EAS Categories

• Home Environment and Responsibilities (family conflict, legal separation, domestic abuse)

Supporting Documents

• Home Environment and Responsibilities coversheet including personal statement
• Protection order
• Support letter from a social worker

Background

Raquel, 31, applied for a Bachelor of Social Work at a regional Queensland university having not studied for many years. Parental substance abuse and domestic violence had led her to leave the family home at fifteen, abandon her high school studies without a senior certificate, and take a casual job as a hardware assistant.

After couch surfing with friends for a few months, she moved in with her new boyfriend, who was several years older than her and was close to completing his plumber’s apprenticeship. The young couple soon fell pregnant with a baby girl.

Raquel stopped work when baby Tamara was born. Over the next eight years, her partner developed a drinking problem and gradually came to exercise total control over the household. He prevented Raquel from earning her own money or seeing her old school and work friends, restricted her movement outside of their home, and sometimes backed up his threats with physical violence. After one particularly frightening incident, Raquel realised she had to leave to protect her daughter.

She and Tamara fled to a larger regional Queensland city where they were homeless for several months until they found a place in a refuge. Support staff helped her find public housing, enrol Tamara in school, and eventually gain part-time work as a medical receptionist. But it took many more years for her to secure custody of her daughter and establish financial independence from her ex-partner. Only then did she feel ready to return to study.

Raquel never forgot the help she received from social workers when she first fled her abusive long-term relationship. Entering her thirties, with her own life at last under control, she decided she’d like to help others in the same way.

Application

Raquel applied for EAS in the Home Environment category as part of her QTAC application. She wrote a long personal statement describing all of the hardships she had experienced as a teenager and young adult. As evidence, she supplied a protection order against her ex-partner and a support letter from a social worker who was aware of her background.

However, Raquel was unable to list any completed qualifications in her application. Her incomplete secondary studies did not give her a selection rank and she had no post-secondary study. Unfortunately, since she had no selection rank, an educational adjustment was not the way for her to access tertiary study.

Outcome

Upon reading Raquel’s documents, the EAS assessor recognised she had experienced profound educational disadvantage across her whole life. The assessor arranged for Raquel to receive a Pathways phone call.

Based on the advice she received, Raquel changed her preferences to include a Tertiary Preparation Program. No selection rank was required for entry and all course fees were covered by the Commonwealth government.

She was disappointed not to gain direct access to her first-choice course but recognised she would be much better prepared for university after a year of preparatory study.