Update June 2024: this policy has been suspended, pending decisions at the University level.

At the College of Science, we strongly value the diversity that our transgender students bring to our HDR cohort, expanding our research perspectives, and helping us change our culture. We know that going through gender affirmation procedures is an intense process. With the new Enterprise Agreement, staff members of the University will soon be supported through this process with the provision of gender affirmation leave. Our HDR students, on the other hand, do not yet have access to similar support. This is why the College of Science School Directors have committed to providing HDR students undergoing gender affirmation procedures with a 6 week extension to their scholarship. This matches the best gender affirmation leave available in the private sector.

If you are a HDR student about to go through gender affirmation procedures, talk to your supervisor about it. Your supervisor can then contact the Associate Dean Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, and Access (Pierre Portal, pierre.portal@anu.edu.au) to request the extension. The Associate Dean will have a chat with you about your plans, and any extra support you might need (using, among other things, the ANU Gender Affirmation Guide). They will contact your School Director to organise the scholarship extension.