Educational Access Scheme
Educational Access Scheme applications
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The Educational Access Scheme (EAS) aims to help students who have experienced significant educational disadvantage receive an offer to university.
To apply for EAS you must be able to demonstrate that, as a result of circumstances beyond your control or choosing, your studies were negatively affected during:
- Year 11 and/or Year 12
or
- the period in which you gained the qualifications you are using to seek admission to an undergraduate course.
If you are in Year 12, this is calculated to the end of October, when studies for the HSC are completed.
You must also be:
- a UAC undergraduate applicant
- an Australian citizen, a New Zealand citizen or a permanent resident of Australia (including a holder of an Australian permanent resident humanitarian visa).
International students cannot apply for EAS.
How to apply
Before starting your application, check the eligibility criteria for each EAS disadvantage and the general requirements for all documents (below).
Step 1 - Submit your undergraduate application through UAC.
Step 2 - Select ‘Apply for EAS’ at the bottom of the undergraduate application confirmation page or log in to your completed undergraduate application and select ‘EAS’.
Step 3 - Open the category of disadvantage you wish to claim. Select the specific disadvantages that apply to you and answer the follow-up questions. When you have selected all the relevant disadvantages in that category, click ‘Save’. Repeat for each category you wish to claim.
Step 4 - Agree to the Declaration and Authority and submit your EAS application.
Step 5 - Download your Confirmation of Application and the document cover sheet for each of your claimed disadvantages. The document cover sheet details the eligibility criteria for the disadvantage and the supporting documents you need to provide.
Step 6 - Upload completed cover sheets and supporting documents to your application at least two weeks before the undergraduate offer round in which you wish to be considered (or as advised in the key dates).
You can only submit one EAS application in each admissions period.
Your application cannot be assessed until your supporting documents have been uploaded.
| Dates | Event |
|---|---|
| 6 April 2023 | Eligibility letters progressively emailed to non-current Year 12 applicants whose assessment is complete |
| 29 September 2023 | Early bird application deadline for undergraduate admission: undergraduate application charge increases |
| 23 November 2023 | Deadline to submit your EAS application and documents to guarantee receipt of you eligibility letter by 14 December (before December Round 2) and for your EAS eligibility to be considered in December Round 2 |
| 14 December 2023 | Eligibility letters emailed to all applicants whose assessment is complete |
| 26 December 2023 | Deadline to submit your EAS application and documents to have them considered in January Round 1 |
| 2 February 2024 | EAS applications close |
UAC will confirm your EAS application has been submitted by sending you an email.
Once you have submitted your application, you will not be able to delete selected disadvantages or uploaded documents, but you will be able to add new disadvantages and documents.
If you’ve submitted your EAS application but want to add more disadvantages, simply log in to your application, add the new disadvantages and upload documentation to support your claim. You will need to provide a completed document cover sheet and supporting documentation for the new claims.
The closing dates and guidelines that applied to your original application also apply to additional claims and documentation.
Adding disadvantages to an existing EAS application may result in an offer of admission in an upcoming offer round, but will not result in reconsideration of offers of admission made by institutions in previous offer rounds.
All information you provide is treated as confidential according to UAC’s Privacy Policy and institution privacy statements. Only authorised personnel at UAC and institutions will have access to your application. Your personal information can only be released to a third party in special circumstances, such as where the law requires it, or where you give permission.
Providing documents to support your application
All documents must be uploaded as PDFs to your application.
All applicants are required to write an applicant statement as part of their EAS application. Some applicants also need to provide an educational impact statement or a medical impact statement.
- All documents must be legible and easy to read.
- All documents must be uploaded as PDFs to your application. No hardcopy documents will be accepted.
- If you have documents under a previous name: Supply evidence of your change of name, such as a marriage certificate, deed poll registration or other registration with the Registry of Births, Deaths & Marriages. The documentation must show your previous and current names.
- If your documents are not in English: You must supply a copy of:
- the document in the original language
- an English translation of the document.
Your documents must be translated by Multicultural NSW (visit multicultural.nsw.gov.au) or a translator accredited by the National Accreditation Authority for Translators and Interpreters (NAATI). Note that NAATI itself does not provide translation services.
If you don't have all your documents now: We recommend you submit your application and supporting documents at the same time. UAC can only assess EAS applications based on the documentation provided with your EAS application. Documents provided at a later date will be assessed but there is no guarantee the updated assessment will be considered in time for a particular offer round. Instead, the updated assessment may be considered in subsequent offer rounds.
You need to provide an applicant statement for each disadvantage you claim.
When writing your applicant statement:
- complete the statement yourself, in your own words
- provide the factual details requested
- be as precise and specific as possible.
If you need more room to write your statement, use a separate sheet of paper.
The educational impact statement is an essential part of most EAS applications. It provides independent evidence:
- that an applicant has or hasn’t been educationally disadvantaged
- of the extent of the educational impact of any disadvantage experienced.
The educational impact statement needs to confirm or qualify the information in the applicant statement.
If we require you to provide an educational impact statement, a form will be included in the confirmation package generated when you complete your EAS application.
What you need to do
Provide the person completing the educational impact statement with a copy of your applicant statement, as they are required to comment on the circumstances and accuracy of your statement. If it is clear that the person completing the educational impact statement has not seen your applicant statement, your claim may not be assessed.
Once the statement has been written, upload it to your UAC application.
Who can write your educational impact statement
The educational impact statement must:
- be completed by a responsible person who can comment on the impact of your disadvantage on your education
- not be altered, or added to, by you in any way.
If you're a current Year 12 student, the educational impact statement must:
- be completed by your school/college principal, counsellor, year adviser or careers adviser
- explain if or how the educational disadvantage you’ve experienced has affected your educational performance.
If you’re unable to have your school complete the statement, it must be completed by a responsible person. A responsible person is a doctor, lawyer, accountant, social worker, counsellor, religious or community leader who is familiar with your circumstances and who can provide information regarding your disadvantage and its effect on your ability to study. The person must:
- not be a family member or a friend
- confirm their relationship to you
- explain if or how the educational disadvantage you’ve experienced has affected your educational performance.
You must also attach an explanation as to why your school can’t complete the statement.
Educational impact statement guidance for schools
If you're not a current Year 12 student, the educational impact statement must be completed by a responsible person. A responsible person is a doctor, lawyer, accountant, social worker, counsellor, religious or community leader who is familiar with your circumstances and who can provide information regarding your disadvantage and its effect on your ability to study. The person must:
- not be a family member or a friend
- confirm their relationship to you
- explain if or how the educational disadvantage you’ve experienced has affected your educational performance.
If you’re claiming ‘Personal illness/disability’ (disadvantage code P01A), a medical impact statement must be supplied. If it isn’t provided your claim may not be assessed.
The medical impact statement must:
- be completed by a registered health professional who is treating your medical condition/disability
- not be completed by the same person who completed the educational impact statement
- not be altered, or added to, by you in any way.
A registered health professional is a medical practitioner, psychologist or specialist who is familiar with your circumstances and who can provide information about the medical condition/disability and its effect on your ability to study. The person must not be a family member or friend.
If you’re providing health information about someone other than yourself, such as a parent or family member, where possible, you should obtain that person’s consent by asking that person to complete, sign and date the provision of third party health information declaration. The declaration is automatically included in the document cover sheet for claims of ‘Severe or life-threatening illness of a family member or close friend’ (disadvantage code H01B); otherwise download the declaration from the online application under ‘Categories of Disadvantage’.
Documents are held by UAC for seven years from submission.
Hard copy documents submitted after April 2019 were scanned and uploaded for assessment and then disposed of.
Documents posted or delivered in a previous admissions period can be returned to you for a fee. To have your documents returned, download and complete the document return form.
If you are applying for the Australian National University’s National Access Scheme (NAS) and have supporting documents on ANU letterhead, you can use these documents for your EAS application through UAC.
Categories of disadvantage and required documents
Most of the disadvantages you can claim require you to providing supporting documents
EAS FAQs
Answers to common questions about applying for EAS
Application dates
14 Dec 2023
EAS: Eligibility letters released for December Round 2
EAS eligibility letters released to all applicants with finalised assessment for December Round 2.
26 Dec 2023
EAS: Closing date for EAS applications for January Round 1
Apply and provide documents for EAS by midnight to have your application considered in January Round 1.
02 Feb 2024
EAS: Closing date for EAS applications for semester 1, 2024
Apply and provide documents for EAS by midnight to have your application considered for semester 1, 2024 admissions.
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