Order of Australia Association Foundation Scholarship

For third year health or social work bachelor program students who can demonstrate potential and financial disadvantage; worth up to $20,000.

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Applications now closed

The scholarship provides up to $20,000 per annum for two years.

The Foundation will also offer the successful recipient the opportunity to participate in an ongoing mentor relationship with a member of The Order of Australia who is eminent in the recipient’s chosen field of study.  

One scholarship available.

To be eligible for this scholarship you must:

  • be an Australian citizen
  • be aged between 20-29 as at 01 January 2023, or in your early thirties with exceptional circumstances
  • be enrolling full-time in your third year in semester 1 2023 in one of the following programs (having completed a minimum of 192 credits points and no greater than 216 credit points):
    • Bachelor of Applied Science (Psychology) BP154
    • Bachelor of Applied Science (Medical Radiations) BP321
    • Bachelor of Biomedical Science BP231
    • Bachelor of Biomedical Science (Laboratory Medicine) BP147
    • Bachelor of Nursing BP032
    • Bachelor of Pharmaceutical Sciences BP311
    • Bachelor of Pharmacy (Honours) BH102
    • Bachelor of Social Science (Psychology) BP112
    • Bachelor of Social Work (Honours) BH105
    • Bachelor of Social Work (Honours)/Bachelor of Social Science (Psychology) BH106
  • be able to demonstrate high academic achievement in the first two years of your program
  • be going to complete your degree in the minimum number of years with full-time study
  • for three-year degree students, be intending to study in 2024 a further 1-year honours program in a related discipline
  • be able to demonstrate leadership, initiative, and involvement in your community
  • be able to demonstrate financial disadvantage such as
    • receiving a government tested low-income benefit or having a Centrelink Health Care Card
  • be available for an interview if shortlisted* within the last two weeks of September 2022.  

*RMIT has a great range of online career support resources available including a Prepare for interviews section. Here you can upload your CV and practice mock interview questions. Visit RMIT’s online career support for how to prepare for interviews.

The online application form will be made available here when applications open. 

Supporting documentation

Depending on your circumstances, you will need to provide different types of evidence and material to support your scholarship application. Applications without supporting documents will not be considered.

You will need:

  • one letter of recommendation, preferably from an academic, dated no more than 12 months ago
  • one letter of recommendation from an organisation external to RMIT to support your statements regarding your community participation, dated no more than twelve months ago.

Please visit Supporting Your Application for more information.

Application questions

It is expected that the online application will take approximately thirty minutes to complete. The main application questions are listed below to allow you time to prepare your answers in advance prior to starting the online application.

  • What motivated you to choose your RMIT program? Include the steps you have taken to achieve your educational goals.
  • Describe your two best academic achievements or learning experiences in your current program.
  • What current challenges do you face in your studies and how will a scholarship help you to overcome this?
  • Provide a semi-detailed budget of how you would spend your scholarship broken down into two years. The scholarship is flexible in how the recipient can spend the funds, however when answering the question, you may wish to include undertaking extra activities which would help your studies/future career goals. Examples of how scholarship funds may be expended include assisting with placement costs (e.g., forgoing casual work while undertaking placement, uniform costs), short courses and professional development opportunities including conferences, overseas exchange/study tour, books & study material costs, accommodation, living expenses, tuition, new laptop, etc.
  • Describe your past/current involvement in community affairs (e.g., student, sport or church groups, donating blood, volunteering, etc).
  • How do you plan on demonstrating leadership and initiative in your field of study and the community?
  • How will a mentor eminent in your field assist with your studies?

Find out more about applying for scholarships.

Applications for 2023 are now closed.

This scholarship is not expected to be offered again. 

Applications for 2023 are now closed.

View the Coursework Scholarships Office’s terms and conditions (PDF, 698KB).

The purpose of the scholarship is to assist promising students who might otherwise have considerable financial difficulty in proceeding with their studies and thus not achieve their potential for the further benefit of Australia.

The Scholarship will be presented by the Governor-General at the Annual Conference of The Order of Australia Association in Geelong on 20th May 2023.

Find out how to contact the Coursework Scholarships Office.

Notice to applicants

The scholarship application process is highly competitive with a limited number of scholarships available. Unfortunately, not all eligible applicants will receive one.

Only successful candidates will be notified via email to their RMIT student account.

For information about other financial assistance available to RMIT students, please speak to one of our Student Welfare Advisors.

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Acknowledgement of Country

RMIT University acknowledges the people of the Woi wurrung and Boon wurrung language groups of the eastern Kulin Nation on whose unceded lands we conduct the business of the University. RMIT University respectfully acknowledges their Ancestors and Elders, past and present. RMIT also acknowledges the Traditional Custodians and their Ancestors of the lands and waters across Australia where we conduct our business - Artwork 'Luwaytini' by Mark Cleaver, Palawa.