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The Minister for Education, Julia Gillard, today announced arrangements for payment of the one-off $950 Training and Learning Bonus payment to eligible postgraduate scholarship students.

The one-off $950 Training and Learning Bonus is being extended to help certain postgraduate scholarship recipients under an administrative scheme, in addition to current student income support recipients and recipients of other income support payments returning to study or training who are already being paid the bonus.

Full-time students who were on student income support payments on 3 February 2009 are entitled to the one-off bonus payment.  Students who were not on income support on 3 February but who are now are also eligible as long as they enrol in approved full-time study by 30 June 2009.

In addition, the Training and Learning Bonus is now payable to a greater number of students through extension of the payment to eligible postgraduate scholarship students.

To be eligible, a student must be undertaking full-time study in a higher education degree by research program in Semester 1 2009, and

• be living in Australia on the date of claim, and
• be a citizen, or permanent resident, of Australia, and
• not already hold a research doctorate, and
• be in receipt of, for Semester 1 2009:
  - an Australian Postgraduate Award (APA), or
  - an Australian Postgraduate Award (Industry) (APA(I)) or a National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) PhD scholarship, or
  - a qualifying scholarship which is equivalent in value and in nature to a APA.

Higher education providers and the Council of Australian Postgraduate Associations (CAPA) are being asked to assist in the process by notifying postgraduate scholarship holders of their potential eligibility to receive the Training and Learning Bonus and the claim process.

Postgraduate students who believe they may be eligible for the bonus can apply through Centrelink. Application forms will be available at www.centrelink.gov.au 

Bonus payments to eligible postgraduate scholarship students are expected to be made from 18 May 2009. Payment will be credited directly into nominated bank accounts.

The Training and Learning Bonus is part of the Government’s $42 billion Nation Building and Jobs Plan announced on 3 February 2009 which is designed to support jobs across Australia and invest in the nation’s future long term economic growth.

The Training and Learning Bonus is designed to assist eligible students with the costs of studying during the 2009 academic year.

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