Applicants for this scholarship must be Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islanders. For the purposes of this scholarship, an Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander is someone who is of Australian Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander descent, or who identifies as an Australian Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander and is accepted as such by the community in which he or she lives or has lived. Applicants will be asked to provide a letter from an Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander community organisation supporting their claim.

To be awarded a scholarship, applicants must be currently enrolled at an Australian Medical School, and have successfully completed their first year of a medical degree. However, students who are currently in their first year of medicine are eligible to apply. In awarding the scholarship, preference will be given to applicants who do not already hold any other substantial scholarship.

The scholarship will be awarded on the recommendation of an advisory committee appointed by the AMA’s Indigenous Health Taskforce.  Selection of the scholarship recipient will be based on:

• satisfactory academic performance judged on results achieved;
• reports from referees familiar with applicant’s work and suitability for a career in medicine; and
• a statement provided by the applicant describing his or her aspirations, purpose in studying medicine, and the uses to which he or she hopes to put their medical training.

Each applicant will be asked to provide a 2 page curriculum vitae including employment history, the contact details of two referees, and a transcript of the most recent results.

The scholarship will be awarded for a full course of study, subject to review at the end of each year. If a scholarship holder fails to complete the course of study set down for any year, the scholarship must be surrendered. If a scholarship holder's performance in any semester is unsatisfactory in the opinion of the head of the medical faculty or institution, further payments under the scholarship may be withheld.

The value of any scholarship given in 2012 will be a maximum of $9,000 per annum. Please note that it is the responsibility of applicants to seek advice from Centrelink, on how the scholarship payment may affect ABSTUDY or any other government payment.

Applications close Tuesday 31 January 2012.

The Indigenous Peoples' Medical Scholarship Trust Fund has been established in 1994 with a contribution from the Australian Government.  The Trust is administered by the Australian Medical Association.