Bateman Battersby Law Bursary

The Bateman Battersby Law Bursary, first offered in 1990, was established to encourage high school students in the Penrith and Blue Mountains local government areas to undertake legal studies at a tertiary level and to assist them financially in their initial year of legal study.

Each year the Bursary is open to students sitting for the Higher School Certificate or International Baccalaureate, who intend applying for admission to a full-time University Law course in NSW or the ACT.

The winner of the Bursary is the student who, of all the applicants, achieves the highest ATAR (HSC, or converted IB mark), and can confirm admission to an approved law course on or before 5.00pm on 14 February 2025.

In the case that more than one applicant shares the highest ATAR, the Bursary is shared. The Winner of the Bursary receives a grant of $1,000.00 and a Bateman Battersby Bursary Winner’s Trophy.

To date there have been 34 Bursary recipients and many of the previous Bursary winners have gone on to achieve great success in practising law in a variety of fields, working in high level management positions in both the private and public sectors and teaching law at Universities both in Australia and overseas.  These include:

• 1991 winner Paul Salisbury, who also won the University of Sydney Law Medal and has enjoyed a distinguished career with the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade;
• Dr Wayne Courtney (1993) who has taught Law at both the University of Sydney and the University of Melbourne and is currently Professor of Contract and Commercial Law at the National University of Singapore.
• Melinda Roylett (1997) formerly the head of Small and Medium Business for PayPal in Europe and the General Manager UK and Ireland at Uber and currently the Global Head of Small and Medium Business at Afterpay based in the UK.
• Dr Kristin Van Zwieten (1999) a UNSW Law Medal winner and currently Professor of Law and Finance at the University of Oxford.
• Kieran Colreavy (2003) currently Senior Risk Manager for the Commonwealth Bank based in London;
• Alicia Back (2006) a UTS Law Medal Winner who has worked for global legal firms in both Sydney and London and is currently Associate Director, Loan Structuring & Execution at ANZ Bank.
• Jacqueline Edwards (2008) currently the Assistant Parliamentary Counsel at the NSW Parliamentary Counsel’s Office;
• Peter Fam (2009) a distinguished Human Rights lawyer based in Sydney; and
• Tom Synott (2011) a Western Sydney University Law Medal winner and currently Executive Officer at New South Wales Bar Association.

Information about the Bursary is distributed to High Schools in the Penrith, St Marys and Blue Mountains region in the second school term of each year. If you have any questions about the Bateman Battersby Law Bursary, please contact our office on (02) 4731 5899 or alternatively by email to [email protected].

Students interested in pursuing legal education at a tertiary level should speak to their School Principal, Careers Adviser or Legal Studies Teacher for an Application Form or for further information. The Bateman Battersby Law Bursary Application Form can also be downloaded from this page by clicking on the link below. All completed applications must be returned to our office by 5.00pm on 31 October 2025.