Overview of Scholarship
Teachers Health Group was created by teachers for teachers more than 70 years ago. It has grown into Australia’s largest industry-based health fund and one of the nation’s leading not-for-profit health insurers, covering the Teachers Health, Nurses and Midwives Health, UniHealth, TUH and Union Health brands. It is the only health fund in Australia dedicated to teachers, educators, nurses and midwives, and it gives back to those communities through scholarships, sponsorships and health and wellbeing programs.
The Teachers Health Early Career Scholarship is part of that commitment. Teachers Health Group and the Public Education Foundation offer it to teachers at the very start of their careers, when strong professional learning shapes everything that follows and when funding for it is often hardest to find. The scholarship provides $12,000 for approved professional development, taken either as one substantial course or as a set of learning activities the teacher builds themselves.
Is this scholarship for you?
This scholarship is for teachers early in their career in an Australian government school, who intend to stay in the public system, and who have a clear idea of the professional learning they want to do and what it will change in their classroom. You will need your principal behind you. If this one is not the right fit, PEF offers scholarships for principals, teachers and executives at other career stages. Take the Eligibility Quiz in PEF-Apply and it will show you every scholarship that suits you.
Eligibility Criteria
To apply for the Teachers Health Early Career Scholarship you must:
- be a teacher in a government school in Australia, in the first three years of your teaching career
- be committed to continuing as a teacher in the government school system for at least another five years
- be available to share what you learn and to act as an ambassador for the Public Education Foundation and Teachers Health Group after your professional development
- have the support of your principal, who must provide a written reference confirming they will support your study and release you from teaching if that is needed
- have read and accepted PEF’s Teachers, Principals and Executives Terms and Conditions
The application form also asks for your residency status and the month and year you commenced teaching, so have those details ready.
You may hold only one Public Education Foundation scholarship at a time.
Selection Process
A selection panel reviews every application and assesses it against the selection criteria below. The panel includes representatives of the Public Education Foundation, Teachers Health Group and independent experts. The panel may ask shortlisted applicants to take part in an interview. It then recommends the successful applicants to the Public Education Foundation Board for approval.
All reviewing is done in PEF-Apply.
Selection criteria
- evidence of significant potential as a classroom teacher
- commitment to the values of public education
- capability for leadership into the future
- enthusiasm for furthering your own professional development and education
- a clear demonstration of why you need the professional development you have asked for, and what you expect it to achieve
- how you will use the knowledge in your classroom and share it with colleagues at your school
- other personal qualities and circumstances that add to your suitability for the scholarship
A note for principals
Your reference carries real weight in the panel’s deliberations, so please go well beyond confirming that the applicant teaches at your school. The panel wants your view of the applicant’s potential as a teacher and as a future leader. The reference should be on school letterhead where possible, and must include your name and title, and be signed and dated.
Timing
Applications for the 2027 round open on Monday 7 September 2026 and close at 5:00 pm on Wednesday 27 January 2027. The panel meets after applications close and applicants are notified of the outcome during Term 1, 2027.
Funding and Assistance
The scholarship provides $12,000 towards approved professional development or professional learning. You can put it towards a single course or spread it across a set of activities.
If you are successful you will be asked to submit a detailed proposal setting out your intended study and the costs involved. PEF approves that proposal before any funds are released.
Your professional development must be completed within three years of the scholarship being awarded. PEF may review this in extenuating circumstances.
Acceptable Use of Scholarship Funds
Scholarship funds are for the professional development set out in your approved proposal, including reasonable travel costs where the learning requires it.
Funds cannot be used to back-fill your position while you undertake your professional development.
The scholarship is not intended to be shared with colleagues for the professional development itself. Sharing what you have learned is expected, and it happens after you have completed the learning.
If your plans change after your proposal is approved, contact PEF before you spend anything. Changes need to be approved in writing.
At the end of your professional development you will be asked to acquit the funds. That means a simple financial acquittal showing what you spent, a written summary of the experience and how you are applying the learning, and photos or video where you have them. If you undertake more than one course, PEF and Teachers Health Group ask for an update after each one.
Application Form
Before you start, gather the following so you can work through the form in one sitting.
Your details:
- full name, phone number, address and email
- residency status
- the month and year you commenced teaching
Your school’s details:
- school name and address
- principal’s name and email
- total enrolment
- student attendance rate
- percentage of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students
- percentage of EAL/D students
- percentage of students with special needs
Your written responses:
- a personal statement about yourself, your commitment to teaching and to public education (maximum 400 words)
- what motivates and inspires you to make a difference in, and for, public education (maximum 300 words)
- a short description of the course or courses you are asking for (maximum 300 words)
- why you have chosen this professional development, what you expect it to achieve, and how it will contribute to your plans and your school’s (maximum 300 words)
- your plan for sharing what you learn with colleagues and using it in the classroom (maximum 200 words)
- estimated costs for the professional development, including travel
Your attachment:
- a reference from your principal confirming they support your study and will release you from teaching if that is needed (PDF, maximum 400 words)
How to Apply
Applications are made online through PEF-Apply, the Public Education Foundation’s application platform.
- Go to PEF-Apply and create an account, or sign in if you already have one.
- Take the Eligibility Quiz. It matches you to every PEF scholarship you are eligible for, so you may find you can apply for more than one.
- Open the Teachers Health Early Career Scholarship and complete the application form. Your answers carry across to any other scholarship you open in PEF-Apply, so you do not need to type the same information twice.
- Ask your principal for their reference early. It is the part of the application most likely to hold you up.
- Read PEF’s Teachers, Principals and Executives Terms and Conditions before you submit.
You can save your application and come back to it as often as you like before you submit.
Submitting Your Application
Applications close no later than 5:00 pm on Wednesday 27 January 2027. Late applications are not accepted, so give yourself room, particularly around the summer holidays when principals may be harder to reach.
Before you submit, check that every question is answered and your principal’s reference is attached. Once you submit, the application is locked and cannot be edited.
You will receive an email confirming that your application has been received. If it does not arrive, contact us so we can check.
All applicants are notified of the outcome during Term 1, 2027, whether or not they are successful.
Further Information and Contact Details
If you have a question about the scholarship or need a hand with your application, please get in touch. We are happy to talk it through.
Public Education Foundation
105 Phillip Street, Parramatta NSW 2150
02 7814 2806
scholarships@publiceducationfoundation.org.au
publiceducationfoundation.org.au
