A PhD candidate may apply for an extension of six months provided that the grounds are related to study and beyond the student's control and provided the candidate is making satisfactory progress. No extensions are possible for Masters by Research students.

Please Note: award holders who gain an extension to the APA/UPA who also hold additional forms of allowance (such as a Faculty living allowance) will not automatically be eligible to receive an extension of the additional allowance. Award holders should check with the appropriate Faculty/School office regarding the possibility of extensions for these awards.

 

1. Thesis Allowance

Award holders may be eligible for a thesis allowance for the cost of producing a Masters by Research thesis or Doctorate thesis.

2. Relocation Allowance

Students may be eligible for a relocation allowance for the cost of relocating themselves, their spouse and dependants to Sydney where this is necessary to undertake study.

Please click to download the Relocation and Thesis Allowance conditions.

Allowance claim forms can be downloaded here.

For further information on additional benefits and allowances please contact the Graduate Research School.

1. Recreation and Sick Leave

Recipients are entitled to 20 days paid recreation leave each year of the scholarship. Recreation leave may be accrued, but must be taken during the period of your scholarship. Recreation leave should be discussed with your Supervisor and Head of School/Postgraduate Coordinator. Approval for the leave must be obtained before recreation leave is taken.

Recipients are eligible for up to 10 working days paid sick leave each year (excluding weekends) and this may be accrued. Recipients are entitled to receive additional paid sick leave of up to a total of 12 weeks (60 working days) for the duration of the APA/UPA for periods of illness lasting longer than ten days. A medical certificate must be provided. If prolonged illness occurs, recipients must apply for a suspension of the scholarship.

Periods of sick leave in excess of the 10 days annual entitlement (including the accrual) will result in an extension of the award. Where a scholarship recipient is required to take sick leave to care for a sick child or family member the leave will be considered ‘sick leave’.


2. Maternity Leave

Recipients may take up to 12 weeks paid maternity leave during the tenure of the scholarship. Paid maternity leave cannot be taken in the first 12 months of the scholarship. The scholarship will be extended to compensate for an approved period of paid maternity leave. Unpaid maternity leave may be obtained by requesting a suspension.

3. Parenting Leave

Recipients who are partners of women giving birth and who have completed 12 months of their scholarship are entitled to a period of 10 days of paid parenting leave during the period 3 weeks prior to and 3 months after the expected birth or placement of the child. A medical certificate or a certified copy of the birth certificate should be included with your request for paid parenting leave.

Award holders are permitted to undertake a limited amount of paid work/employment during the working week or receive income (eg: from a scholarship or award). However, the employment or source of income must not interfere with their research or their ability to undertake full-time study. It is the University's expectation that full-time postgraduate research students will spend the equivalent of 35 hours per week on their research candidature and therefore it is not possible to be employed full-time and undertake full-time study (this includes UNSW staff lectureships).

Income from employment or another source (eg: a scholarship), that is paid to specifically support or undertake the research cannot exceed 75% of the scholarship base rate.

The Award will be terminated should any of the following occur:

The recipient must advise the Graduate Research School prior to making any change that may affect their eligibility for the Award. For example, transfer of program (Masters by Research to PhD etc), a change of address (can be made online at My UNSW), suspension of Award or program, if income from employment or another source paid to undertake the research exceeds 75% of the Award base rate etc. Where it is not possible to provide prior advice concerning a change, notification must be sent to the Graduate Research School within 7 days of the change. Failure to notify the Graduate Research School of any changes that may affect the recipient’s eligibility for the Award will result in termination of the Award.

Renewal of the Award each year will be subject to confirmation that progress has been satisfactory as per UNSW regulations.