Accepting an offer

Successful applicants will be advised to accept or decline their offer by completing a form on RACS Unlock by the due date. When an offer is declined, the scholarship or grant is offered to the applicant who was next in line.

In accepting the offer, the recipient acknowledges and agrees to the Scholarships and Grants program conditions as outlined in the program policies and scholarship and grant guidelines.  

Successful Research applicants who have a supervisor, Head of Department and/or institution representative, must have their acceptance acknowledged by the relevant institution roles. This is managed through RACS Unlock. In the case of the recipient being a project team, the chief investigator must complete the RACS Unlock acceptance form.

Learning and Development (L&D) grants
L&D grants are usually paid directly to the recipient.  The Scholarships and Grants team emails a request to submit an invoice via RACS Unlock which includes the instructions for which details to provide on the invoice. Payment is made by 1 March of the grant year. Recipients will be required in their end-of-year report to include details of how the funds were spent.

Research scholarships
Payment of the annual value of the scholarship will be made to an administering institution by 1 March in the scholarship year. The administering institution is to pay the full scholarship value as a stipend directly to the recipient. The funds are not transferrable. Recipients will be required in their end-of-year report to include details of how the funds were spent.

General payment information
Recipients are advised to refer to a financial or taxation advisor to ascertain the taxability of the grant.
Funds are to be expended in line with RACS travel and accommodation policy (PDF 103.41KB).
Payment will be upheld when all policy and scholarship or grant conditions are satisfied. This is assessed via the requested activity reports.

Unless otherwise stated on each scholarship and grant webpage and guideline:

• activity cannot commence prior to the closing date of applications
• the tenure is the grant calendar year (Learning and Development Grants) or up to three years full-time or part-time equivalent (Research scholarships)
• activity must be completed by the end of the scholarship or grant tenure
• an amendment request must be submitted prior to the end of the tenure if the activity has not been completed

While undertaking scholarships or grant activity, a recipient, as a RACS representative, must ensure at all times that their conduct reflects this important representative role.

A scholarships and grants program recipient is obliged to:

- comply at all times with the RACS Code of Conduct, the Scholarships and Grants Program conditions as outlined in applicable policies and the respective guideline (listed on the webpage)
- comply with all instructions and directions (written, verbal or both) from RACS relating to the scholarship, grant or Fellowship 
- follow instructions from an international surgical college overseas and comply with their code of conduct 
- use their best endeavours to further the collegiate relationship between the RACS and international surgical colleges 
- carry out their activity in the topic, and in the manner, outlined in their application 
- only use the research methodologies outlined in their application 
- immediately notify RACS of the occurrence of any situation (either before, during or after a visit) that impacts on the scholarship or grant and/or collegiate relationships  
- otherwise act in a manner that will not negatively impact collegiate relationships.

Multi-year research opportunities are renewable annually for between two and three years. Renewal is subject to the recipient meeting the conditions of the Scholarships and Grants program, and opportunity-specific conditions and recipient obligations, as well as the recipient displaying satisfactory progress as determined from the mid-year scholarship report.

RACS may fund up to three years of a higher degree. Recipients who have completed a portion of their higher degree prior to receiving the scholarship may be funded for the remaining duration of their degree, providing it does not exceed three years.

 

Payment will be upheld when all Scholarships and grants program and opportunity-specific conditions and recipient obligations, including reporting, are satisfied.

Recipients are advised to refer to a financial or taxation advisor to ascertain the taxability of the grant.

Funds are to be expended in line with RACS travel and accommodation policy (PDF 103.41KB).

Learning and development grant recipients

The recipient must provide RACS with a valid invoice for the annual value of the grant, which will be paid to the recipient by 1 March of the grant year.
Recipients will be required in their end-of-year report to include details of how the funds were spent.

Research scholarship recipients

Where payment is via an administering institution (as stipulated in the guideline), payment of the annual value of the scholarship will be made to the institution by 1 March in the scholarship year (following request by the Scholarships and Grants team to the institution for a tax invoice).
The institution is to pay the scholarship in full to the RACS recipient in line with their internal process and timelines. Funds are not transferrable within the institution to another recipient. 
Where payment is direct to the recipient (as stipulated in the guideline) payment will be made according to the Learning and Development grant process.

In accepting an offer for the Scholarships and Grants program, the recipient agrees to all conditions and obligations and will for the duration of the opportunity:

- Undertake the activity as outlined in their application and approved by RACS.  
- Undertake the activity within the stipulated period. The activity cannot commence before 1 January and must have commenced by 31 December of the grant year or, for multi-year Research scholarships, within the two or three year scholarship tenure (or at the respective part-time tenure)
- Request an amendment to the activity or leave from RACS, or repay funds to RACS, should circumstances prohibit the fulfilment of the approved travel plans or activity 
- Provide an end of year report, and for multi-year research recipients - a mid-year report, in accordance with the respective scholarship or grant's reporting requirements.

SET Trainees and SET applicants who are offered a Learning and Development scholarship or grant that requires an interruption or deferral to SET training are required to upload evidence of written support from their specialty board with their acceptance form. 

SET Trainees and SET applicants applying for a Research scholarship that requires an interruption or deferral to SET training are required to request the written support from their specialty board prior to applying, and include evidence with their application.

Additionally, research recipients must agree to:

- continue to be enrolled in the higher degree named in their application (if enrolment in a higher degree is a requirement of the scholarship, as outlined in the eligibility requirements)
- if applicable, be supervised by the nominated supervisor or advise RACS and seek approval if there is a change of supervisor.

When accepting a research scholarship, or at any time during the scholarship’s tenure, recipients may apply to undertake the activity in a part-time capacity. Please note that some scholarships do not permit part-time activity - this will be stipulated on the scholarship guideline. For further information, please refer to the Part-time research scholarships policy (PDF 34.51KB). 

Requests to apply to undertake a scholarship in a part-time capacity may be made to the Scholarships and Grants team.

As requested, recipients must provide an end-of-year report on the scholarship or grant activity in a prescribed format in January of the year following the activity. 

Reports are reviewed by the ANZ Scholarship and Grant Committee  with copies sent to the relevant stakeholders and committees, including the donor or sponsor, as appropriate. 

The supervisor of Research scholarship recipients may, in the same time period, also be requested to report on the progress of the recipient.

Multi-year Research scholarship recipients are required to provide a combination of mid- and end-of-year reports. The continuation of multi-year scholarships in the following year will be dependent upon recipients displaying satisfactory progress through their mid-year reports. 

Scholarships and grants must be undertaken as per the approved application. Any proposed changes to an approved activity, including requests for leave, changing full-time //part-time status, extensions for up to 12 months past the activity tenure, and activity amendments, must be submitted for approval by RACS.

For further information, please refer to the relevant policies and submit a request to the Scholarships and Grants team. You will then be provided access to a form to complete in Unlock. 

Relevant policies:
Research scholarship leave policy
Part-time research scholarships policy (PDF 34.51KB)

 

Upon request from the Scholarship Evaluation and Monitoring Committee, recipients will be required to complete two scholarship evaluation surveys.

The first is due upon completion of the scholarship, with the second due approximately five years later.

These surveys are essential for the ongoing improvement of the program.