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An Elite Athlete is defined as someone who competes nationally or internationally and is a squad member (at any age group) from an Australian Sports Commission recognised and funded for high-performance sport, and recognised as an elite, high-performance or pathway identified athlete, coach or official by the Australian Institute of Sport (AIS), State Institutes / Academies of Sport; and / or National Sporting Organisations. The majority of elite categorised athletes within Australia will be on a scholarship within the Australian Institute of Sport (AIS) or the network of Institutes and Academies of Sport. 

If the student athlete does not fall into one of the categories above, the student may still submit an application to ÃÛÌÒÊÓƵSport for consideration providing they can provide equivalent substantiation of their Elite Athlete status, for example; the student will need to ensure that their National Coach or Team Manager will act as a representative from the Australian Sports for their application. 

The High-Performance Student Athlete Program is delivered through a partnership between ÃÛÌÒÊÓƵSport and the ÃÛÌÒÊÓƵHealth and Wellbeing, ensuring elite athletes receive coordinated academic support through High-Performance Sports Plans, alongside access to the student athlete grants. 

As the University's recognised authority on high-performance sport, elite athlete engagement and representative competition, ÃÛÌÒÊÓƵSport is best positioned to administer and facilitate the High-Performance Student Athlete Program on behalf of the University. ÃÛÌÒÊÓƵSport maintains strong relationships with national and state sporting organisations, understands the unique demands placed on elite athletes, and provides expert guidance on athlete eligibility, sporting commitments and competition pathways. 

 Working collaboratively with ÃÛÌÒÊÓƵHealth and Wellbeing, ÃÛÌÒÊÓƵSport ensures elite athletes receive coordinated, informed and practical support that enables them to succeed in both their academic studies and sporting careers. 

 Where necessary and appropriate, the University will work with eligible elite athletes to provide reasonable flexibility in their studies to accommodate elite sporting commitments. Support measures may include: 

• Extra assistance with academic planning. 

• Support in negotiating and securing cross-institutional study. 

• Flexibility with assessment deadlines to accommodate sporting-related travel commitments. 

• Deferred examination arrangements where examinations directly clash with recognised sporting commitments. 

• Waiving minimum attendance requirements for lectures, tutorials and/or practical classes where athletes are unavailable due to approved sporting commitments. 

• Tailoring study loads to integrate with sporting commitments. 

• Negotiating lecture, tutorial and/or practical timetables to accommodate sporting commitments where feasible. 

• Extending the maximum time to complete degree programs where study loads have been reduced due to sporting commitments. 

• Flexibility with leave of absence where required for elite sporting commitments. 

• Providing Summer or Winter study alternatives and, where possible, the ability to move between on-campus and distance education study modes. 

• Recognition of prior credit achieved at interstate universities. 

• Providing access to lecture materials, class notes and other learning resources for approved absences due to sporting commitments.