career recovery grants – FAQs
Q. How long does the Statement of Support have to be?
The Statement of Support must be a maximum of ONE A4 page and provided on institution letterhead.
Q. Can I apply if I am currently on Maternity leave?
A. If you are currently on Maternity leave, but were working during the Victorian Lockdown period, and met all the eligibility criteria then you are welcome to apply.
Q. I was on Maternity leave during the COVID-19 lockdown on Victoria, am I eligible to apply?
A. If you were on maternity leave for the majority of the lockdown period experienced in Victoria then you would not be eligible to apply.
The lockdown period refers to the time between the date the Victorian Government declared a State of Emergency on 16 March 2020 to the date when metropolitan restrictions were eased on 26 October 2020.
Q. I want to support my team’s mental health with funding, is this possible?
A. Yes
Q. Can I pay for carers support for members of my team?
A. No, only the applicant may use the funding for paying for carers support.
Q. I am currently working 0.4 FTE. Am I eligible to apply?
A. No, you must be employed at a minimum of 0.6 FTE.
Q. I am based in regional Victoria and did not experience significant lockdown periods, am I eligible?
A. The grant is designed to assist those who were impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic by having to undertake significant additional caring responsibilities severely affecting their day-to-day work.
Q. Am I able to use the veski funding to support my own salary?
A. No.
Q. Does the 10 years post-PhD refer to 10 years worked at Full Time Equivalent?
A. Yes.
Q. Do I have to request for the full veski funding of $50,000 AUD?
A. No, you are able to request for an amount up to $50,000 AUD, and in this case, your institution will need to match 50% of the total funding requested.
Q. Do I include career breaks or relocation ‘down time’ in my FTE calculations?
A. No. Please do not include career breaks or down time in the 5 years FTE professional postdoctoral experience – to 10 years. Career disruptions due to COVID-19 should also not be included due to the challenges of accurately determining the amount of career disruption experienced.
Q. I need to calculate my FTE (Full Time Equivalent) and convert this to years and months worked. How do I calculate this?
A. How to calculate your FTE for the application form.
- Calculate your contracted hours per week;
FTE uses the following measurements:
1 day = 0.2 FTE
2 days = 0.4 FTE
3 days = 0.6 FTE
4 Days = 0.8 FTE
5 days = 1 FTE
- Take your FTE and multiple by the number of months your worked at that FTE
This example illustrates a year worked at various FTE’s:
0.8 FTE for 4 months = 0.8 x 4 = 3.2 months
0.6 FTE for 6 months = 0.6 x 6 = 3.6 months
1 FTE for 2 months = 1 x 2 = 2 months
TOTAL = 3.2 + 3.6 + 2 = 8.8 months
Q. What does in-kind support refer to?
A. The Victorian academic or research institution must ensure that a veski inspiring women career recovery grant recipient is provided with laboratory and non-laboratory facilities and resources required to facilitate and support the recipient’s research activities. Facilities include but are not limited to:
- accommodation (e.g. laboratory and/or office);
- access to workshop services (e.g. machine tools and qualified technicians available to each member of staff, according to need, for research);
- access to film or music editing facilities;
- access to a basic library collection;
- standard reference materials or funds for abstracting services;
- provision of computers, including laptops and basic computing facilities such as printers, word processing and other standard software;
- use of photocopiers, telephones, mail, fax, email and internet services; and
- provision of a private area for the nursing of young children, or a dedicated office space with the needs of the family carer accounted for, when applicable.