Create a bequest
Your gift will help create a better future
What would you like to support?
Support specific areas
If you wish to make a bequest to a specific area - such as a particular type of research or scholarship - we strongly encourage you to contact our Bequests team to discuss your plans, in complete confidence. This will give you an opportunity to confirm that the University will be in a position to accept your bequest, and, most importantly, to honour your wishes in how it handles your bequest.
Support areas of greatest need
Alternatively, you might wish to support future students and research through a general bequest. Rather than designating a specific area that your bequest is to support, a general bequest is without limitations as to use. This will allow the University in the future, as circumstances change, to direct funds to areas of greatest need. This ensures that your generosity would continue to have a real and lasting impact, even if circumstances in the future change dramatically.
Support what matters to you
Innovation and research
Contribute to research and resolving future real-world challenges.
Scholarships & access programs
Help students achieve their academic aspirations.
Academic leadership
Attract and develop our future global leaders.
State-of-the-art facilities
Provide world class environments for education and research.
What type of gift would you like to leave?
- Residual bequest
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A residual bequest is the remainder of your estate (or percentage of the remainder), after deducting all debts, charges and any specific gifts. Residual bequests maintain their relative value over time and automatically adjust to the value of your estate.
Commonly used phrases to express this type of gift include "I give the residue of my estate to…" or "I give 10% of the residue of my estate to…".
- Fixed amount
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A fixed amount or set-value bequest means a gift expressed as a specific sum of money. As most wills are written many years in advance, fixed amount bequests may include an "inflation clause", which will operate to preserve the relative value of the gift over time.
- Gift-in-kind
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Gifts are not always financial. They can also take the form of property, shares or a collection of books or artwork, in which case the bequest is treated as a "gift-in-kind" or a "non-monetary" bequest in the first instance.
If you are considering leaving a non-monetary bequest, please reach out to our Bequests team. Our discussion with you will be in complete confidence, and is particularly important in this case. Depending on the nature of the gift, we may seek confidential guidance from the University Archives, the Library, Treasury & Investments, or the curator of the appropriate artwork collection. This is to ensure the University in a position to accept the gift and honour your wishes for it, which is always our first priority.
- Endowed gift
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You may wish to consider if you have any preferences regarding the length of time over which your gift would be spent.
A 'non-endowed gift' would be spent year-to-year, until it is fully depleted.
An 'endowed gift' means that your bequest would be invested in our Long Term Investment Pool, in accordance with the UWA Senate Investment Policy. That capital amount would then provide a certain level of investment income each year, which would be spent in accordance with your wishes. The capital would not be directly spent down, so this type of arrangement is usually referred to as "perpetual", meaning that it could technically last forever (financial performance permitting).
The decision on whether to endow a gift depends on a number of factors, including the stated purpose of the gift, and its monetary value. Certain gifts could provide a long-term impact spread out over many years, while other gifts might make the most meaningful impact if they are utilised over a shorter period.
We encourage you to discuss this with our Bequests team.
What do you need to include in your will?
Preparing a will is an important milestone for all of us. This is why we encourage you to speak to a legal practitioner experienced in preparing testamentary documents. They will be able to advise you on your specific circumstances, including whether you might need to prepare a new will, or if a codicil to your existing will would suffice. UWA is not able to give legal advice or help with preparing your will.
To help you discuss this with your advisers, we have provided below wording for different types of bequests that you may wish to consider when preparing your will.
- Option 1: General purposes (areas of greatest need)
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If you wish to leave a gift to support areas of greatest need, whatever they may be at a particular time, the wording below may be suitable. Despite there being no express restrictions as to use, the University will always use your bequest for philanthropic purposes.
I give to The University of Western Australia, ABN 37 882 817 280, of 35 Stirling Highway, Crawley WA 6009 (“the University”) [% of my residuary estate OR insert dollar amount], for the general purposes of the University.
- Option 2: Specific purpose (research or scholarships)
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We encourage you to describe the purpose broadly, to ensure your bequest can continue to be used effectively in the future.
I give to The University of Western Australia, ABN 37 882 817 280, of 35 Stirling Highway, Crawley WA 6009 (“the University”) [% of my residuary estate OR insert dollar amount]. I express the wish but without creating any binding trust that this gift be applied towards [research] OR [establishing one or more scholarships to be known as ‘the [name] Scholarship’] in the field of [insert a general description of area of research or study]. However, if circumstances change and my wishes cannot be fulfilled, I direct that the Vice-Chancellor of the University allocate the bequest in such a manner as best approximates my wishes.
- Option 3: Faculty, School or similar
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If you are leaving a gift to a Faculty, School or similar, this wording may be suitable.
I give to The University of Western Australia, ABN 37 882 817 280, of 35 Stirling Highway, Crawley WA 6009 (“the University”) [% of my residuary estate OR insert dollar amount], for the general purposes of the [specify faculty, school, or similar] or its successor.
How can we help?
If you have any questions, or would like to discuss your intentions in complete confidence, please reach out to the UWA Bequests team