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Scholarships in Australia for International Students in 2026–2027: What Is Actually Available

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For an international student, fully funded study in Australia is realistic mainly at research level: research master's and PhD candidates can receive a Research Training Program (RTP) scholarship, which universities award. For bachelor's and coursework master's degrees, most support comes from universities as tuition discounts, usually 15–30%, sometimes 40–50%, or a fixed A$5,000–10,000 (≈ $3,510–7,020). The government's Destination Australia programme has not run new rounds since 1 July 2024, and Australia Awards is limited to partner countries. The practical strategy is to shortlist universities whose awards are open to your citizenship and to apply early.

This guide covers which schemes are running, who they are open to, what they are worth and how to time your applications. US dollar amounts use the ECB rate of 28 September 2026 (A$1 ≈ US$0.7024). For the wider picture, see studying in Australia.

Sandstone arcade around a lawn with a young tree in the centre
Arcade of the Great Court on the University of Queensland's St Lucia campus, Brisbane, Australia. Photo: Kgbo / source, CC BY-SA 4.0.

Who funds what

Source Level What it covers Who can apply
Research Training Program (government funding via universities) research master's, PhD tuition offset, living stipend, research allowances domestic and international students; selection inside each university
Percentage-based university awards bachelor's, coursework master's 15–50% of tuition, often for the whole degree depends on citizenship, grades and course
Fixed-value university awards bachelor's, master's A$5,000–20,000 once or per year merit-based, sometimes automatic
Australia Awards (DFAT) mainly postgraduate full funding citizens of listed partner countries only
Home-country schemes varies set by the scheme for example, Bolashak for Kazakhstan citizens or El-Yurt Umidi for Uzbekistan citizens

Unlike many US or UK awards, most Australian awards for international students reduce the tuition bill rather than paying a living allowance. You still have to show the full living-cost amount for the visa.

Government programmes: what runs and what does not

Research Training Program (RTP). The Australian Government gives universities block funding to train researchers, and each university chooses recipients. An RTP scholarship can include a fees offset, a living stipend and allowances linked to the research. The full-time base stipend is A$34,315 (≈ $24,100) in 2026 and A$35,550 (≈ $24,970) in 2027; universities may pay more, up to the published maximum (A$53,608 in 2026). Support lasts 3–4 years for a full-time doctorate and up to 2 years for a full-time research master's. You apply through your chosen university; the Department of Education does not accept applications.

Destination Australia. The government announced that no further funding rounds would be held from 1 July 2024; only existing recipients continue to be supported. Some websites, including the Australian Embassy in Moscow's Russian-language study page, still mention it, so do not plan a 2027 start around it.

Australia Awards. These are Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade scholarships for partner countries. The participating-country list for 2027 covers South and South-East Asia, the Pacific, Mongolia, Pakistan and others. Russia and the Central Asian states are not on it.

University awards by eligibility

Terms change every year, so the table shows only what official pages published on the date we checked.

University and award Value Level How to be considered Nationality notes
University of Sydney — Sydney International Student Award 20% of tuition for the whole course bachelor's and coursework master's starting in 2027 personal statement on the university's template with your course application eligible list includes Russia, Belarus, Armenia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan and many others; excludes MBA and EMBA
UNSW Sydney — International Student Award 20% of tuition each year diploma, bachelor's and coursework master's starting in 2026–2027 statement of up to 500 words Russia, Kazakhstan and Belarus not listed; Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia and Moldova listed
UNSW — International Scientia Coursework Scholarship full tuition or A$20,000 (≈ $14,050) a year bachelor's or coursework master's competitive, merit-based per award terms
UNSW — Australia's Global University Award A$10,000 once, applied in term 2 of year 1 bachelor's per award terms per award terms
University of Melbourne — Melbourne International Excellence Scholarship 20% fee remission bachelor's, from 2027 automatic with your course application; goes to the applicants with the highest entry scores any citizenship, but you need a 2027 bachelor's offer and no previous tertiary study; cannot be combined with another fee discount
University of Melbourne — Melbourne International Undergraduate Scholarship 20% for the whole course from 2027; 225 awards bachelor's automatic citizens of countries with GDP per capita of US$10,000 or less (World Bank data): the list includes Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia and Moldova, but not Russia, Kazakhstan or Belarus
ANU — Chancellor's International Scholarship 25% or 50% of tuition bachelor's and coursework master's (except MChD) automatic, based on academic merit a separate category covers Europe and Central and South America; check which category applies to your citizenship
Macquarie — Vice-Chancellor's International Scholarship up to A$10,000 (≈ $7,020), one-off bachelor's and coursework master's applications open year-round needs an ATAR equivalent of 85 (undergraduate) or WAM of 65 (postgraduate)
Monash — International Study Grants A$5,000, 10,000 or 15,000 (≈ $3,510–10,540), one-off, 2027 bachelor's and master's automatic once you hold an offer only for applicants from Vietnam, India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Nepal; not open to Russian or CIS applicants
UTS 15% (Academic Merit, 2026 start), 30% (Academic Excellence), 40% (European undergraduates), full tuition (Vice-Chancellor's International, very few awards) 30% and full tuition at both levels, the rest for bachelor's per award rules check how "European" is defined in the terms
Western Sydney University A$10,000 or A$5,000 for 2027 undergraduates; separate awards up to 50% bachelor's; up to 50% for master's merit-based; some decisions arrive with the offer per award terms

ATAR is the Australian school-leaver rank and WAM is a weighted average mark at university. Universities convert your school or university results to their own scale.

For more on the institutions themselves, see our profiles of the University of Sydney, UNSW, the University of Melbourne and ANU.

Where to look beyond this table

The table is not the whole market: each university runs its own awards, many of them faculty-specific. A sensible search order is:

  • the Course Search tool on the government's Study Australia site, which also lists provider scholarships;
  • the scholarships page of each shortlisted university, filtered by citizenship and study level;
  • for research degrees, the graduate research pages and your prospective supervisor's projects;
  • home-country schemes such as Bolashak or El-Yurt Umidi, whose terms are published by their own operators.

Intermediaries who charge a fee and claim they can deliver a scholarship have nothing to do with these schemes: only the university or funding body decides who receives an award.

What the awards are worth

Example Fee Award Saving
University of Sydney, Arts bachelor's, 2027 from A$51,700 a year 20% from A$10,340 (≈ $7,260) a year
UNSW Bachelor of Commerce, 2026 indicative A$180,500 for the degree 20% about A$36,100 (≈ $25,360) over the degree
Macquarie VCIS any eligible course up to A$10,000 once up to ≈ $7,020

An award lowers the tuition amount you need to evidence for the visa, but not the A$29,710 (≈ $20,870) living-cost minimum. For a full budget, see the cost of studying in Australia.

Research degrees: how funding works in practice

  1. Identify a researcher whose work matches your topic and contact them with a short project outline and CV.
  2. Ask the prospective supervisor and the graduate research office which scholarships you will be considered for: RTP, university awards or grant-funded projects.
  3. Apply by the scholarship round deadline. Universities publish these separately, and they may differ from the deadline for self-funded applicants.
  4. Compare offers on what they cover: tuition, living stipend, OSHC and duration.

Research master's and PhD students have no work-hour limit under the student visa, although a scholarship may set its own conditions. How research and coursework master's degrees differ is covered in our guide to master's degrees in Australia.

Application timeline

When What to do
12–15 months before the start shortlist 5–8 courses and check which awards your citizenship qualifies for
10–12 months before sit IELTS Academic, PTE or TOEFL iBT at a test centre; arrange translations of transcripts
8–10 months before apply for courses; add essays or statements for awards that need them
After offers arrive compare offers on the whole-degree value of the award, not year one only; read renewal conditions
3–5 months before pay the first instalment, receive your CoE, apply for the visa

ANU, the University of Melbourne and some UNSW awards need no separate form: you are considered when you apply for the course. Sydney's award and UNSW's International Student Award require an extra statement.

Common mistakes

  • Expecting full funding for a bachelor's degree. Such awards are rare and highly competitive; 20–30% is a realistic target.
  • Planning around Destination Australia or Australia Awards when your country is not eligible.
  • Ignoring nationality rules. Two awards of the same size can have different lists: Sydney's includes Russia, UNSW's does not.
  • Applying late. Awards are tied to a specific start year, and some have fixed numbers, such as the 225 MIUS awards at Melbourne.
  • Treating a tuition award as living money. The visa still requires the full living-cost amount.
  • Skipping the renewal terms. Whole-course awards usually require continuous full-time enrolment and satisfactory progress; the exact rules are in each award's terms.

FAQ

Not at bachelor's or coursework master's level, where awards are partial. The closest option is a PhD or research master's with an RTP scholarship, where the university may cover tuition and part of your living costs.

On the date we checked: the Sydney International Student Award (20%), automatic merit awards at the University of Melbourne (Excellence) and ANU, Macquarie's VCIS, UTS and Western Sydney awards under their terms, and RTP for research degrees. UNSW's International Student Award did not list Russia.

It depends on the award. Melbourne, ANU and Western Sydney consider you automatically with your course application. Sydney and UNSW ask for a statement or essay. Macquarie accepts VCIS applications all year.

Not for applicants from Russia or Central Asia at present: Destination Australia is closed to new recipients, and Australia Awards covers only the listed partner countries.

Sometimes. UNSW allows its International Student Award to be combined with other UNSW scholarships, but not with fee arrangements for sponsored students. The University of Melbourne takes the opposite approach: its Excellence Scholarship cannot be held with another fee discount. Other universities state their rules in each award's terms.

If it appears in your offer or CoE, it reduces the tuition amount you need to evidence. The living-cost amount and the Genuine Student requirement still apply. See our Australian student visa guide.

Sources

Shortlisting courses with awards open to your citizenship, essay help and applications are provided under an agreement with StudyU. The university or funding body decides who receives a scholarship, and we do not promise an award.

During the free initial consultation, we clarify your goal, profile, timing, and budget and identify the next realistic step.

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