Paramedicine Prac Payment (PPP)

The current grant making strategy of the Vincent Fairfax Family Foundation (VFFF) is about Backing Young People with innovative opportunities that advance their independence, social purpose and future security.  The Paramedicine Prac Payment is available for eligible students undertaking placements between 1 July 2025 and 30 June 2026. Applications are open to domestic students, enrolled in a Commonwealth Supported Place (CSP), completing a Bachelor of Paramedicine.  The payment is designed to help students manage the costs associated with undertaking mandatory placements.  A payment of $331.65 per week, benchmarked to the single Austudy rate and indexed 1 January 2026, is available to eligible students for the duration of eligible placements.

You may also be able to access the Paramedicine Prac Payment if there are exceptional circumstances

To be eligible for the Paramedicine Prac Payment for subsequent placements in a calendar year, you must submit a new application and confirm that your circumstances have not changed and you remain eligible for the subsequent payment.

If a student does not successfully complete the placement that they have received payment for, they may retain the amount already received, however, further payments may be withheld until they have undertaken an equivalent eligible placement.

If a student withdraws from their course, before completing a placement that they have received Paramedicine Prac Payment funds for, they must repay, to the University, the amount equivalent to the portion of the practicum that was not completed.

Information provided as part of this application and/or other information relating to your studies at Charles Sturt University, will be shared with the Department of Education, for program development purposes.

Please be advised that the Paramedicine Prac Payment is considered assessable income for taxation and social security purposes and may impact the rate at which a person receives a social security payment. It is the responsibility of the student to report any payments to the relevant departments, including, but not limited to, the Australian Taxation Office, Department of Veteran Affairs and/or Services Australia.

Students who do not meet the eligibility requirements for this payment due to exceptional circumstances beyond their control, may apply under the Exceptional Circumstances criteria of this payment.  Applications for Exceptional Circumstances must be approved and may include circumstances such as medical / health related issues, disability or unforeseen events.  An applicant wishing to apply under this provision will need to make an application including:

• a statement explaining their exceptional circumstances
• supporting documentation such as:
  • medical certificates
  • statutory declarations
  • Individual Education Plan (IEP) / Study Access Plan
  • other relevant evidence

Applications for Exceptional Circumstances are made using the standard application form by completing the relevant fields.  They will be assessed on a case-by-case basis and must be submitted at least five weeks prior to the planned placement.  Applications submitted after this deadline may not be successful, or may have payment delayed.

By accepting the payment offer, you agree to:

• fulfil all requirements as set out in these guidelines;
• consent to Charles Sturt University accessing your student records for the purposes of assessing and administering the payment
• consent to Charles Sturt University providing  the Vincent Fairfax Family Foundation (VFFF) and/or Department of Education with any information relating to your application and your study with Charles Sturt University, for program development purposes
• the scholarship office making contact with you, where required, to ensure you remain eligible
• provide any change of individual circumstances in writing to the Scholarships Office scholarships@csu.edu.au ;
• provide information and participate in surveys for promotional purposes and review of this payment
• repay any Paramedicine Prac Payment funds received, for the portion of the practicum that was not completed, if you withdraw from the course
• complete at your own expense, any failed or deferred practicum that you already received Paramedicine Prac Placement funds for
• accept the terms and conditions of this payment.

  The University reserves the right to undertake audits of individual student’s records to ensure adherence to these guidelines.

Paramedicine Prac Payment is considered assessable income for taxation and social security purposes and may impact the rate at which a person receives a social security payment. Recipients are required to declare the amounts of Paramedicine Prac Payment they receive to:

• The Australian Taxation Office as part of annual tax returns (recipients should seek their own taxation advice)
• Services Australia, to assess their ongoing rates of social security payment or other allowance, if applicable
• Department of Veterans Affairs
• Any other department or agency which requires the student to declare their income

  ** Paramedicine Prac Payment recipients are responsible for managing potential impacts of the Paramedicine Prac Payment on any Commonwealth Income Support Payments (ISP) or financial assistance from other sources

Please seek independent taxation advice regarding your personal circumstance where required or visit Is your scholarship taxable?

Charles Sturt University will treat any information provided by the applicant within the terms of relevant privacy legislation. See Charles Sturt privacy policy for further information.

Due to privacy laws, any discussion of a payment application or discussion relating to a recipient, will only take place with the payment applicant/recipient, except for the requirement to provide documents to the VFFF and/or Department of Education for program development purposes, if requested.

The information collected will be used by authorised University staff to assess eligibility and administer the program. The information may also be used for assessment purposes for other scholarships, grants and equity programs across the University. Recipient names and email addresses may be made available to departments within the University for marketing and research purposes. No details will be used externally for any reason without the recipient’s consent, except the requirement to provide details to the VFFF and/or Department of Education, if requested. Students should be aware that they provide information of their own free will.

Personal and health information provided by the applicant will not be made available to any person within the University or external organisation for any other purpose without the applicant’s consent, except where it may be a legal requirement of the University to provide information, or where the information is required to be provided to the VFF and/or Department of Education.

If you're experiencing issues with your application, try these troubleshooting steps:

• Use Google Chrome as your browser (or switch to another browser if you're already using Chrome).
• Clear your Chrome cache .
• Ensure you only have one scholarship application open at a time.
• Try using a different device.
• If there's heavy traffic, wait a few hours and try again—errors can occur if many students are applying simultaneously.
• If the problem persists, feel free to contact Student Central for further assistance.

The Paramedicine Prac Payment program provides financial support to domestic students undertaking mandatory placements in the Bachelor of Paramedicine. It helps cover the living costs during these placements.

The Paramedicine Prac Payment Program commences on 1 July 2025 and will run until 30 June 2026.

Eligible students can receive $331.65 per week, benchmarked to the single Austudy rate and indexed at 1 January 2026, for the duration of their placement.

To be eligible, you must be:

• a domestic student enrolled in a Commonwealth Supported Place (CSP)
• completing a Bachelor of Paramedicine
• undertaking mandatory placements averaging 30 hours or more per week

Your placement details must be registered and approved in InPlace, to be eligible.

Yes, you must either be receiving a Commonwealth Income Support Payment (ISP) or demonstrate a need to work by showing you worked, on average, more than 15 hours per week in the four weeks prior to applying for or commencing your placement. Your average gross income must not exceed $1,500 per week.

Examples of acceptable documentation include, but are not limited to:

• Centrelink Income Statement (instructions for obtaining this document ) or Department of Veteran Affairs card / income statement

  OR
  payslips covering your last four weeks of work, during session

• Any other relevant documentation that supports your application.

The following payments are considered to be ISPs for the purposes for Paramedicine Prac Payment eligibility:

Centrelink ISP:
Age Pension
Austudy
Carer Payment
Disability Support Pension
JobSeeker Payment
Parenting Payment
Special Benefit
Farm Household Allowance
Youth Allowance

DVA payments:
Age Pension
Income Support Supplement
Service Pension
Veteran Payment
Education Allowance

ABSTUDY
ABSTUDY Living Allowance

If your application is marked as incomplete and additional information or documents are requested, you have 48 hours from the time you receive the notification to provide the required materials, unless you notify us of a delay.

Paramedicine Prac Payment is considered assessable income for taxation and social security purposes and may impact the rate at which a person receives a social security payment. Recipients are required to declare the amounts of Paramedicine Prac Payment they receive to:

• The Australian Taxation Office as part of annual tax returns (recipients should seek their own taxation advice)
• Services Australia, to assess their ongoing rates of social security payment or other allowance, if applicable
• Department of Veterans Affairs, if applicable
• Any other department or agency which requires to student to declare their income

Paramedicine Prac Payment recipients are responsible for managing potential impacts of Paramedicine Prac Payment on any Commonwealth Income Support Payments (ISP) or financial assistance from other sources

Please seek independent taxation advice regarding your personal circumstance where required or visit Is your scholarship taxable?

The payment amount is based on the number of weeks of each individual placement, with a maximum number of weeks determined by the accrediting body for your discipline.

• Bachelor of Paramedicine: maximum weeks - 8

A week is calculated as seven days, and commences on the first day of your placement.  You will need to meet the requirement to complete an average of 30 hours per week for the duration of your placement.

If you do not complete your placement that you have received payment for, you may retain the amount already received, however, further payments will be withheld until you undertake an equivalent eligible placement.

If you fail your placement, you may retain the amount already received.  If you wish to, you may apply again for the Paramedicine Prac Payment payment for the failed subject, however this will count towards your total weeks of Paramedicine Prac Payment available for your course and affect your eligibility for payments at the end of your course, once you exhaust your maximum allocation.

If you withdraw from your course, before completing a placement that you have received Paramedicine Prac Payment funds for, you must repay to the University, the amount equivalent to any Paramedicine Prac Payment funds received, for the portion of the practicum that was not completed. You will not have to repay any money for the previously completed placement.

Providing you meet the other criteria for this scholarship, and you placement is approved in InPlace, you will be eligible, regardless of where you placement takes place.

You need to confirm your eligibility at the beginning of each placement and provide updated evidence if there are any changes in your circumstances.

Yes, Paramedicine Prac Payment is available to full-time and part-time students; however the student must be able to meet the eligibility for placement and payment.

There are specific guidelines around the Exceptional Circumstances provision of the Paramedicine Prac Payment.  You will need to submit an exceptional circumstances application and it will be assessed on a case-by-case basis.

If you have exceptional circumstances, such as illness or disability, you can apply for consideration.  The scholarships team will assess your situation and will seek approval from the VFFF.  Please see the Exceptional Circumstances criteria for full details.

All eligible applicants will be granted the payment.  The University reserves the right to withhold or withdraw payments under certain circumstances where the student is unable to continue to meet the eligibility criteria or the funding for this payment is withdrawn.

Yes, you can save your application and return to complete it later, if you log back in and submit it before the closing date.

Your email receipt may take up to 24 hours to arrive.

• Have you checked your spam or junk mail folder?
• Did you enter the correct email address?

If you still haven't received the receipt after 24 hours, please email ask@csu.edu.au with your application number, name, and student ID.

You are able to apply for the Paramedicine Prac Payment (CPP) up to two months before your placement commences.

If you are receiving another scholarship or grant, you must advise the scholarship office in your application.  Other scholarship payments will be considered income for assessment purposes.

An email notification will be sent to you to advise the outcome of your application.

Where possible, you will be paid upfront, the week prior to the commencement of your placement.  Where applications were not received in time to process these payments prior to commencement, you will be paid as soon as possible following the commencement of your placement.  Payments will be made by direct transfer to your nominated bank account.

You can register your bank details with Charles Sturt University through the online administration portal.

If your circumstances change, it may impact your payments. Please notify us as soon as possible by emailing ask@csu.edu.au with any updates that could affect your original application.