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“My family was going through a devastatingly emotional experience, while also being engulfed in the confusion that comes with workers’ compensation and negligence claims,” she recalls.

“That was the moment I realised how hard it is for some people to get legal advice and help. I realised that I wanted to be that help.

“It was hard to go from a small town to the big city (for legal help); I remember feeling there has got to be a lawyer out there who is a bit more relaxed.

“I wanted to be the missing link between rural and low-socio economic families, and legal assistance.”

Hayley’s ambition to be a lawyer was taking shape. But having grown up in the small town of  Wallaville (50km from Bundaberg), in a battling family, aspirations of university seemed far-fetched.

If not for QUT’s Learning Potential Fund, her ambitions may have remained nothing more than a pipe dream.

“Our family income was very low,” Hayley says.

“I was tutoring students and coaching gymnastics to bring extra money to the household, but it was very little. We just didn’t have money to allow me to move to Brisbane, let alone sustain a life there.”

Having earned sufficiently high marks in Year 12 (an OP 3), she applied – largely in hope - to study law at QUT. Hayley’s mum had to initiate the tough chat to inform her daughter a scholarship would surely be the only way she could afford to move away to study.

An unexpected email changed everything – to Hayley’s delight, the email was congratulating her on receiving a Tim Fairfax LPF scholarship. Suddenly, the pieces started to fall into place; Hayley was able to pay bond for a rental, buy a laptop and textbooks – and move to Brisbane.

Fast forward, Hayley is doing exactly as she envisioned – working as a lawyer with Legal Aid Queensland in Cairns, having graduated from her QUT law degree with honours in 2019.

True to her goals, she is working with remote communities, providing legal assistance over an area spanning Innisfail to Torres Strait – in particular, Indigenous communities otherwise unable to afford such services, through regular trips up to Cape York.

“It is so rewarding – not just working in Cairns but going out to communities to provide services to vulnerable people,” she says.

“Studying at QUT gave me confidence, ambition and, above all, the potential to achieve more than I ever imagined I was capable of.

“Without the LPF, I would have not been at university.

“That financial support allowed my relocation to Brisbane – and opened up a whole community. Through working as an LPF ambassador, I made industry connections which led to work (initially in Brisbane, then back in regional Queensland). 

“My dream was always to bring skills back to rural area, to help vulnerable people that I care so much about.”

• QUT’s Learning Potential Fund is life-changing and transformational, providing critical financial help to students who otherwise would be unable to pursue higher education.
• The LPF is the largest equity scholarship program of its kind in Australia. 2023 marks the 25th anniversary of the fund - since 1998, donors have provided more than 36,000 scholarships.

Hayley’s journey has shown others in her family, such as her nieces and nephews, that university study is not just a pipe dream. And her journey is far from complete – next up, Hayley wants to complete her bar exam to fulfil the dream of being a barrister.

“I’ve been able to share my journey with (so) many; to network, improve my professional skills,  meet wonderful LPF donors, attend fundraising events … it’s a small way to give back to a fund that has given me so much.”

To support students like Hayley to reach their potential, donate to the Learning Potential Fund. All donations are matched dollar for dollar by QUT