Overview of Scholarship
The ACT Education Directorate is the ACT Government agency responsible for public education across Canberra, from preschool through to college. It supports the Territory’s public schools and the students, families, teachers and school leaders who make up that system.
The Directorate has partnered with the Public Education Foundation to offer the ACT Education Directorate Secondary Scholarship. Two scholarships are offered each year to students at ACT public schools, and each scholarship is held for two years. The reason for offering them is a straightforward one. The cost of taking part in school life adds up, and for some families it adds up faster than it should. A device, a uniform, a camp, a set of textbooks, the fees for a sport or a music program – these are the things that quietly decide whether a student gets the full experience of their schooling or only part of it. This scholarship is there to make sure the answer is the full experience.
The Directorate is looking for students who bring a positive attitude to school, who get involved in what their school offers, and who give something back to their community.
Is this scholarship for you?
This scholarship is for you if you are enrolled at an ACT public school, you have at least two more years of secondary school ahead of you, you approach your schooling positively, and you take part in school life, your community or extracurricular activities. If that does not describe your situation, the Public Education Foundation offers many other scholarships across Australia. Take the Eligibility Quiz on PEF-Apply and it will match you to every scholarship that suits you.
Eligibility Criteria
To be eligible for the ACT Education Directorate Secondary Scholarship, the nominee must:
- be enrolled at an ACT public school, which includes ACT public high schools and colleges
- be enrolled full-time, and remain enrolled full-time for the whole of each scholarship year
- have at least two full years of secondary schooling remaining, so that the two-year scholarship can be held to its end. For the 2027 round this means students who will be in Years 7 to 11 in 2027
- show a positive attitude towards their schooling
- take part in school life
- contribute to their community, take part in extracurricular activities, or both
- not currently hold another Public Education Foundation scholarship. A student can only hold one PEF scholarship at a time
The application will also ask for the following, so have them ready before you start:
- an endorsement from the nominee’s school principal
- a personal statement from the nominee addressing the eligibility criteria above
- the nominee’s school and year level details
- parent or carer consent where the nominee is under 18
Selection Process
All applications are made online through PEF-Apply. Once applications close, they are read and assessed by an independent panel of reviewers. A representative of the ACT Education Directorate is invited to sit on the panel each year.
The panel assesses each nominee against the eligibility criteria and against the strength of their personal statement and principal endorsement. It then recommends nominees for the scholarship. Recommendations go to the Public Education Foundation Board for final approval.
Panels meet between September and November. Outcomes are approved by the PEF Board in November and every applicant is notified in December, whether they have been successful or not.
Once a nominee is recommended for this scholarship, they are no longer available for other PEF scholarships in the same round.
Funding/Assistance
Each scholar receives $1,500 per year for two years, a total of $3,000. Two scholarships are awarded each year.
Payments are made annually by electronic transfer into a bank account in the scholar’s name. Before the first payment can be made, the scholar needs to provide the Public Education Foundation with confirmed evidence of full-time enrolment at their public school. Each payment covers a full scholarship year.
At the end of each year, every scholar’s progress is reviewed. The review looks at academic progress and confirms continuing full-time enrolment. Where progress is satisfactory and enrolment is confirmed, payments continue into the second year. Where progress is unsatisfactory or the scholar is not enrolled full-time, payments may be paused until PEF is satisfied the scholar can meet these conditions again. Personal, financial or health circumstances are taken into account, and special consideration can be given so that payments continue.
A scholar can defer their studies for up to twelve months where PEF accepts the circumstances behind the deferment. Personal, financial and health reasons are all accepted grounds.
The scholarship is more than the payment. All PEF scholars have access to Studiosity, an online study support service that connects students with subject specialists for help with their work. Scholars and their families are also invited to Proudly Public, the Foundation’s annual celebration of public education, held each May.
Acceptable Use of Scholarship Funds
Scholarship funds are for costs connected to the scholar’s education. That includes:
- a laptop, tablet or other device, and internet access at home
- textbooks, stationery, calculators and course materials
- school uniforms, shoes and sports uniforms
- excursions, camps and school activity fees
- transport to and from school
- tutoring and study support
- fees, equipment and lessons for sport, music, the arts or other extracurricular activities
- specialist equipment or materials for elective subjects
The funds are not intended for general household expenses that are not connected to the scholar’s education.
Scholars are asked to report at the end of each year on how the scholarship has helped them. This report also supports their eligibility for the second year of payments.
Application Form
Applications are completed on PEF-Apply, the Public Education Foundation’s online application platform.
The person who fills in the form is the applicant. The applicant may be the nominee themselves or someone acting on their behalf, such as a parent, carer or teacher. The person being put forward for the scholarship is the nominee.
The form asks for:
- the nominee’s details, including their school and year level
- contact details for the applicant and for a parent or carer where the nominee is under 18
- a personal statement from the nominee addressing the eligibility criteria
- an endorsement from the nominee’s school principal
PEF-Apply includes an Eligibility Quiz. Answer its questions and it will match the nominee to every PEF scholarship they are eligible for, not just this one. The answers given in the application form transfer across to each scholarship the nominee actually applies for, so there is no need to fill in the same information twice. If the nominee does not open the other scholarships, their answers stay with this one.
How to Apply
- Go to publiceducationfoundation.org.au and follow the link to PEF-Apply.
- Create an account, or sign in if you already have one.
- Take the Eligibility Quiz. It will show you every scholarship the nominee is eligible for.
- Open the ACT Education Directorate Secondary Scholarship and complete the application form.
- Write the personal statement. Address each of the eligibility criteria and use examples. Tell us what the nominee is involved in at school and in their community, and what the scholarship would make possible.
- Ask the nominee’s principal for their endorsement. Give them plenty of notice. Principals are busy and endorsements left to the last day are the most common reason an application is not finished in time.
- Review the whole application before submitting.
Submitting Your Application
Applications for the 2027 ACT Education Directorate Secondary Scholarship open on Monday 20 July 2026 and close on Friday 25 September 2026.
Applications must be submitted through PEF-Apply. Applications are not accepted by email or post.
Submit before the closing date. The system closes at the deadline and late applications cannot be accepted.
You can save your application and come back to it. It is only submitted once you press submit, and you will receive confirmation on screen and by email. If you do not receive that confirmation, your application has not been submitted, so please contact us.
Every applicant is notified of the outcome in December 2026, whether successful or not.
Further Information and Contact Details
If you have a question about this scholarship, about the application form or about anything in this kit, please get in touch. We would much rather answer a question than see a good application go unfinished.
Public Education Foundation
105 Phillip Street, Parramatta NSW 2150
02 7814 2806
scholarships@publiceducationfoundation.org.au
publiceducationfoundation.org.au
The ACT Education Directorate Secondary Scholarship is funded by the ACT Education Directorate and administered by the Public Education Foundation.
