Mr Robert asked the Minister for Defence Personnel, Materiel and Science, in writing, on 23 February 2010:

1. In respect of Defence Technical Scholarships, (a) have cadets been given priority access to the initiative (as agreed to by the former Minister in the Defence response to the recommendations of the cadet review, November 2008), if so, why; and (b) how many cadets have (i) applied for, and (ii) been awarded, a scholarship.
2. Do cadets have priority access to other Defence developed, nationally-accredited programs; if so, what are the names of these programs, and how many Australian cadets have (a) applied to enter, and (b) been accepted.

Mr Combet - The answer to the honourable member’s questions are as follows:

1.  
   1. No.  While the cadet review 2008 recommended that Australian Defence Force Cadets receive priority access to Defence Technical Scholarships (DTS) and similar Defence programs, subsequent advice is that such preferential treatment would undermine the merit basis for the scheme and adversely impact upon the credibility of the scheme within the education sector.
   2. (i) and (ii) In light of the above response, and the fact that the application process does not include any requirement for the applicant to identify as a cadet, this question cannot be answered.
2.  
   1. and (b) Cadets do not have priority access to other Defence developed, nationally-accredited programs beyond those that may have been developed by a cadet organisation for application within that cadet organisation.
      

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