QUT is committed to ensuring Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students receive the necessary support to ensure they access, participate and achieve success at university through offering a range of targeted services, programs and opportunities.
The Confirmation of Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander Descent (CATSID) Policy states that as a condition of access or eligibility to targeted assistance, students may be asked to provide documentary evidence confirming their Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander descent. The CATSID minimum standard of evidence accepted by QUT is set out on this page.
Why do you need it?
CATSID is documentation approved by QUT that confirms you are of Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander descent (previously referred to as Confirmation of Aboriginality).
You will need CATSID to access QUT services, programs and support that are specifically reserved for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students.
This includes:
- the Centralised Assessment and Selection Program (CASP)
- identified scholarships and bursaries
- the Indigenous Australian Accommodation Program
- access to tutoring at the Oodgeroo Unit (Keystones)
- access to services and support at the Carumba Institute
- targeted extracurricular activities funded by QUT (e.g. cultural immersion)
- anything else where CATSID is a condition of eligibility.
CATSID documentation accepted by QUT may not be accepted by other organisations.
You do not require CATSID to access the Oodgeroo Unit, seek support from Oodgeroo Unit student success officers or to attend Oodgeroo Unit events.
What documentation do you need to provide?
To confirm your Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander descent at QUT, you will need to provide one of the following options as evidence. All documentation must be certified by a justice of the peace, a notary public or a commissioner for declarations and submitted with a completed QUT CATSID coversheet.
Option 1
Confirmation of Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander Descent document provided by an incorporated Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander community organisation that is stamped with the organisation’s common seal of certification.
Option 2
Copy of your parent's Confirmation of Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander descent document and a copy of your birth certificate showing your relationship to your parent.
Option 3
A QUT statutory declaration (PDF file, 239.9 KB) declaring your Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander descent together with one of the following:
- a letter from an Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander community education counsellor or Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander education worker from the school they attended (with contact details provided)
- evidence of previous acceptance of the student’s Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander Descent from an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander support centre at another university or TAFE institution, on the organisation’s letterhead;
- a letter or other evidence from a Native Title Prescribed Bodies Corporate or Aboriginal Land Trust, registered with the National Native Title Tribunal confirming they are a land trustee or native title holder
- a letter signed by an elected councillor from a community within the Torres Strait Island Regional Council local government area, on the organisation’s letterhead
- a letter signed by an executive leader (e.g. CEO) or board member of an incorporated Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander community organisation, on the organisation’s letterhead
- a letter from an executive leader (e.g. CEO) or board member at Link Up QLD or another Indigenous Australian family reunification service, on the organisation’s letterhead.
A standard Commonwealth or Queensland statutory declaration is also acceptable.
What happens next
You can submit your CATSID documentation via email or in person at the Oodgeroo Unit (for undergraduate and coursework students) or the Carumba Institute (for research students).
A processing officer from the Oodgeroo Unit or Carumba Institute will review your documents to ensure forms and details are complete and correct, before progressing for approval. Once approved, your CATSID status will be recorded on the student administration system, a confirmation email will be sent to you and no further action is required.
What if I have already provided my confirmation documentation?
If your CATSID has previously been provided and accepted by QUT and this is recorded in QUT’s corporate system, then you do not have to submit anything extra. However, if confirmation cannot be verified on the system, you will need to submit documentary evidence as set out above.
What happens if your CATSID is not accepted?
If your application is held up or declined due to insufficient evidence, the approving officer (or their delegate) will contact you. You may have the opportunity to obtain the required information and resubmit for approval. The Oodgeroo Unit or the Carumba Institute can assit you with this process.
Indigenous programs and services at QUT
Contact the Oodgeroo Unit
If you are an undergraduate student with questions regarding the CATSID process you can speak with a processing officer by email or phone at the Oodgeroo Unit.
Contact the Carumba Institute
If you are a research student with questions regarding the CATSID process you can speak with a processing officer by email or phone at the Carumba Institute.