How many tertiary students received scholarships, including Commonwealth scholarships, in Australia for the 2002 academic year and what is the breakdown of this number according to the per annum amount of scholarship received.

My Department does not collect data on institutional and other scholarships for tertiary study. DEST only collects data on Commonwealth-funded scholarships.

Final data for 2002 as reported by the universities through the Higher Education Student Statistics Collection administered by my Department is not yet available. The following numbers of students, with details of scholarship amounts and provisions, received Commonwealth-funded scholarships in 2001 as calculated on the basis of the maximum scholarship tenure:

· Australian Postgraduate Awards (APA) - 5,425 students in 2001.

· Full-time APA students received a stipend of $17,609 in 2001 and are eligible for other allowances. An APA scholarship can be held for a maximum of three and a half years.

· International Postgraduate Research Scholarships (IPRS) - 1,200 students in 2001.

· IPRS students receive a tuition-fee waiver scholarship to cover the cost of their annual course tuition fee for a maximum of four years, with tuition fee levels varying by academic discipline.

· Merit-Based Equity Scholarships - 1,640 students in 2001.

· These scholarships provide recipients with a HECS exemption for an undergraduate course to the maximum duration of that course.