Eligibilities for Australia Awards Scholarship 2024

To be eligible to receive an Australia Awards Scholarship, applicants must:

• be a minimum of 18 years of age on 1 February of the year of commencing the scholarship;
• be a citizen of a participating country (as listed on the Australia Awards website) and be residing in and applying for the scholarship from their country of citizenship;
• not be a citizen of Australia, hold permanent residency in Australia or be applying for a visa to live in Australia permanently;

• not be married to, engaged to, or a de facto of a person who holds, or is eligible to hold, Australian or New Zealand citizenship or permanent residency, at any time during the application, selection and mobilisation phases (note: residents of Cook Islands, Niue and Tokelau with New Zealand citizenship are eligible but must apply for a Student visa [subclass 500]);
• not be current serving military personnel;
• not have previously received a long-term Australia Award in the previous four years);
• not hold convictions of criminal activities (including in their home country) including those relating to Child Protection and PSEAH;
• have satisfied any specific criteria established by the Program Area or the government of the applicant’s country of citizenship (e.g. having worked a certain number of years in an appropriate sector);
• be able to satisfy the admission requirements of the institution at which the award is to be undertaken (this may mean that Program Areas will need to withdraw an award offer if the recipient cannot satisfy the institution’s admission requirements. This may not be known until Program Areas request a placement at selected institutions);

• be able to satisfy all requirements of the Department of Home Affairs to hold a Student Visa. This may mean that the Program Area will need to withdraw an award offer if the recipient cannot satisfy the visa requirements;
• not be applying for a scholarship for a course of study at an academic level lower than already achieved (e.g. be applying for a Master’s scholarship when they already hold a PhD); and
• applicants must inform the Program Area of any connection or relationship to staff employed at Program Areas (including locally engaged staff at post) or with managing contractors so that the application may be properly and transparently managed.

Program Areas may consider the following exceptions to in relation to applicants being required to apply from their country of citizenship:

• applicants working for their government, regional organisation, civil society in a third country
• applicants studying in Australian or New Zealand secondary schools
• applicants residing in the immediate region to which they would be willing to grant an award (e.g. Pacific Island countries considering applicants from other eligible Pacific Island countries), noting that the award will be reported as belonging to the applicant’s country of citizenship.

English language requirements:

• An applicant or awardee will meet DFAT’s English language requirements for receiving an Australia Awards Scholarship if their first language is English and if they have undertaken their education in English (evidenced by their academic transcripts).
• Note that some institutions may still require evidence of English language proficiency, and Program Areas relying on the above may need to check whether Australian institutions accept applicants from particular regions or with qualifications from English language institutions.
  • • where an applicant or awardee does not meet DFAT’s English language requirements, the awardee must provide an academic English language test result that meets the institution’s academic English language requirement tests before commencing the approved main course of studies. The below are accepted English language tests:

• International English Language Testing System (IELTS)
• Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL)
• Pearson Test of English Academic (PTE Academic)

• Awardees’ English language test results must be valid at 1 January of the year in which the awardee is commencing studies in Australia (IELTS, TOEFL scores, and PTE Academic are valid for two years after the test date).  If an institution requires a different test validity timeframe, awardees must meet the institution’s requirements.
• English language scores are not negotiable. All Australia Awards Scholarship awardees must meet the following requirement:
  • an Academic IELTS result with an overall score of at least 6.5, with no band less than 6.0, or
  • an internet based TOEFL score of at least 84, with a minimum of 21 in all subtests, or
  • PTE Academic overall score of 58 with no communicative skill score less than 50.

• Where an institution’s academic English language requirement is higher than DFAT’s requirement for the main course of study, the awardee must meet the institution’s requirement.

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Eligible Regions: Algeria, Benin, Botswana, Côte d’Ivoire, Democratic Republic of Congo, Egypt, Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritius, Morocco, Mozambique, Namibia, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Cambodia, Federated States of Micronesia, French Polynesia, Fiji, Indonesia, Kiribati, Laos, Maldives, Mongolia, Myanmar, Nauru, Nepal, New Caledonia, Niue, Pakistan, Palau, Occupied Palestinian Territories, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Republic of the Marshall Islands, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Sri Lanka, Timor-Leste, Tonga, Tuvalu, Vanuatu,Vietnam and Wallis and Futuna.