We offer 3 scholarships to eligible safety managers who are committed to the development of a healthy aviation safety culture in their organisations.
These scholarships are designed to support emerging or developing safety managers who have not yet had access to formal safety management training. Applicants with extensive prior training or high‑level safety qualifications may be considered out of scope.
Each scholarship is to the value of $5,000 (plus GST).
The scholarships will help emerging safety managers expand their knowledge and skills through professional development.
This initiative is open to anyone who meets the criteria.
The scholarship is open for applications and will close on Sunday 18 October 2026.
Meet our safety manager scholarship alumni
Our previous safety manager scholarship recipients are building their skills and contributing to safety across a diverse range of aviation organisations.
You can read the following profiles of our scholarship alumni, showcasing their careers and their approaches to safety management, along with how the scholarship has supported their professional development. Their stories have been featured in Flight Safety Australia.
2026
- Jake Polkinghorne
- Susan Carroll
- Kate Woolley
2025
- Hugh McBain
- Nick Johnson
- Daniel Baressi
- Adela Bennhamouche
2024
- Ashleigh Jacka
- Courtney Ryan
- Jaime Taylor
2023
- Sean Innes
- Georgie Chisholm
- Jai Bradford
General scholarship conditions
The following conditions apply to the scholarship:
- The successful applicant can claim reimbursement of the scholarship amount by providing us proof of completion and costs of the course.
- The scholarship applies to only the recipient and cannot transferred to anyone else or redeem it in any other way.
- CASA will reimburse the recipient for qualification costs (up to the scholarship amount) by transfer to a nominated bank account.
To claim the scholarship, the successful applicant must show they have successfully completed the course by the end of the scholarship period. We will consider special circumstances.
Scholarship guidelines
The scholarships are designed to support eligible emerging safety managers by providing benefits such as:
- financial support
- encouragement and assistance
- opportunity to up-skill and improve their knowledge through professional development.
Prerequisites
To be eligible for the scholarship, an applicant must:
- have a minimum of 2 years aviation industry experience relevant to the position of a safety manager
- be undertaking or intends to undertake a course they expect to complete during the scholarship period
- be working for a small to medium sized Australian aviation business
- have not already completed extensive training towards their development as a safety manager
- hold Australian citizenship or permanent residency.
Preference
Eligibility requirements are broad to allow for a diverse and wide range of applications. This will also help us in the selection of deserving applicants.
Please note: the CASA panel will preference applicants who hold an aviation safety manager role or other safety related role.
The scholarships will help those who have demonstrated:
- a commitment to aviation safety
- made progress through initiative
- portrayed a high standard of aptitude and safety culture.
Scholarship process
A panel will review and assess all scholarship applications. The panel will include a minimum of 3 CASA nominated staff, as endorsed by the delegate.
The scholarship selection will follow a 4-stage process.