FAQs

Please note: Applications have now closed.

To apply and be eligible for RESP, students will need to provide evidence of being enrolled or in the process of enrolling in an eligible course that commences in 2023 or 2024.  

Candidates will be notified of their application outcome via email once this has been processed by the Future of Work Team. Please ensure that you check your emails, including your spam folder, once you have submitted an application. 

Note that if a response to email communications (e.g. request for further application information, request for documentation required to formalise Program approval) is not received by the specified deadline, a candidate’s application will be withdrawn and closed.

Please note: Applications have now closed.

To be eligible for the program, candidates will be assessed against criteria to determine their eligibility.

This includes:

• The industry area of study. Courses from a broad range of industry areas will be considered, however, key focus areas include health, early childhood education and care, engineering, construction, agriculture, IT and Business.

• Course type. Students must be enrolled or in the process of enrolling in a course that commences in 2023 or 2024. Eligible courses include Certificate I-IVs, Diplomas, Associate Degrees, Advanced Diplomas, Bachelor's Degrees, Undergraduate and Graduate Certificates, VET Skill Sets and Microcredentials listed on the national marketplace.

• Place of residence. Students must live or work in one of the following regional areas to be eligible for the program: Bowen Basin and Mackay in Qld, Upper Spencer Gulf and Roxby Downs in SA, the Pilbara and Goldfields region in WA or the Upper Hunter Region in NSW. Please note, temporary residence on-campus for the duration of your studies is not considered a primary residence for the purposes of the Program.

• Purpose and community contribution. Students must demonstrate how they will use the course to support their career progression and local community needs.

Please note: Applications have now closed.

The Regional Education and Skills Program is a BHP funded initiative that has been launched as part of the Future of Work Program to support skills development in regional Australia. The program will take the place of the 2022 Short Course Program, and eligible students will receive a financial contribution towards their tuition fees for a course of their choosing.

Please note: Applications have now closed.

There are no changes for students already approved for RESP in advance of the close date.

No. Students completing a Master’s Degree are not eligible for the Program.

Eligible courses include Certificate I-IVs, Diplomas, Associate Degrees, Advanced Diplomas, Bachelor's Degrees, Undergraduate and Graduate Certificates, VET Skill Sets and Microcredentials listed on the national marketplace.

Please note: Applications have now closed.

Candidates accepted into the program, will receive up to $15,000 towards their tuition fees!

The specific amount will be determined by the Future of Work Team based on the priority of their course and will be communicated to them prior to the start of the Program.

To date, there has been fantastic demand for the Program. To continue to meet this demand and extend the Program, we adjusted Bachelor Degree funding thresholds. From the 28th of May 2024, the Program funding support amounts for eligible Bachelor Degrees changed to a maximum of up to $15,000. Please note, this only applied for applications received from the 28th of May 2024 onwards. All received and / or approved application funding amounts before the 28th of May 2024 did not change.

The student, once accepted to the Program, may also be eligible for a resources grant of up to $1,000 to purchase tools that will support their studies

No. You can be enrolled for part-time or full-time study.

No. You can choose the training provider that you study your course through (e.g. RTO, University, TAFE). The only requirements is that the course needs to be nationally accredited.

When the remaining funding for a student does not cover the entirety of another unit, the Program will provide the remaining amount directly to the student (if they choose to pay upfront for the remaining unit(s)), or will pay the amount to the ATO directly off the student’s HECS/HELP loan (if they choose to allocate the amount to a loan).

If the candidate has access to or will receive additional funding to contribute towards their tuition fees (e.g. government funding), they are still eligible for the program. If:

• The candidate has some of their tuition fees covered by other funding, the Program can fund the difference (up to the total amount for that particular course type).

• The candidate has all of their tuition fees covered by other funding, they can still be eligible to access the resources grant of up to $1000 to purchase tools that will support their studies.