Tony Abbott's daughter was given scholarship for $60,000 design degree

The revelation raises questions for the prime minister over whether the scholarship should have been declared on his interests register. The Coalition government is also under pressure over changes to higher education funding announced in the budget. Frances Abbott undertook a bachelor of design at the Whitehouse Institute of Design in Sydney from 2011 to 2013. Guardian Australia has confirmed that she received a scholarship during her time at the institute, Kazinform cites the Guardian. "Frances definitely was a student with us and received a chairman's scholarship," Leanne Whitehouse, director of the Institute told Guardian Australia. She declined to detail how many times the "chairman's scholarship" has been awarded previously, but the institute's website makes no references to the scholarship and states the institute "does not currently offer scholarships to gain a place into the Bachelor of Design". Members of parliament are required to disclose gifts above specified threshold limits with additional requirements for ministers where a gift is retained. A spokeswoman for the prime minister confirmed that Frances was a recipient of a scholarship at the institute and said it was awarded as a result of her "application and art portfolio". The spokeswoman said disclosure of the scholarship was "not required".

"Under the Statement of Registrable Interests, a scholarship is not a gift, it is an award based on merit and disclosure is not required. If alternative advice is provided, Mr Abbott will meet the amended requirements," the spokeswoman said.

She continued: "Frances graduated with distinction-level results from Whitehouse in December 2013. She has since moved to Melbourne where she works for Whitehouse as a teacher's aide and hopes to study for her masters later this year." The spokeswoman said Les Taylor, who is the chairman of the board of governors of the institute, had known the prime minister "for many years and when in opposition, he received clothing from him as a gift". The ministerial standards, which were written by Tony Abbott in 2013, encourage ministers to avoid the appearance of potential conflicts arising from family members' interests. Full story