Our mission
The Woomera Education Scholarship Trust (WEST) was established by Paul and Judy Williams to provide secondary school educational opportunities in Melbourne for young people from remote communities who would otherwise have difficulty accessing secondary education.
WEST’s approach involves
- Liaison with remote communities and schools.
- Identifying and interviewing potential scholarship children and their parents.
- Provision of scholarships to private boarding schools.
- Arranging tutoring and special educational needs if necessary.
- Hands on support at the “receiving” end, i.e. in Melbourne, for the broader welfare of the scholarship recipients.
We are flexible in our approach to identifying needs, and the form that the scholarship can take. Currently our focus is on the individual and providing educational services that will enable scholarship recipients to meet their full potential. The Woomera Education Scholarship Trust (WEST) was established in 2010 and as a relatively young organisation we take pride in being able to adapt to assist in the best way according to each recipient’s circumstance.
“We believe the key to equal opportunity for young people is education.”
Paul Williams, WEST Founder
Our Story
Woomera Education Scholarship Trust (WEST) is a charity trust committed to improving the prospects of young indigenous Australians through education.
Paul and Judy Williams established the trust in 2010. Paul has decades of experience as a civil engineer and ran a consulting engineering business that he established in 1981. Judy worked with him in the business and together they achieved great success. In 2008 their retirement provided the opportunity to pursue new projects and goals and focus on making meaningful change.
Paul and Judy’s only son is intellectually handicapped. It does not take such a challenge to realise how precious good health and equal opportunity in life are, and it guided their decision to establish WEST. The basic human rights of health and opportunity are not as readily available to Aboriginal Australians as to others. The historical reasons for this are complex – but the needs and rights of young children transcend these arguments. And the key to equal opportunity for young people is education.
Organisational Structure
Woomera Education Scholarship Trust (WEST) is a registered private charity. It is managed by a trustee company, Woomera Education Pty. Ltd. The board of directors are:
- Paul Williams CHAIRMAN
- Judy Williams DIRECTOR
- Anita Aarons SECRETARY & SOLICITOR
- Wayne Steel ACCOUNTANT
WEST is registered with the Australian Tax Office and has both tax exempt status as a non-profit organisation, and is deductible gift recipient approved.
Accounting, legal and insurance fees are paid for at commercial rates. Day-to-day administration and management of the scholarships is undertaken on a voluntary basis. The objective is to ensure that the maximum amount of funds available to the trust goes to benefit the scholarship recipients.