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2024 John Koowarta Reconciliation Law Scholarship (External)

Up to $5,500
1 year
September 14, 2023
The Koowarta Scholarship is available to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students enrolled in an Australian tertiary institution undertaking an approved course of study that may lead to admission as a legal practitioner in any Australian jurisdiction.

Selection of the scholarship recipient will be based primarily on academic merit judged on results achieved and on reports from referees familiar with the applicant’s work and suitability for a career in the law. The scholarship will not be awarded to an applicant who already holds any other Australian bursary or scholarship. The selection committee is constituted by a sub-committee of the Law Council’s Indigenous Legal Issues Committee.

If you have any queries about the scholarship, or would like to be notified when the next round opens please send an email to koowarta@lawcouncil.au.

If you wish to apply for the Koowarta Scholarship, or would like to nominate someone to receive the Koowarta Scholarship, please send a completed application form by email to koowarta@lawcouncil.asn.au or alternatively by mail to the following address:

The Trustee
John Koowarta Reconciliation Law Scholarship Trust
C/- Law Council of Australia
PO Box 5350
Canberra ACT 2601

Scholarships will be decided by the Law Council of Australia, having considered the recommendation of a selection panel made up of a sub-committee of the Law Council’s Indigenous Legal Issues Committee. The successful applicants will receive a scholarship to the value of up to $5,500 for the 2024 academic year, or (on a pro-rata basis) an offer for periods of part-time study.

The Koowarta Scholarship was established in 1994, with the aim of promoting the study and practice of the law by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. It commemorates John Koowarta as a member of the Winychanam community and a traditional owner of the Archer River region on the Cape York Peninsula in Queensland. John Koowarta is widely regarded as being at the forefront of Aboriginal land rights in Australia during the late 1970s and early 1980s. He is today revered as one of the most important figures in the progression of Native Title rights for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.