525 601
(UWA Graduate Research and Scholarships Office)
Sally Ann Jones (UWA Public Affairs) (+61 8) 6488 7975 / (+61 4) 20 790 098