Indigenous Allied Health Australia | Workforce Support | Scholarships | Scholarships | Puggy Hunter Memorial Scholarship Scheme (PHMSS)

Puggy Hunter Memorial Scholarship Scheme (PHMSS) Applications are NOW OPEN!

About Puggy Hunter

Dr Arnold ‘Puggy’ Hunter is an outstanding and highly respected Aboriginal leader who dedicated much of his life to improving health and wellbeing outcomes experienced by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. Puggy was a pioneer within the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community-controlled sector, including serving as the inaugural chairperson of the National Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisation.

About the Puggy Hunter Memorial Scholarship

Named in his honour and to continue his legacy, the Puggy Hunter Memorial Scholarship provides scholarships to empower Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students to succeed in their undergraduate studies.

The scholarship provides access to financial, cultural, mentoring, and other supports for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students studying in health, including access to up to $15,000 per annum (full time) for the normal duration of the course.

These supports are administered under Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community control through Indigenous Allied Health Australia and the National Association of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Workers and Practitioners in partnership with Rural Doctors Network.

The program is funded by the Commonwealth through the Department of Health and Aged Care.

“As far as role models in health go, I would have to say, my late uncle, many of us may have been fortunate enough to receive a scholarship in his name (the Puggy Hunter Memorial Scholarship), but sadly not everyone knows his story. As one of the most influential Aboriginal men of our time, my uncle Puggy was a fierce grassroots leader who took community calls for change to the highest levels of government and made significant changes to the health policy landscape. He fought uncompromisingly until his last breath, and even still, his legacy lives on through the opportunities his scholarship continues to create for our mob.”

– Kimberley Hunter, IAHA Director

 

Eligible health areas

The scholarship is available to students studying across a diverse range of qualifications through vocational education and training and university. This includes:

  • Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander primary health care
  • Allied health (excluding pharmacy)
  • Dentistry and oral health (excluding dental assistants)
  • Medicine
  • Mental health studies
  • Nursing (Registered and Enrolled nursing)
  • Midwifery

For more information on eligible qualifications please refer here. 

Eligibility criteria

The program is intended to support Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students who are studying an entry level qualification, within an eligible health discipline.

As a result, applications will be considered from applicants who are:

  • of Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander descent
    Applicants must identify as and be able to confirm their Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander status.
  • enrolled or intending to enrol in an entry level or graduate entry level health related course
    Courses must be provided by an Australian registered training organisation or university. Funding is not available for postgraduate study but please check the eligible qualification list for more information, including on the Doctor of Medicine.
  • intending to study in the academic year that the scholarship is offered.

Please note: You do not need to be currently enrolled in a course to complete a scholarship application, you simply need to be intending to enrol in semester one for the coming year, at any accredited course provider in Australia.

If you have any questions, we encourage you to contact the team and/or apply.

Selection criteria

A significant number of applications are received each year and unfortunately not everyone who applies will be successful.

Scholarships will be awarded based on the recommendations of the independent, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander selection committee and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultural governance group, whose assessment will be based on how applicants address the following topics in the application process:

  • Why you chose to study in health
  • Your understandings of the legacy of Puggy Hunter / Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander leadership in health and what this means to you
  • How the scholarship would impact and support you to succeed; and
  • Who you are and how this shapes you.

The scholarships are also aimed to promote equity, so consideration may be given to factors such as students coming from rural and remote areas.

Value of scholarship

Funding is provided for the normal duration of the course from when the scholarship is awarded.

Full time scholarship awardees will receive up to $15,000 per year and part time recipients will receive up to $7,500 per year.

The funding is paid in 24 fortnightly instalments throughout the study period of each year.

Get in touch to find out more

The program is supported by dedicated Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander staff who are happy to respond to any questions or support you through the process. To find out more or get in touch, please use the details below.

e: phmss@iaha.com.au

p: 1800 413 933 (toll free)

m: 0447 289 623