The Trust Company

Proudly supporting those who contribute to Australia's cultural heritage

As trustee and custodian for a large and diverse group of scholarships and awards, The Trust Company supports a wide range of endeavours across Australia.

These scholarships and awards are made possible through the generosity and vision of many donors over the years.  Some of the earliest examples of charitable bequests date back almost a century.

While scholarships and awards supporting arts are the most well known of those managed by The Trust Company, support is also provided to students for completion of studies or for postgraduate study overseas in a broad range of fields.

Awards and scholarships are only available for Australian citizens and in some cases for Australian residents.

Awards and scholarships currently managed by The Trust Company include the following:

Awards

• The Miles Franklin Literary Award for the Australian novel of the year
• The Kathleen Mitchell Award for young Australian authors 
• The Max Afford Playwright’s Award for young dramatists
• The Portia Geach Memorial Award portrait prize for female artists
• The R & M McGivern Art Prize for artistic excellence in watercolour, oil and acrylic painting.
• The Thelma Afford Theatre, Stage, TV or Film Costume Design Award for the visual arts and theatre, film or TV costume design

 Scholarships

• The Vasanta Scholarship for students of the violin, piano, organ, cello or viola
• The Michael Kieran Harvey Scholarship for postgraduate piano students 
• The Sir Robert Askin Operatic Travelling Scholarship for male opera singers
• The Lady Mollie Askin Ballet Travelling Scholarship for ballet artists 
• The Marten Bequest Travelling Scholarships for students in a variety of categories